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Natalie Portera-Sickler

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2023

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22 Followers
11 Following

8 Stories

203 karma pts

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The Cat & The Bell

Weekly Contest #377

I woke to an unfamiliar smell. It must be early if my alarm is still off. As I blinked away the bleary clouds of sleep from my eyes, the angry red numbers glaring from my nightstand came into focus; 10:22 AM. Ten? The confusion was quickly replaced with an icy douse of panic, so jarring that I tumbled out of bed and to the floor, my legs bound by the vice my blankets had become. My alarm…Oh, God… I was late – again. Once untangled, I became a whirlwind of frenzied limbs snatching clothes scattered around my messy studio apartment, the myster...

3 likes 0 comments 0
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A Tempting Offer

Weekly Contest #254

They locked eyes from across the room, making her heart skip a beat. Even though it was a masquerade ball, Percy immediately recognized his smoky eyes, the heat of his gaze searing into her core and warming her skin in a fierce blush. The pounding of her heart quickened as he stalked toward her, navigating the crowd with ease as a panther prowling through the jungle to approach the prey locked within its sight. Percy fanned herself frantically, willing herself to stay calm while simultaneously wondering how no one else reacted to the sight ...

11 likes 5 comments 5
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Broken Royals

Weekly Contest #252

I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but most of the memories I have left of my grandmother are unpleasant. To say Eve was unkind was an understatement. She was downright cruel. She made a sport of pitting others against their friends, their family, and no one was safe from her sadistic schemes – especially not her own husband and children. If you ever spoke a word against her, she would verbally tear you down for daring to challenge her, and then cry victim to your so-called unfair treatment of her. She suffered a disease of disillusionm...

13 likes 4 comments 4
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Hive

Weekly Contest #250

“Don’t let them hear you!” Clamping a hand over my mouth, I stared fearfully at Sydney while she glanced around frantically for any sign that someone picked up on what I had said. Sydney and I had ducked behind one of the school’s dumpsters to avoid the penetrating gaze of the security cameras – but that did not mean protection from the ears of the Watchers. Thankfully the hall continued to bustle with the monotone murmur of students adorned with monochrome uniforms. Those beige drones didn’t even give us a passing glance; they were all de...

11 likes 4 comments 4
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Paradise Lost

Weekly Contest #248

The rain pattered gently into the pooling city streets as Randall Mortensen sipped his whisky, contemplating how to get himself out of the mess he was in. The streetlamps had flickered on at least an hour ago, illuminating the drizzle that floated down from the sky, and Miranda was surely wondering where he was by now. He swirled the ice cubes in his slowly draining glass, picturing his wife pacing the kitchen in front of the casserole growing colder by the minute, fiddling with her freshly manicured fingers before giving in and putting them...

9 likes 2 comments 2
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CONFIDENTIAL AUDIO LOGS OF SUBJECT #06 - DO NOT DISCLOSE

Weekly Contest #247

CONFIDENTIAL PROPERTY OF UNITED GALACTIC MILITARY INTELLIGENCE AGENCY – NONDISCLOSURE ORDER IN EFFECT, LEVEL 2A; PERMANENT SEAL BY JUDICIAL ORDER OF UGMI DISCLOSURE OF FOLLOWING RECORDS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL OFFENSE CHARGE; FELONY OFFENSE LEVEL = DEATH PENALTY CERTAIN INFORMATION HAS BEEN REDACTED FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS IN INTEREST OF PUBLIC INTERSTELLAR SAFETY. REYVANNES, G. AUDIO LOG #01718 [TRANSMISSION DATE: 29-04-3120, 00:12] « Captain’s Log – day one thousand four hundred eighty…three? Huh, amazing its been that lo...

12 likes 10 comments 10
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Coming Home

Shortlisted for Weekly Contest #246 ⭐️

Dusk was setting in, and everyone had gone home except for Johnny. It was the last place he wanted to be right now. Instead, he gazed at the stars that began to emerge in the indigo twilight for their debut now that the sun was taking its exit from the stage, leaving nothing but a burnished glow on the horizon. He clenched the chains of the swing as if it were a lifeline, tilting his head back further until he was looking directly up into the center of the universe, where the blue had deepened to black, and the stars all peered at him like a...

34 likes 18 comments 18
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La Bonne Étoile (The Lucky Star)

Weekly Contest #245

The portal malfunctioned again. Fortunately, it dropped him close enough to shore that he could swim the rest of the way – better than being dropped in quicksand, like last time. Slightly annoyed, Professor Gregory Reyvannes scrambled out of the azure waters onto the soft, supple sands of the shore. “I know you’re here somewhere.” he mumbled to himself, shaking the water from his coat. The professor blinked a few times, taking in his surroundings; white sands reflected the sun in a way where the little island looked like it was glowing. Not...

13 likes 4 comments 4
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