[Hey RoyalRoad, this is the same CKMo.] Lucy dashed down the hallway, the building’s alarms blaring red. She rounded a corner, sliding on her knees as she sprinted past a confused guard, swiveling to snatch his phone along the way. A bullet ricocheted off the wall, sparking down the walls of the hall. She zigzagged […]
Tara’s skydiving instructor winked at me. “For a bit extra, I can tell Tara I forgot a parachute.” I gave it some thought. “Twenty seconds before you need to open it?” “Sure.” I pulled out a twenty dollar bill. “Do it.” Now, you might be thinking: That’s mean, Carl. What if your girlfriend panics?! I […]
Microstory prompt: /dev/shm is a Linux-specific directory usually meant for in-memory files, hence the “shm”, which stands for “shared memory”. Because of the volatile nature of computer memory, the contents are inherently destroyed upon shutdown/restart/crash. Story: Amidst the gentle hum of the night, a small group of sentient robots had gathered around a flickering campfire. […]
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was lost in the woods. The moonlight sparsely lit her way, and she had no idea how to get back home. The little girl saw a pure-white glow off in the distance between the trees, and decided to follow that light. Soon, she stepped into […]
Readers like a vicarious sense of accomplishment through characters. It’s satisfying to see characters we root for suffer and struggle with a goal in mind and then reach that goal, usually having cost them tangible or intangible things. Stories I particularly enjoy include aspects of being forced to choose between the most complicated of choices […]
(My take on a story by my friend who responded to this writing prompt: https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/5kxe94/wp_you_live_in_a_world_where_each_lie_creates_a/) The sound of an explosion rocked the area as the line-up of soldiers watched the drill sergeant demonstrate throwing a live grenade. “Underhand lobbing is far more accurate for shorter distances,” the sergeant instructed. “This ain’t baseball. You aren’t trying […]
“A deal?” asked the boy. “Certainly. ‘Give and take’, so to speak.” The boy seemed dubious. “Nothin’ I really want,” said the boy. He then whispered, “I hear them saying I won’t around much longer.” “Do you want to be?” The boy shrugged, glancing around his hospital room. “I’ve read in books that it’s fun […]
The boy found it easier to get onto the bench near his grandmother as she knitted pensively. “My, my,” she said, “You have gotten taller!” He wiggled in his seat. “What are you making, grandmother?” She showed him. “I am knitting a scarf for you, my dear.” “Why do you sew?” She clucked her tongue […]
They say we can expect to live about 70-80 years. Perhaps our generation can expect to hit 100 years. You spend your younger ages just learning. Exploring the world. Finding yourself in this vast universe. Sometime during this time you recognize the importance of death, but so what? It’s far away. You have at least […]
“How is th̩̮͇̞̰̫̭e̳͈͈ subject?” the head scientist addressed at the member sitting to his right, as he gazed at the jar residing in the center of the round table. “Sitting, apparently,” answered the assistant as he consulted the images on his tablet. He frowned, twiddled a few buttons, and then muttered, “Is something wrong with […]
Monadic Storytelling 