Tag: Short Stories

It is Time to Look at Rescued

I have rescued this story from its draft, but it could stand to be longer. However, with its original prompt word, it seems like a relatively ideal story for this posting date, Xmas of 2025.

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2021.

Background for Rescued

The original prompt was the word salvation.

Much like with the longer and better thought-out Mandy Goes to Aspen, this story is about a rather snarky woman who has to be rescued from a catastrophe.

But Samantha and Mandy end up with somewhat different fish to fry.

Plot for Rescued

Samantha is buried under rubble somewhere in Arizona, thinking that there has been some sort of an earthquake. As her calls for help turn to whispers amidst the dust and debris, she hears a bark and sees a person in full protective gear come to save her.

While things should have been looking up for her, the rescuer lets her in on what happened. It was a terror attack.

Characters

The characters are the victim Samantha, her rescuer and his dog, a few medical personnel, and a liaison named Joyce Chang who helps to give some helpful exposition.

Memorable Quotes

“Save me! Save me!” I screamed with all my might. Which … wasn’t much. But you try screaming after climbing through earthquake rubble some time and see how you do.

The only response was the sound of something falling down, and then the tinkling of breaking glass.

I bet I moved too much stuff. Shit, that might’ve been a really stupid idea.

And you were just going to hang around a bunch of mismatched body parts?

Samantha, you’ve gotta be joking. Or mental. Or both.

I never knew this area got earthquakes. Scorpions? Check. Hot weather? Check. Retirement communities by the billion? Check. But earthquakes? Arizona does not get earthquakes. Until now, I guess.

Every breath I draw, I smell dust. Thank God, no gas or ash. But it’s bad enough. I can’t stay here. “Help! Help me, please!”

Sheesh, that sounded like whining.

Oh, c’mon, you honestly think anyone would blame you for whining?

Genre and Overall Mood for Rescued

The genre is contemporary fiction/disaster epic. The mood is grim and concerning, despite Samantha joking with herself about her predicament. Because there is a very real chance that she will not survive the attack.

Rating

The story has a K+ rating. There is very little salty language, but if you had just had a building fall on you, you would be spouting off some pretty salty language yourself.

Takeaways for Rescued

I kind of like where this one was going, and so it feels rather incomplete. To this day, I have no idea who attacked, or why they attacked Arizona, of all places.

Even I do not know if Samantha makes it. And whenever I feel I want to find out whether she did, I suppose I will finish this one. And then it can be rescued from the world of literary fragments.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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Let’s Look at AM/FM Ghosts

The idea behind AM/FM Ghosts is pretty interesting, but very short. It’s just one page long! It would be better with some more detail, although I am not so sure how I could expand it.

Although I bet it would be kind of fun to try. Hmm.

I wrote this story during the first quarter of 2018.

Background

I do not believe there was an actual prompt word for this one. Although if there was, it may have been the word ghosts. But I don’t honestly know, and it hardly matters right now, anyway.

The Plot of AM/FM Ghosts

This story is barely a plot-driven tale and more like a vignette.

The narrator complains about the demons infesting her radio station, which was supposed to help fund her retirement. In particular, they are replacing the classic new wave and punk music with—horrors!—easy listening.

Characters in AM/FM Ghosts

The characters are the unnamed narrator and the anonymous demons possessing an old radio station.

Memorable Quotes from AM/FM Ghosts

When I purchased this radio station, I was looking for a sound investment for my retirement. Plus I wanted a little soapboxing. Nobody plays Elvis Costello anymore, or so it seems. Hence I bought a station so I could hear what I wanted to hear.

Nobody told me it came complete with a phalanx of demons.

Sure, sure, I suppose it’s my punishment for some transgression or another in my past. But whatever it is, haven’t I done enough penance by now?

It was all fun and games when the ghosts would shuffle the tunes, or occasionally start a song before a commercial was over. But seriously, I am losing money on this. You spirits are going to have to knock it off before I lose my shirt here.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is fantasy. The mood is mainly playful and humorous.

Rating for AM/FM Ghosts

The story has a K rating. The demons are more jerks than scary, and the narrator is more exasperated than anything else.

Takeaways

I think the idea of a haunted radio station is pretty nifty. And one of these days, maybe I will have the time and the ideas and wherewithal to expand this one into the kind of story it always should have been.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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It is Time to Look at Breakout… and Then What?

For this short story about a breakout from an alien prison, I harkened back to some old World War II prison break films. And, I got to thinking about the mechanics of it. Consider this: unlike in the Second World War, there is no one who is sympathetic, willing to hide you.

There is no way for you to truly blend in with the rest of the populace, even if you speak their language fluently. And it would be hard to appeal to someone’s sense of kinship or decency.

After all, at this stage in human development, what sort of kinship could we possibly ever have with an alien race?

I wrote this story during the first quarter of 2021.

Background for Breakout… and Then What?

Prison break films, regardless of when they were made, tend to follow a relatively set formula. A person is imprisoned, often unjustly. In order to get out, they nearly always tunnel. This means taking care of certain necessities such as getting rid of a lot of dirt.

Once they are out, if they can, they do whatever is possible to blend in with the people in the closest town. This is done with varying degrees of success. Plus, the escapee(s) are hunted by their captors. Recapture and return (if those things happen at all) is not always on screen.

A few exceptions to this formula are Victory, a Sly Stallone film, where he and his comrades escape after a soccer game. Another is Stalag 17, where the escapees get out via wire cutters.

So, I had a framework already in place.

The original plot word was peninsula.

Plot for Breakout… and Then What?

Apart from the difficulty of being able to blend in, my characters would have a number of strikes against them. This meant that the time covered is rather long, much like in The Shawshank Redemption.

But I started with a simple premise that the main character would be in a prison. But they will have been told a lie. Uncovering this lie and understanding how to use this information, is most of the plot.

Characters

The characters are the unnamed narrator and her cellmate, Terri. There are various guards, but she only refers to them obliquely.

Memorable Quotes for the Breakout

When I was brought here, I was told this place was an island, and there could be no escape from it.

Well, being a skeptical sort of person, I did whatever I could to see the other side of the wall. I tunneled when I could. And I also set myself up to be a model prisoner. Eventually, the warden allowed me to be a trustee. I could go to the nearby town and work for a pittance at some miserable job or another.

The people there speak an utterly unfamiliar tongue. They aren’t even human, so I can’t hide among them. At least, not in plain sight. But I’ve got eyes and ears, and so I’ve taken to learning as much as I can of their language, culture, and gestures.

I’ve said nothing to any of my fellow human prisoners. You never know who might turn informant.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is science fiction prison break. The mood is cautiously optimistic, particularly at the end.

Breakout the Rating

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways for Breakout …and Then What?

I like the way this one turned out, for the most part. But right now, it just feels very unfinished. So, maybe I will pick it up again. In particular, if I shoehorn it into the Ziranqui war universe, then I will need to add more detail.

A lot more detail. Because someone will be asking, then what happened next? I would need to be able to answer that, ya think?

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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Let’s Look at Rivalry

Sibling rivalry shows up a lot in my fiction, in particular my shorter fiction. But in this short story, that fact of life for so many of us takes a deadly center stage.

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2021.

Background for Rivalry

The original prompt word was just the word that became the title.

Plot for Rivalry

As the narrator talks about her sister to…someone, it becomes clear very quickly that the sibling rivalry they shared was a lot worse than it is for the vast majority of people.

But who is the narrator talking to? Quite possibly, the audience of one is the spiritual leader who will be giving the narrator their last rites (or the equivalent thereof) just prior to the narrator’s execution.

Yeah, it’s like that.

Characters in Rivalry

The characters are just the narrator, talking about her sister.

Memorable Quotes

My sister and I never agreed on anything but where we would sit in the family car. I was always on the left. I don’t even know why anymore. I would ask her, but she’s dead.

But back to our childhood. Since we were always on our own respective sides, we would inevitably end up with impressions which differed. Differed is way too nice a word for it. Clashed. I mean clashed.

When we went to the zoo, she was the one who got to see the side with the dolphins. But I never did. It was one of those drive through places, you see. And the zoo doesn’t allow you to double back. It’s all one way.

I didn’t know there were any dolphins there until I grew up. Then again, she never knew there were any gorillas. If I had known, I would have traded gorillas for dolphins, every single time. Ah, well.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is contemporary fiction. The mood is fairly sedate until the ending, when the bottom just completely drops out. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Rating

The story has a T rating. While the vast, vast majority of this little story is almost wholesome, it does end with quite the bang.

Takeaways

While I tend to pride myself on creating original characters who I hope are as real to you as they are to me, the narrator is not based on anyone I know.

And although my brother and I engaged in our version of sibling rivalry, I never felt this way about him.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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It is Time to Look at Quarrel

Right about now, Quarrel seems quaint, like a vestige of a time, not so long ago, when the differences between right and left in the United States were more like arguments than existential issues.

Oh, how innocent we all were then.

I wrote this story during the third quarter of 2021.

Background

The original prompt word was just the word that became the title. Of course, I needed a good Q word. And as Q words go, this prompt word is a rather good one.

And while this story is still more of a fragment than anything else, it is a far more complete fragment than works such as Verity and Quartz.

Why Quarrel with the Plot?

Almost ripped from the headlines, the plot is essentially of a MAGA true believer screaming at his Congresswoman and her aide. I took a lot of the plot from the very real news story of Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan being threatened by MAGA protesters.

Characters

The characters are Lucy, Rep Mansfield, and a nameless hunter.

Memorable Quarrel Quotes

“We elected you!” The man wore hunting clothes, including an orange vest and a red trucker’s cap that just said MAGA.

“Yes, you did. And my boss appreciates it very much.” Lucy pulled her mask more fully around her face.

“But you still ain’t gonna change nothing. And Rep Mansfield can speak for herself, I bet.”

Rep Mansfield adjusted her own mask, which perfectly matched her gray power suit. “Of course I can. Mr…?”

“Never mind that,” snapped the hunter. “First you locked us down. Then ya closed the schools. Then you made everyone wear masks like we was in I-rack or something. And now you wanna let my boss make me get a shot? And my kids gotta get one to go back to school?”

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is contemporary fiction. The mood is tense and disturbing. Much the way real life was at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rating for Quarrel

The story has a K+ rating. While the language is exceedingly tame, the implications are that Rep Mansfield and Lucy and perhaps everyone in the building are in very real danger.

Takeaways

The real life incident with Governor Whitmer was disturbing enough. And then came January 6th, which made that almost seem pedestrian. And now, we have a lot more going on.

But if anyone thinks what Lucy does at the end is unrealistic, you have got another think coming.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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It is Time to Look at Verity

Verity means just about the same thing as honesty or truth. And I am certain that one of the reasons this story was written at all was that I needed a prompt starting with the letter V.

And that, as such, is not the greatest reason in the world for writing a story. Yet here we are, heh.

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2021.

Background for Verity

The original prompt word was just the word that became the title. And given the brevity of this short story, I suspect it was a word I chose because it started with a difficult letter than for any other reason.

Which, just like with Quartz, tends to result in a fragment as opposed to an actual, full-blown short story.

Plot

There is very little plot in here. The narrator is really just talking about what happened recently. But who would they be speaking to, anyway? For, presumably, just about every single person on Earth would know what had been going on.

They would have all been rather personally and directly affected. Which means that I should most likely make it a lot clearer that this fragment of a story, really, is more like a recording for posterity than anything else.

Characters in Verity

The only character is the unnamed narrator.

Memorable Quotes from Verity

If the first casualty of war is always the truth, then the second is bravery.

Sure, we all talk a good game. And people may end up trying to do the right thing and show courage and all that. But they’re terrified. We’re all terrified.

The invading army seemed like a joke at first. They’re smaller than we are. And they’re invertebrates. How could what are essentially midget alien squid ever pose a threat to humans? Oh, but they could, and they did, and they still can and do.

Genre and Overall Mood in Verity

The genre is science fiction. The mood is grim.

Rating

The story has a K rating. Even with a grim and nasty scenario, everyone’s language is clean enough for a church picnic.

Takeaways for Verity

You know, for a story which was ostensibly about the truth, I am not so sure that I ever actually made it clear as to what was truthful or untruthful in this particular society.

Er, ewps?

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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It is Time to Look at In the Direction of Prejudice

I think the idea behind In the Direction of Prejudice is a fairly decent one. But I am not so certain as to whether I executed it too terribly well.

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2021.

Background

The original prompt was the word Easterling. And I am pretty sure that I have never actually said what the people of this society even look like. Because they are not necessarily human.

The idea behind this short story is that prejudice in real life can sometimes seem almost random. After all, humans may shun people who have darker skin tones than they do.

But at the same time, they may see similar people with tans and think—that is attractive. Or normal, or even beautiful.

And if you stop to think about that for more than a few seconds, you should come to realize: damn, that is nuts.

Here, the absurdity is nearly taken to the nth degree, where the direction of prejudice is essentially any way but east.

Plot for In the Direction of Prejudice

When a young girl living in a dictatorship does not spout the official party line as quickly as her teacher would prefer (and that their society requires), the girl is forced to explain why people like her are seen as being superior to others—even as she questions whether this is really the truth.

Characters

The characters are Elena, Ronald, Miss Maron, and the other students in the class. But it is just the first three who have any screen time or lines.

Memorable Quotes

“Why don’t you stand in front of the class and tell us all about Easterling Day?”

Elena was torn. Public speaking wasn’t exactly her strong suit. But everyone knew all about Easterling Day, anyway. The talk would require virtually no preparation whatsoever. She got up and stood in front of the blackboard. “Easterling Day…”

“I can’t hear you!” yelled a boy sitting in the back.

“Ronald, one more outburst out of you, and you’re going straight to the principal’s office,” said Miss Maron. “Go on, Elena.”

“Yes, well, Easterling Day is the world’s biggest and most important celebration. This isn’t even a true school day. Today’s only subject is Easterling Day, and then we get out at noon for the big parade and the pledge.”

“Right, yes. And what does Easterling Day commemorate?” asked the teacher.

“We defeated the Westerlings, the Northlings, and the Southlings.”

Genre and Overall Mood for In the Direction of Prejudice

The genre is science fiction dystopian with something of a youth fiction overlay. The mood is mixed, with a rather depressing start but a semi-hopeful ending.

Rating

The story has a K+ rating. Elena and Ronald live in a dictatorship, and that is none too pleasant, even though their language and actions are pretty tame.

Takeaways

I like the feeling and idea of this one, and it could stand to get some expansion. That might succeed in giving it a vibe similar to the far superior Darkness into Light.

For the direction of prejudice for these characters is very nearly completely, utterly random in nature.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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Let’s Look at Freshly Baked Bread

Now, I enjoy freshly baked bread about as much as, well, anyone does, I suppose. But I really only get the enjoy it the same way the narrator of this short story does—by making it in a bread machine.

I wrote this story during the third quarter of 2018.

Background

I suspect that the prompt word for this short story was simply the word bread. But I will be the first to admit that I cannot be certain. Ah, well.

Plot for Freshly Baked Bread

The narrator, a young girl from Appalachia, comes from a family where the father does not trust the government at all. She and her parents live in a small cabin with a dirt floor and no running water or electricity.

With a belief system and a mistrust of the government a lot like the Branch Davidians, her parents make it clear: schooling is of the devil and reading is useless because the only things to read are sad and upsetting.

But the narrator, while she doesn’t necessarily know better, feels that her life could be different.

When she sees other children in the area going to an unfamiliar building, she joins in one day. Although she does make sure that her parents don’t know what she’s trying to do, or where she’s going.

Since the school is essentially a modern version of a one-room schoolhouse, the teacher can advance her from grade to grade without anyone getting too suspicious. There’s no place for the normal bureaucracy that goes along with enrolling a child in school, so that’s not an issue.

Which I realize is unrealistic, of course. Normally, I would fix this by simply changing the story to an earlier time in history.

However, I don’t want to do that because I would lose the idea of a bread machine, and I would lose the enormous gulf in the narrator’s circumstances between her and the rest of us.

After all, there are photographs that came out of Appalachia during the Great Depression which showed people in her exact, same circumstances. And I don’t want to lose the contrast.

Characters

The only real character is the unnamed narrator, who talks about her family and what happened after she could finally get herself out of a horrible situation.

Memorable Quotes

I suppose for some people it’s their earliest memory or it’s one of the early ones. It’s a homey smell, with the promise of something rich yet light and wholesome. It’s like the smell of incipient satisfaction. And I have never smelled it, until now. But I’ll start from the beginning.

We were poor growing up. Not the genteel poverty of quietly selling off the family jewelry. It also wasn’t the reckless maxing out of credit cards and then robbing Peter to pay Paul and sweet-talking collection agencies to keep them from repossessing the car.

It was different. I grew up in the mountains. There are still some homes without electricity or indoor plumbing. I know because I was brought up in one.

We ate wild game on the good days. On the bad ones, we would forages or make do with whatever was on the already-bare pantry shelves. My father didn’t believe in charity or government handouts, so we got neither. He would rather starve, and so that extended to us, that he would rather see us starve than take a handout.

At least I was an only child. That was most likely the sole bit of good luck my family has ever seen.

When I was six, I realized some nearby children would go someplace during the day. I asked my mother about it, and she said I shouldn’t talk about it anymore. Schools are of the devil, she said, and reading never did anyone any good because the only things to read were sad and painful things.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is contemporary fiction. The mood goes from a recounting of particularly hard times to becoming rather hopeful by the end. And if you’ve ever, personally, baked bread, you might see a parallel to disparate moments (ingredients, if you will) coming together at the end.

Rating

The story has a K rating. While her circumstances are hard, and she is hit on occasion, I hope the reader can see that her story is moving in a positive direction, and she ends up more than all right.

Takeaways (Let’s Take that Freshly Baked Bread Out of the Oven)

I’m not so certain that I want this character to be yet another genius. But she may very well not be one.

More likely, she’s just some student, but she had to overcome incredible odds. She is the kind of person who should gain admittance to a truly great university, based on her resilience alone.

Frankly, as I have reread this story for the writing of this blog post, I have begun to wonder a few things. Like if she might merit her own actual book. Hmm.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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It is Time to Look at Zeugma

A zeugma is when you use a word in two different manners in the same sentence or paragraph. It is often intended to be funny and clever.

I wrote this story during the second quarter of 2021. I had never before heard of this term used in language. And the word and the story mainly exist because I needed a prompt word starting with the letter Z.

But unlike a lot of my other short stories from 2018 and 2021 where I had to fit in a prompt word somehow, some way, I think this one turned out fairly well.

Background

The original prompt word was just the word that became the title. And then, of course, I had to look it up.

In addition, this story has a language device which I have used before, and I love. That is, that alien names are tough for us, so the program gives us human-sounding (English or French or Hebrew, etc. as necessary) words instead. Hence, students have names like Arrow and Key.

I also used this idea in The New Kid.

A Zeugma of a Plot

There is very little plot here. The main thing that happens is that the teacher imparts wisdom to students who just so happen to not be human.

But the truth is, without the descriptions of the alien students, this lesson could have been taught in virtually any regular classroom from Boston to Brisbane.

Characters in Zeugma

The characters are Marta (the teacher), and aliens, including ones named Dahlia, Brownie, Arrow, and Key.

Memorable Quotes

“Class!” Marta called out. “Today, we’re going to learn about a rather odd part of human speech.”

The class clicked or squawked once they heard that. Alien communication organs—not always what anyone would refer to as a mouth—couldn’t always make sounds understood by humans. Translation devices were a common and necessary fact of life. But the vagaries of human syntax and expression were important. Marta’s job was to teach that.

“Teacher?” asked a mechanical voice associated with a feathered alien in the front row.

“Yes, Dahlia?” Alien names were hard for humans—as hard as human names often were for aliens. Translations and transliterations had to suffice.

“Is this part of human speech common?”

“That’s a very good question. And, in point of fact, it’s not. It’s not too far off from our unit on puns.”

“Oh, yeah,” said a mechanical voice on the right side of the room, belonging to a tall, thin insectoid alien. “Like when you said a human might refer to fourteen carats when they mean a diamond or other precious gem, but another human might take that to mean vegetables.”

“Precisely, Arrow. The zeugma is so strange that I suspect most humans don’t know what it’s called when they use it,” said Marta.

Genre and Overall Mood

The genre is science fiction/school story. The mood is educational and a bit playful. Or, to use a zeugma, it is a bunch of bits of writing and computer memory.

Rating for Zeugma

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways

I like the idea behind this one. I have covered these kinds of classrooms before, where a human teacher is trying to impart the subtleties of our society to a room full of aliens who may or may not ever get it.

I like the idea enough that I would probably do well to compile some of them and write something longer.

Hmm.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then I hope you will check out some of my other blog posts about my shorter works.

And finally, for a complete list of my shorter works, please be sure to check out the Hub Page—Short Stories.

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