Tag: Short Stories

Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan could have been just another escape story. But I think it’s a bit more.

Review – Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan

I wrote this story during second quarter 2021. This was a year when I was writing every day, and I started the year off with various short stories. These were mainly from one-word prompts I wrote myself. For this particular story, the prompt word was X-axis.

Background

The vast, vast majority of the short stories from 2021 had no outline. There was no background, and no plan. I was flying by the seat of my pants.

But then again, so were the characters.

Plot

When four humans escape from a Ziranqui forced work camp, they do so in a stolen alien craft. They don’t understand the written language, and the instruments are unfamiliar.

And, they don’t even know how to point the craft toward Earth. But at least they’re free.

And then, they come across a planet…

Characters

The human characters are Chris Delaney, Lana Marshall, Zach Peyton, and Gail Aronovich. Tronian characters include White Wing, Golden Beak, Gray Down, Bright Plumes, and Gentle Whisper. If you haven’t guessed it by now, the Tronians are birdlike.

The story is from Lana’s point of view.

Memorable Quotes from Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan

Outer space is three dimensional. If you really want to get technical, all space is. But driving along on a country road on Earth, even if the road goes up and down in altitude, all you really need to know are two dimensions. Horizontal, the x-axis. And vertical, the y-axis. All the myriad variations on that particular theme are our directions. West, east, north, and south.

But space has more up and down, no matter what your garden variety science fiction show might lead you to believe. The familiar compass rosette goes in all directions, almost like a dandelion that’s gone to seed.

And so, our breakout from the forced labor camp is an extraordinary thing. I won’t deny that. But Delaney really has no idea where we’re going. I would tell him to pull over and ask directions, but I doubt speaking the right language for asking is possible. Or anyone knowing directions, anyway.

Or even effectively and semi-safely pulling over, for that matter. I’m sure he really doesn’t know how to fly this thing. We could be flying the alien version of going backward, and we would never know.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t blame Delaney, and I don’t mean to sound so critical. He got us out of the camp, and that was truly amazing all by itself. We all owe him a debt of gratitude. We all owe him our lives. But never has the expression ‘going from the frying pan to the fire’ ever been more apropos.

Rating

The story has a K+ rating. The characters have just gotten out of a horrible place. But they don’t really talk about it all that much.

Takeaways for Out of the Work Camp Frying Pan

One rather subtle bit is a callback to another short story I wrote in 2024, Alix’s Apocalypse.

When Gail mentions the Earth being hit with a ‘poisoned radiation beam’, it’s the exact same weapon which hits the planet in Alix’s Apocalypse. I like to think of them as being in the same universe and timeline.

Maybe Chris, Lana, and the others can come back and save Alix in some possible future sequel? I currently have no intention of writing a sequel. But never say never!

And as for the bad guys, the Ziranqui? I’ve used them in a few different stories, and I do believe they will show up in the third Obolonk trilogy as well.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then check out my other articles about my shorter works.

Want more stories featuring the Ziranqui? Then be sure to check out:

• A School for Scavengers
† Alix’s Apocalypse
• Message in an Odd Bottle
† Nuremberg Redux

Short Stories

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

I like Frozen Assets, as it’s a latter-day crime adventure, with a twist or two. In some parts, it’s almost like a caper story. Plus, I bet there are people who have really thought of doing this.

Certainly, after the killing of CEO Brian Thompson of United Healthcare, it’s obvious that a lot of people take exception to America’s current healthcare system and insurance coverage in general.

Review – Frozen Assets

I wrote this story during third quarter 2021. This was a year when I was writing every single day.

Background

Medical bills are outrageous in the United States. And what’s more expensive than organ transplants? But what if, somehow, that could change?

And would you help change it if it turned out the means were less than legal?

Note: I wrote this story long before Brian Thompson’s murder.

Plot of Frozen Assets

Grace and Theo stare down bankruptcy when Grace’s mother dies, leaving them with nearly a million dollars in unpaid medical bills. Complicating matters is the fact that Grace’s mother sometimes used her daughter’s insurance card, and Grace and Theo cosigned on the bills.

This means the debt survives even though Dottie did not. And it’s bills for procedures and transport like a transplant and a Medevac (medical evacuation via helicopter). That is some really big bucks, right there.

As they consider their next financial moves, Theo and Grace realize the solution to their financial issues is staring them right in the face: harvesting organs and selling them on the black market.

And that’s when the fun begins.

Characters

The characters are Grace (the story is from her point of view) and Theo Barton, retired doctor Max Schulman, Max’s daughter Laurie Drew, Robbie Drew, Gina Chun, and Max’s friends, Ben, Louie, Ken, and Harry.

Oh, and a winning Standardbred sulky horse named Alaskan Holiday.

Memorable Quotes

Laurie folded her arms. “He needs to nap.”

“Can we wait?” asked Theo.

“No. He’s got to nap now.”

Max’s shuffle had become unmistakable in the months they’d been getting together—and Grace could hear it.

So, why are you protesting all of a sudden?

And then Grace knew.

The holidays are coming up. And I bet you’re lonely.

“Laurie, would you like to come with us?” Grace blurted out as Max arrived.

Theo glanced over at his wife. Grace tugged on her right earlobe. It was an old signal they’d agreed upon decades ago. It meant tell you later. Theo nodded once.

“I’m sure Laurie would find our meetings dull,” said Max.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Laurie said. “Why don’t you let me judge for myself?”

“Er, okay,” said Theo. “Do you want to ride in our car, or should we take two?”

“Two, I would say.” Laurie looked at her father. “You need a sweater.”

“Bet you do, too,” Max said.

When they were in their car and had started driving, Theo turned to Grace and asked, “Why’d you invite her along?”

Grace put on her turn signal. “She won’t be happy until she can check us out. All we have to do is make the whole thing incredibly boring to her—but harmless.”

“So, we’ll be talking about the weather?” He snapped his fingers. “And we can discuss the finer points of the Designated Hitter rule.”

“Don’t make it so boring that even Max will be done with us.”

“I’m a retired accountant. I’m professionally boring.”

Rating

The story has a K+ rating. While nothing violent happens onscreen, there are a number of illegalities. And… you don’t want to know what’s in the ice cream truck.

Takeaways for Frozen Assets

The price of organ transplants and the existence of a black market are both very real issues these days. And while I don’t recommend a life of crime, something’s got to give.

Review – A School for Scavengers

Here’s where art imitates life. For I wrote A School for Scavengers while I was working part-time for an educational technology (edtech) company called Lexia.

I wrote this story during third quarter 2024. This is a quarter when I was writing every day.

Background

I had created the Ziranqui before and felt there could be more occasions to use them. This story turned out to be perfect for them. And I will most likely use the Ziranqui again!

Right now, they are serving as my pet bad guys.

The title is a reference to the Richard Sheridan book, The School for Scandal.

Plot for A School for Scavengers

After a devastating alien germ warfare attack that takes out nearly all of the adults, untrained Ava takes up the daunting task of teaching the surviving children around her how to read.

Characters

The characters are Ava Hillman, Randy, Troy, Tina, Frankie, Christy, Debby, and Sally. Eventually, I add a character named Jake. Ava is the main character, and I tell the story from her perspective.

I named Ava after my first grade teacher, Mrs. Hillman. Apparently, her first name was Marjorie. She also drew a picture of a bump and a stick figure to illustrate her name for the kids who couldn’t yet read.

That was … a while ago.

But back to Ava. She’s only alive because she was in a special program. But other adults were not so lucky.

Memorable Quotes

“Yeah, I guess it was. But let me get back to what was going on just before the Ziranqui arrived. See, we had ways of communicating over vast distances. Before anyone asks how we how that works, my answer is: I haven’t the foggiest.”

“Why don’t we have these things now?” asked Christy.

“Blame the war,” said Ava. “All the stuff needed to keep that stuff going? It just fell apart.”

“Will it ever go back to the way it was?” asked Sally.

“I don’t know. I hope we can at least get some of it back.” God knows I would love for there to be electricity again before I die.

“You were talking about these communications things,” said Troy.

“Yes. Well, even from outer space, the Ziranqui could hear a lot of the signals we were broadcasting. So, they started to manipulate it. And, in turn, they started to manipulate us. They did so by spreading what’s called misinformation. They cause one country to think another one was going to attack them. They did that a lot. So, a lot of countries went to war.”

“Why did they do that?” asked Sally.

“They did it because, fundamentally, the Ziranqui are lazy. They didn’t want to have to trouble themselves with conquering us if they could have us take care of the first third to half of our destruction all by ourselves.”

Rating

The story has a K rating. While it is post-Apocalyptic, the characters are all decent people. Ava swears maybe one time.

Takeaways for A School for Scavengers

This one has two possible endings. It’s really whether you want to end with something downbeat, or with something more positive. Frankly, while I’m a sucker for a happy ending, I think the downbeat ending is better.

The happier ending is a bit more tacked-on, I feel.

Review – A Chance Encounter in Time

One of the more notable things about A Chance Encounter in Time is that it represents the first appearance of character Sharon Ensley. I grew to really like Sharon, and would love to create a series for her.

And, so far, I’ve got this one, 1960s Temporal Crimes, and …And the Walls Came Tumbling Down Again. Not bad for what was originally a throwaway character.

I wrote this short story during second quarter 2021. This was a year when I was writing every single day until November, when I switched over to NaNoWriMo.

Background

While I was not exactly looking for another way to use the Obolonk universe, it almost chose me. So, in a way, this story is a way to find other uses for that universe. After all, that universe is far too well-developed to just forget about it.

I also was not necessarily looking to write a story about the West Islip Public Library, but here we are anyway. With my mother’s death in 2023, any writing about WIPL is kind of special. It was her last employer.

Plot

Time traveler Sharon Ensley seems to be stuck in August of 2001 when her temporal disc cracks. But when she meets Tim Parker and he offers to try to solder her disc back together, the two start to work together.

But then Sharon uncovers a major change to the timeline which is clear proof that someone has tampered with the events of 9/11.

Characters

The major human characters are Sharon Ensley and Tim Parker. There are some more minor human characters who are Sharon’s colleagues. But the only one with any real screen time is Marlon. I may end up changing him anyway, to dovetail better with …Walls. We’ll see.

Obolonk characters are They Say This One is Very Efficient (her assistant) and They Say This One Holds Time Close. The latter runs the time travel organization. Again, this will likely be changed as I prefer Victoria Chilton from …Walls.

Sharon mentions a temporal sensitive like Josie James, but never identifies that person.

Memorable Quotes {Sharon Explains Hawhoa to Tim}

“The disc creates the field after I give it a command. And then away we go. But no matter what, I should tell you about Hawhoa.”

“Ha-what?”

Sharon smiled for a second. “We don’t use pure water anymore, not really. We use Hawhoa.”

“Use?”

“Yeah—to drink, bathe, flush, water the plants, you name it.”

“But don’t we need water to survive?”

“We sure do. But see, there’s a ton of space in atoms. And…”

“Excuse me? Aren’t atoms really tiny?”

“Yep. But there’s empty space in them. Hawhoa takes the two hydrogen atoms and the one oxygen atom in regular water, and it crushes everything together slightly.”

“How slightly are we talking about?”

“Smaller than bacterial flagella. To use the technical term, teeny weeny.”

“Technical, heh. Why is that done in the first place?”

“The very slight increase in density makes it possible to use fewer water molecules to accomplish whatever you want to do, like wash your socks.”

“Wait, so this is a form of recycling?”

“More like cutting waste, but yeah. It makes it possible for more people to live in one space or another.”

“So, the future is crowded?”

“Yep. And Hawhoa is a bit more viscous than regular water. Don’t want you to try to take a shower and think it’s just clear jelly coming out of the showerhead.”

Rating

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways

I really love some of the inventions that I came up with to move this story along, including multiphasic glyphs, Hawhoa (pronounced hey-whoa), and the Sapient Timeline Theory.

Oh, and Carter Bando’s Rules of Time Travel. There are also a transportation disc (I also call it a temporal disk), a utility disk, and an information disc.

The transportation disc is fitted with a semi-living organism that helps to direct time travel. In a way, it ends up giving more depth to the time travel technology which I showcase in Time Addicts.

Since Sharon is from a lot later than Josie (I may change that), it makes sense that the tech would change.

I like Sharon a lot and this is a great story to use as a springboard to maybe an entire series about her. We’ll see.

But the Obolonk universe is a mighty big tent. It would be a shame to waste it.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If the story of Sharon Ensley collaborating with a 2001 native resonates with you, then check out my other articles about my shorter works.

• 1960s Temporal Crimes
† … And the Walls Came Tumbling Down Again

Short Stories

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

Review – A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults

In the quest to write the ultimate ‘fish out of water’ story, I wrote A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults.

I wrote this story during second quarter 2024. This was a quarter when I was writing every single day.

Background

I love the idea of someone just kind of being tossed into an odd situation not of their own making. Because that is precisely what happens to both Flora and Thomas.

Plot of A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults

When Flora Levy receives her inheritance, it’s just a stack of books. But one of them is Fairy Tales for the Skeptical Adult.

And when she starts to read the book out loud, a sudden crash alerts her to the fact that this has somehow summoned a character from the book.

Can a modern woman and a character from a book fix problems in two very separate worlds?

Characters

The human characters include Flora Levy, Florence Levy (her great-grandmother), Prince Thomas, King Richard, Queen Catherine, and Constance Selene. Animal characters include Auburn, Robert, Brownie, Quicksilver, and Swift.

Much like a lot of other fantasy tales, the animals talk. And to make them a bit like I suppose the Disney version of Cinderella, the animals even help out. Therefore, you see Auburn (a red fox) arranging Flora’s hair for a banquet. Robert the mouse is a scribe and does calligraphy.

In fact, the animals are considerably more trustworthy than a lot of the humans turn out to be. #spoileralert

Memorable Quotes

Flora cautiously crept toward the source of the crash. It was the next room—the Victorian house had a lot of small rooms—a place where she grew plants, both flowers and some vegetables.

She turned the corner in the small hallway and came face to face with the source of the crash. It was a man of perhaps forty, wearing breeches, stockings, brogans, and a brocaded cloak over a cambric shirt.

The two of them stared at each other for a few moments, open-mouthed. The intruder was… different.

You make no sense. Finally, she found her voice and, absurdly, brandished the thermos. “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my house?”

“I, I,” he began, in an upper class British accent, “I’m the man of your dreams.”

Say what? “Buddy, you have no idea what is in my dreams.”

“I, I still am. It is I, your, your dream.”

“I’m not interested in some reject from a Renfest. And how the hell did you get into my house in the first place?”

Rating

The story has a K rating. Seriously, it’s a fairy tale, folks. Even though it’s technically for grown-ups, the language is tame. And the

Takeaways for A Fairy Tale for Skeptical Adults

I am not so thrilled with how I ended this one. It just kind of runs out of gas. But apart from that, I believe it works pretty well. Flora starts out a little like Sandra Bullock at the start of The Net. That is, she’s essentially alone.

I do like that this is one of the things that changes about her. But it’s not necessarily what a reader would expect.

Want More of my Short Stories and Novellas?

If this story resonates with you, then please check out my other blog posts about my shorter works.

Short Stories

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

Review – A Show for the Galaxy

A Show for the Galaxy takes place now or in the somewhat near future. When aliens challenge us, we expect a fight with soldiers, bombs, and guns.

But that’s not what the aliens have in mind at all.

I wrote this story during second quarter 2021. This was a year when I was writing every day, even when it wasn’t November.

Background

The Earth has two choices. Either participate in an interstellar arts competition, or lose an opportunity to join a huge intergalactic alliance. While it would not necessarily mean the end of the world, self-destruction would be inevitable without interstellar friendship.

Essentially, the fate of the world is going to be decided just like American Idol.

Plot

When the story opens, Charlotte (the narrator) describes the stakes and the production. A number of actors and behind the scenes people are chosen to represent the Earth in stagecraft.

There are other arts to represent the Earth, like sculpture and weaving. But the story is only concerned with treading the boards.

When the troupe is cut off from the grid, the cast falls into despair. They have no scripts! But then Charlotte pulls out her secret weapon—a small volume of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which she always carries around for luck.

Charlotte has gravitas. She was already a retiree when the alien challengers chose her. And so, she ends up in a director-type role. But it’s also because she has the script.

Characters

The characters start with narrator Charlotte, who is playing Portia. The man playing Brutus is Chase Marquis, who was born Chuck McKay. Charlotte finds him attractive, but she keeps her hands to herself. After all, he’s young enough to be her son.

And, of course, there are the other people in the production and those who work behind the scenes. Plus, there are people who represent other arts on our planet. But Charlotte never names them.

There’s also President Menosky, although we only see him at the very end.

Memorable Quotes

All the others are far younger than I am. And—horrors!—we were cut off from the grid.

With no way to access scripts, my fellow thespians started to panic. That is, until I pulled out my secret weapon.

See, it was a gift from when I first started out. My acting teacher gave it to me. Now I realize she was probably hitting on me. But no mind. I kept it because I’ve always loved this play. And now, it’s the only game in town.

I’ve got a paper book. It’s Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. And thank God we can create an entire production around this little, humble book.

I was in several productions, and I’ve always played Portia, so of course I am playing her again. My Brutus is an afternoon snack of a man—Chase Marquis. Or, as he was born, Chuck McKay.

I’ve taken on a kind of director role; and thank God they all listen to me. We’ll put on the best and greatest production of Julius Caesar in the history of whatever.

Or we’ll die trying.

Rating for A Show for the Galaxy

The story has a K rating.

Takeaways for A Show for the Galaxy

I originally start to write Charlotte as almost a cougar. But then I decided she would drop anything frivolous and just concentrate on helping the troupe save the planet.

This story isn’t even 1500 words long, yet I feel it accomplishes its objective handily. I really should query this one!