July, 2012 Archives

17
Jul

Honors Bestowed

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

When the bandit chief Harper Caine invaded the capital, he was met with the torrential might of the King’s Watch. After he quickly dispatched the watchmen, the King’s ministers unanimously called for negotiation.

It was decided they would offer Harper Caine lordship over the King’s peach orchards.

“Why would I agree to such a settlement?” asked Harper Caine.

“Because tending to the King’s peaches is considered the greatest honor in all the lands and comes with a salary of 1,000 gold bars.”

“I agree to those terms.”

It was many years before Harper Caine realized the King cared nothing for peaches.

16
Jul

God Save The Stars And Stripes

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

These are patriotic times and they call for patriotic men and women.

The Vexillologists always were zealous in their dogma and it should have come as little surprise when they assumed power. Most people celebrated, but the purge was necessary to weed out those who only publicly welcomed the new regime. There were still leftists and homosexuals who favored the old system, the weaker version of our constitution that had been perverted by judicial neglect. The Flagbearers would except nothing less than original intent.

Some say we are a diminished nation. Those people deserve the torture that is awaiting them.

13
Jul

Starburst

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

I remember being hurriedly pushed toward the flying ship by panicked voices howling peril. They spoke of a great heat inside me.

What was happening—?

Somehow, it was too late.

Now, all around me is twisted metal, smoking wreckage. My body throbs. Soot covers my hands and feet. Away from me, the skyscrapers appear spotted and streaked, but near there is only ruination. Debris like leaves. Great buildings that stood here only moments ago are gone. Here I am in the midst of it all.

I’m alone and lost and scared.

And, all the blast lines point to me.

From Guest Contributor Matthew Wells

12
Jul

The Plague

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

No one noticed as the epidemic became incipient. Even as people started dying from the new strain of bacteria, the entire society was oblivious.

I was the only one who could see what was happening and nobody would listen to me.

You might think I’m crazy and when the story ends it will turn out I’m inside the locked cell of an insane asylum. I wish that were the case.

Instead, I’m the last man on Earth.

I did some research after the plague. The most aggressive characteristic of the disease is that it shuts down a person’s mind so they are unaware of being sick. I was the only person to have an immunity.

Unfortunately for the bacteria, it evolved too well and now there are no more hosts for it. It’s as extinct as the human race will be after my death.

This is no solace for me.

Today’s story deviates in that it is exactly 150 words instead of 100. It’s something of an epic.

11
Jul

The Chthonic States

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

I’m thinking I might quit my job.

I’m so old, I remember when we only had 51 states. But after the war, the Chthonic States moved underground. That’s where we got the 63 we have today. It feels like a separate country if you ever visit, though not many people do.

I only go there hunting bounties. The laws are different down there and you’re allowed to carry weapons still. Packing heat doesn’t make you feel safer. The government leaves you alone but you’ve got to worry about angry citizens.

It’s good money, but it’s no longer worth my life.

10
Jul

The Warlock’s Apprentice

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Ralph couldn’t stand the tenebrous gloom that hung over the hovel and did everything he could to bring a bit of life to the place. Once, he tied ribbons around the frog legs, but they caused the spell to misfire. Instead of being cursed with thirteen years of bad luck, the enemy king found himself with a penchant for curly hair. Another time, he ruined a batch of poison apples by adding cinnamon. His master was constantly berating Ralph’s predilection for bright-colored robes.

It was never easy being gay, but it was especially difficult as a warlock’s apprentice.

9
Jul

Emergency Rations

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

After the shuttle crashed, the landing crew was forced to bivouac on the planet’s surface. Their first task was to search the hostile environment of this lifeless planet for any sort of organic material. Otherwise, they would be living off of emergency rations until they were rescued.

Emergency rations were the worst. None of the marines had ever tasted them, but they knew the stories. They all knew a guy who knew a guy who had eaten them once in academy.

Everyone understood that the emergency rations were made of people, their fellow crew members to be exact.

4
Jul

To Curtsy Properly

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

She was forced to curtsy from a young age. The Queen required the girl to bow with the proper technique, and when she failed, the punishments were severe. The monks were called upon to drill her at all hours, contorting her body with their chaste hands until the proper form was hammered into her forever.

For her part, she deserved all the harsh treatment as she was particularly recalcitrant. She denied the Queen’s authority and would have gladly ripped out the queen’s eyes or stabbed her with the crown. She would never forgive the Queen for murdering her father.

3
Jul

Build It And They Will Come

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

The majority of his days were spent in darkness, so he was startled by the flickering of light in the distance. The illumination grew stronger as it approached. He thought of running. He could only imagine that the sudden shadows cast on the wall were those of danger approaching.

The light grew to a crescendo until a man walked around the corner. He was dressed in spelunker’s gear, with a headlamp shining brightly from his helmet.

“Man, you scared me. I’ve been working in the cave gift shop for ten months, and you’re the first customer I’ve seen.”

2
Jul

Modern Exploration

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

For today’s modern explorer, there are two questions that remain unanswered. The first is what lies on the other side of a black hole. The other is what is at the bottom of a pit of quicksand.

Francis LeMond knew that visiting a black hole was way beyond his budget so he determined that he would be the first to return from the bottom of a pit of quicksand.

Unfortunately for Francis LeMond, it turns out there is a simple answer to the question of what lies at the bottom of a pit of quicksand: death by suffocation.