Posts Tagged ‘Guest Contributor’
May
Senseless Dreams
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
We’re speeding in Mama’s 1955 Chevrolet Bel-Air. Mama’s talking about new names we’ll concoct. Lives we’ll live.
“It’s a movie,” she says, smile crooked. “Our lives. We can be anyone. Romanovs, if we want. People of privilege.”
I think of him. Proclaiming Mama hysterical, a dreamer too much into writing and other subversive things. He threatened to have her committed. I think of Mama and me packing late at night, holding on to each other.
“It’ll be fine,” Mama says. “He can fuck himself.”
We need plans, not senseless dreams. But she needs to believe. So do I.
“Yes, Mama.”
From Guest Contributor Yash Seyedbagheri
Yash is a graduate of Colorado State University’s MFA program in fiction. Yash’s work is forthcoming or has been published in WestWard Quarterly, Café Lit, 50 Word Stories, (mac)ro (mic), and Ariel Chart.
May
The Arena
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
He sat on the stone bench waiting his turn. All his training for the last ten years led up to this moment. He could hear the muffled roar of sixty-thousand screaming fans in the stadium above. If he won today, the Emperor would grant him his freedom and the citizenship.
His trainer signaled him to get ready. He picked up his shield and sword and walked to the platform that would slowly raise him to the arena floor. As his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight, he saw the lions. A sudden foreboding flooded through his body. The crowd cheered.
From Guest Contributor Janice Siderius
May
The Cellar
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Oksana pounded the door of Zoya’s wooden house. She screamed.
“Zoya, the Red Army has surrounded the village. Hide, Zoya!”
Zoya, holding her toddler Ekaterina in her arms, opened the door.
“Oh, God, help us. Oksana, where’s Father Nikolai?”
“They’ve started a fire in the church! Hide, Zoya.”
“God have mercy. Run Oksana. We’ll hide in the cellar.” Zoya pressed her daughter tightly to her breast. She ran to the cellar.
Zoya embraced her daughter. She heard a crashing sound. When she realized the smoke was coming from above, she said, “I love you Ekaterina. We’ll be together in Heaven.”
From Guest Contributor Deborah Shrimplin
Apr
Sick World
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
It’s like a post-apocalyptic movie. A usually bustling city is eerily vacant. Essential supplies have come to include liquor, guns, and toilet paper. Who isn’t secretly embarrassed? Around midnight I take a puzzle apart just for the hell of it. The next morning my department holds a Zoom session on how to prevent cheating in online classes. Other professors mention they also have been having strange dreams. In mine, I’m eating Crown Fried Chicken on a bench while eyeballs the size of boulders roll across the grass and dirt, and a woman I recognize from TV weeps into her hands.
From Guest Contributor Howie Good
Howie Good is the author of What It Is and How to Use It (2019) from Grey Book Press, among other poetry collections.
Apr
It Would Be The End Of Prohibition For Harry
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
HISTORICAL FICTION SUBMISSION:
Harry didn’t know what the big deal was. Sure, alcohol was prohibited (it was called Prohibition after all) but it was readily available if you knew where to ask. Harry knew where to ask.
His favorite place to get a bottle was the jazz joint by the river, the one popular with the colored folk. As far as Harry was concerned, they had the best gin and the best music. There were plenty of white folks there too, but Harry did his best not to be seen.
If his Ma ever found out he was drinking on a school night…
From Guest Contributor Jesse Debbins
Apr
Sacrifice And Prayer
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
John jumped into the trench for cover, and a dead soldier stared blankly into nothingness. John silently prayed, took a deep breath, reloaded his rifled musket and repositioned. He abhorred shooting at his own people, but that was the only way. President Lincoln wanted slaves freed and John believed slavery was inhumane.
John pulled out a picture of his wife and stared at her radiant smile. He said another prayer, kissed his wife’s face, climbed up the trench and fired. Return shots echoed in his ears.
His wife’s photo remained clutched in his hand as he fell to the ground.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Apr
Searching
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Robyn rolls down the car window and breaths in the fresh air. It is warm, but not enough to sit on the beach and take in the sun, or swim in the water.
Robyn notices a lone woman standing on the dock. Her back is turned, and head erect. The wind blows her black hair above the shoulders and seagulls soar in search of prey, while the waves ripple.
After Robyn finishes her coffee, she puts the car in gear and slowly backs up. She hears deafening screams and jams on the brake.
The woman on the dock is gone.
From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher
Apr
Strange Sightings
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
HISTORICAL FICTION SUBMISSION:
Bill watched as fire tore the sky. Just as suddenly, the flame disappeared and a streak of dark smoke hit the ground. Whatever noise sounded at the impact was too distant for Bill to hear.
He hopped on his tractor and headed to the next field. He’d heard of airplanes in Albuquerque, but never actually seen one.
What Bill found at the crash site sent him running. As he drove to Roswell to inform the authorities, he was passed by a line of army trucks headed to his farm. By the time he returned home, the strange vehicle was gone.
From Guest Contributor Chris Thompson
Apr
The Universe’s Greatest Hero
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
As the handsome Captain Cahill hurtles through the cosmos at 186,000 miles per second, his mind wanders back to his finest victory. At the Battle of Vynsenulon VI, when he lured the Gigarachnids into a narrow crevasse and lit the charges above them, burying their army under five tons of granite. His actions that day earned him three medals, one for heroism, one for bravery, and one for valor. Captain Ronald Cahill, the universe’s greatest hero.
“I’m leaving you, Ronny.” He barely hears from virtual reality, “Call me if you ever grow the fuck up!” His wife slams the door.
From Guest Contributor Rob Howard
Apr
Wifely Advice
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
HISTORICAL FICTION ENTRY:
“Gaius, dear, you know you don’t have to go. You do look quite ill and the vote will wait till tomorrow.”
“Yes, but I am Consul and it is my responsibility,” he answered while slipping into his toga.
“But the augurs said that today is inauspicious. Why don’t you stay home?”
“I suppose I could. You are very convincing, my dear.”
A loud knock on the door interrupted their conversation. The door opened and Brutus said, “Hurry up, we’re late for the Senate.”
“I won’t be long, dear. We’ll dine together,” promised Caesar as he walked out into the atrium.
From Guest Contributor Janice Siderius