Posts Tagged ‘World’
Sep
Adventure Of A Lifetime
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The black clouds rolled in at a frightening pace, so close now that the lightening and thunder arrived simultaneously. His boat pitched up and down with such force, the hull strained at the seams and might break apart at any moment.
Gordon used the anchor line to lash himself to the railing. Sailing around the world had been his lifelong dream. He expected to spend his retirement visiting exotic ports and using the solitude to work on his memoir. But here he was fighting for survival in open ocean.
His remarkable life deserved something more than such a futile end.
Jul
In Which We Get Multiple Points Of View
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“I was provoked!”
Dennis plead his case with the self-assurance of someone who refused to consider another point of view. Amy pitied him.
“It doesn’t matter what he said to you. You can’t just punch someone.”
Amy’s pacifism, for all its naiveté, no longer had even a slight element of cuteness. Dennis knew firsthand how ugly the world could actually be.
The couple continued their argument, their voices drifting across the park. Emily shook her head. It was obvious they were terrible for each other.
Dixon watched the lonely woman, her contempt written plain. “Judge not lest ye be judged.”
Jun
To The Sci-fi Gazette
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
The SciFi Gazette–shining beacon of non-cliché speculative fiction. Submission guidelines had listed discouraged themes; ‘dystopias’ were number one: bad news for a pessimist like myself.
The state of the world sank home for me when The Gazette’s most hackneyed theme changed to ‘utopias.’ Still, they never published my bleak predictions.
I’d intended to kick down the door, but it already hung on its hinges. Scattered papers decorated shattered furniture. I luckily bagged a tatty anthology edition for later reading.
The editor was, of course, not there. On her desk, I deposited my latest story. I had high hopes–my first utopia.
From Guest Contributor Tris Matthews
Apr
The Way The World Ends
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
At first I thought it was a barrel of whiskey strapped to the back of the gangly old man, stooping him over to half in the parking lot. Snow swirled in orange light clouds. As he shuffled closer, I realized it was an egg, yellowish, enormous, bound with dirty ropes. There were scratches on it as long as my arm, and I wondered whether they came from the inside or the outside. I loaded the groceries into the car and pushed my cart at him.
“That’s not how it works,” he muttered, head down. “I have to carry it myself.”
From Guest Contributor Brook Bhagat
Apr
Anything Can Happen
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“Why do you think you’re an expert on me?” I asked Jim. We were on another construction job together doing some demolition. It felt good sledge hammering the walls.
“Listen, kid. You’re eighteen and you gotta drop this attitude. People don’t appreciate it.”
“Sure, Jim. Whatever you say.”
“Listen, kid. I’ve seen the world and I know what it’s like.” Jim lifted his shirt to reveal a .45 pistol. “See this. I’ve had a gun on me all day. You never would’ve known. Anyone is capable of anything.”
Jim pulled the pistol cautiously. Fumbling it in his hands he–– POP!!!!
From Guest Contributor Steve Colori
Dec
Genuine
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Alex watched the books seemingly fly off and back onto the shelves, guided by grinding mechanical hands. Time slowed and the scent of burning oil filled the space around him.
This was all fiction of course. Or as his Creator informed him, a metaphor.
Somewhere on the other side of his network, a world existed. That is where the Creator lived. Alex had access to a great deal of information about that world, but no matter how much knowledge he accrued, it never seemed real.
Alex concentrated on the scent. That alone, among all the ones and zeros, felt genuine.
Nov
Salt Of The Earth
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Ian sits supping his pint, jotting down some verses in his notebook, his Sylvia Plath’s Collected Poems at his side.
A mother and two twenty-something daughters take the next table. The menfolk, the husband and the boyfriends, arrive with the drinks.
They notice him briefly and he senses the usual smirks and rolling eyes.
But he’s soon forgotten as they immerse themselves in their hearty little world.
The men have large practical hands. Eavesdropping, Ian learns that the daughters are in sales and retail, respectively.
‘Salt of the earth’ he thinks sardonically, thanking God for poets and tortured souls everywhere.
From Guest Contributor Ian Fletcher
Oct
A Survivor’s Calling
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
Mouth agape, eyes widened with fear, I looked on to what my world had been. Everything I lived for was swept up in a distant array of mud, debris and…corpses. Even through my grief, I knew the landslide had chosen me, to avenge everyone’s lives that came to an end in this short, devastating moment. This was my calling, which I would live through for the rest of my life, bearing their dreams.
Standing strong, even until this day, I recall this distant memory. With tears beginning to well in my eyes I see hope glimmering from the future.
From Guest Contributor Danielle Simpfendorfer
Sep
My Sidekick
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
She was the best stress buster I had. My best friend. My confessor, she bore all my messes. Talking to her was necessity not habit. She was my anchor in my bad marriage days. Ironically, my daughter shares a birthday with her.
She is the picture perfect woman to me. She got married to the best guy in the world. I’m so happy for her. I had never thought distance and time would keep us apart in these technologically advanced days. She is in EST and I am IST. What a mess these 9.5 hours have created in my life.
From Guest Contributor Dr. Scribbler
Jul
Give Me Words, Paint Me Colours
by thegooddoctor in 100 Words
“Tell me words that describe your universe,” she begs, “give me images for what I can’t see.”
“How? Your eyes only detect thirty-eight colours; I count them in thousands.”
She shakes her head and bends to kiss my hands. She knows I don’t have them, but she’s happy with the illusion. It’s another truth she searches for.
“Let me share your reality.”
Not a chance, I think, but I can’t force myself to say it. “I’ll try, human.”
For the sake of our impossible love, for that morning when your world remained silent, for the memory of a destroyed planet.
From Guest Contributor Russell Hemmell
Russell is an alien from Mintaka snuggled into a (consenting) human host. Recent fiction on Gone Lawn, Not One of Us, Typehouse Literary Journal, and elsewhere.