# 100 Word Story Challenge!



## Lizzie (Apr 23, 2012)

It's basically what it says on the tin, write a story that's 100 words. But wait, that's not it. The person from the previous post will put after their story a word in which you have to base your story around. For example, "butter". Then, the next person has to write a 100 word story around the concept and idea of butter, but it doesn't have to be about butter itself. 

So, I'll start with an easy one. 

"Rain"


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## Silvers (Apr 23, 2012)

The morning air was dry and hot. Abe wiped the sweat from his brow as he walked the narrow streets of July City, a poor and broken city, was what it was. All he could see were broken buildings and thin sad faces. People were dying of thirst. The drought that inflicted the land was shattering records centuries old. 

"Abe," came a call from a young girl. He turned around casually. It was a voice he recognized. 

"Phoneixx what are you up to today," abe replied

"Did you hear it's supposed to Rain today!" Abe dropped to his knees crying.



Here's the next word

"Diesel"


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## funkwolf (Apr 24, 2012)

A man hidden beneath his dark cloak walked the night with his boots tapping on the road before coming to a gas station, perfectly hidden in the night, covered by dirt. The cloaked man paused and took out his lighter before he started walking again and came to a fuel pump reading: diesel and petrol. If the face of the man could be seen it would have surely smiled. He lit the lighter and suddenly light roamed the night and the man's disfigured face could be seen, he threw the lighter in some leaked fuel before disappearing in the explosion.

Next word:
"Love"


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## obi_have (Apr 24, 2012)

*True Love*

There was just one left and I wanted it. I held it like a treasure, reveling in the juxtaposed condition it created -- it's freezing smoothness against my rough sweaty hand. I kicked off my grass-stained sandals letting the linoleum of the kitchen floor cool the soles of my feet. The droning of the lawnmower still roared in my ears, although in reality, the horrible machine had been sitting silent for the past five minutes. 

The sweet sound of my wife's voice floated in from the living room. "Sweetheart, can you bring me a beer?" 

I sighed as my heart melted. "Coming, Dear."


Next: accomplishment


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## Kevin (Apr 25, 2012)

"Come on! Just go already!"

He stared down the hillside. The dirt path was steep but smooth. He could feel his heart pulsing in his hands on the grips. Suddenly, his hearing altered; like hands cupped over his ears.

"Forget it, he's too afraid."

Halfway down the hill, his brakes no longer had any effect. _Too fast!_ he thought._ Just hang on! _ The bike hit a bump and both feet came off the pedals. He rode the last sixty feet, crotch on the frame, eyes wide, teeth clenched, and then, it was over. He felt something: accomplishment!

next: Effect


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## Lilybean84 (May 2, 2012)

“Now, just to be clear, you are aware - “  

“Yeah, yea,” He interrupted the ‘brain’ in the white labcoat, “Spare me the disclaimer. I’m being paid a thousand dollars an hour toplay lab rat.”

The ‘brain’ cleared his throat and nodded, scribbling a few morenotes onto his clipboard. With a snap of his fingers the heavy metal dooropened and two orderlies entered with leather straps, “These restraints areonly precautionary.” 

“What?” His eyes opened wide, “Why?” 

“The effect of this drug on humans hasn’t been tested.” the ‘brainshrugged, “They’ll be removed in the morning.” 

Next : Oranges


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## Taknovrthewrld (May 4, 2012)

Little Ricky sat in the orchard and moved each orange into place, all the while being careful not to knock around the others he had already positioned. He had lined up about two dozen of them on the ground in front of him. I could tell he was doing the best he could to have them lined up as straight as possible.

“What are you doing now?”

“Getting all of our oranges in a row. Grandpa said if we got all of our ducks in a row the farm would start making money again, but this isn’t a duck farm.”


*Next: Piranha*


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## Chaeronia (Aug 13, 2012)

I expect Mister HighSt to look more glum, tapered. Much has happened. But no, there he is, all exaggerated movement and piranha teeth. He leaks coffee and hairstyles. When he walks on windows he leaves interest rates and percentages as footprints.

He sees my cheerlessness. Bounds over and places a ruched arm on my shoulder. ‘Still don't get it, my boy?' He looks askance. Whispers: 'Gods don't die. Belief is always there, it’s just the opiate that changes.’

And then gone, his capriciousness breathtaking. He flounces to PC World; accosts a young couple. They smile, nod, enter with him.


Next: Time of no reply


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## Deleted member 49710 (Aug 13, 2012)

*Time of no reply*

The phone doesn’t ring. There’s no answer yet, that’s all.

Her world will change in a minute, thirty minutes, ten hours. If he makes it ten hours, he could make it twenty years; she’ll fly out in the morning. Otherwise, in three days, for the funeral.

In her still kitchen Susan cleans the remnants of spaghetti from her plate, decides to have more wine. Sobriety won’t open any arteries, unclog her father’s dirty heart. If orphanhood finds her tonight, let her be drunk for it.

Waiting is a liferaft and tonight, the answer is neither rescue nor drowning, but both.



*
Next up: Place on Earth


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## Chaeronia (Aug 13, 2012)

Nodes of mania concatenate. The trick, by non-verbal osmosis, is being revealed. The line fractures with struggle. They are weak, internal ossature visible and grim, but still - somehow still - desperate. Guards interject surgically, like antibodies: rifle butts to knees, gauntleted slaps to temples.

'Troublesome,' the thin man says. 'Separate the children on arrival.' His colleague, a clipboarded man, nods. Makes notes. 'For provision of education or some such. They're stupid, grasping. They'll believe it. They'll want to.

'This needs to be quicker, understand?  To be industry.'

'Yes, Sir,' his colleague says. Then quotes: '"In Earth, not on it."'



Next: Lines.


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## lcg (Aug 14, 2012)

He wanted to talk to her. To share with her all that was his- his love, his life, his hopes, and his fears. Everyday he saw her, sitting beside the lake and gazing. Sometime, she would wave her hand. He liked to think that she was also dreaming like him.

But he could only dream. There was no way to cross those lines. He would have to overcome those barbed wires first, the Border. Always guarded, forbidden yet daring him. So he came everyday and waited for lines to disappear. He waited for his love to subdue those taunting wires.


Next :- Tales


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## obi_have (Aug 15, 2012)

Of all the stories ever told, there are none so poignant as the Tale of the Forgotten Machete. The underlying theme is one of great importance that we would all do well to learn from. It was told to me by my father, who heard it from his father. The lessons learned are just as relevant today as they were half a century ago. However, since we are limited to one hundred words, I will have to skip that tale and relate another story my father used to tell. It starts (and ends) like this: Hey son, pull my finger...


Next: social media


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## MisterTribute (Aug 18, 2012)

I thought it was supposed to be one word? Anyway, here is it:


_Social Media
_
Ally was waiting for her video to finish uploading on YouTube. She placed the guitar that she used on her song under her bed. Nobody really knew that she loves to sing, to express through music. She was afraid of rejection—that people might not like how she sings.

Ninety percent.

“Dinner’s ready, Ally!” her mom cried out.

After she ate her dinner, she rushed upstairs and checked her computer. The video already had a thousand hits. The comments were all postive—“You sound great!”

Now, she isn’t afraid of performing. Because of the social media, she’s now a star.


Next: *Failure*


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## Chaeronia (Aug 20, 2012)

This town is a flat, stubbed thing, the inverse of a muddy footprint.

The mother city gave it life, spat it out as by-product from violent crucible days, but it exists more for her than because of her. She feeds on it. She plucks its talent like selective gravity. The town's truncated topography is its servitude, its lack, manifest. It is topiarised by her.

In wealthy circles rumours of limb- and organ-farms solidify: people born for harvest, purpose-built insurance progeny. The decadent and scared rich think this a new science, but they do not visit these failed surrogate vampired places.

Next: Noir


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## Deleted member 49710 (Aug 23, 2012)

*Noir 101*

She teaches names of colors: _blanc_ like unicorns, _noir_ like a cat in a Toulouse-Lautrec poster, _rouge_ like roses, _bleu_ like the Mediterranean. 

Once she brought in Rimbaud's "Voyelles." A beginner’s mistake.

_C’est la synesthésie,_ she told them. _C’est supercool, non?_

They didn’t believe her. Skinny nonchalant children with eyes drawn to electronic devices, they sat before her in rows and said: Vowels don’t have colors. All letters are _noires_ to them, _noires_ on _pages blanches_. 

She thought of Mallarmé, who sank into despair teaching English, and said nothing. Since then, she just brings blank sheets of colored paper.


Next: Supercool (with or without French accent)


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## Fin (Sep 1, 2012)

Mother always told me never to tell a lie, and I’ve always been a good boy. You see, my wife didn’t believe me.


_Stop it, stop it, stop it!_


She just wouldn’t shut up. I told her it had to be done. I shall tell no lie. It was all because of that promise I’d made.  


_Till death do us part_, they made me say. If I could go back and change it, I would.


Mother would’ve frowned if I told her I didn’t want it anymore.


Now they’s both smilin’ down on me. I shall tell no lie.



Next: Candy


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## egpenny (Sep 6, 2012)

"It's sweet," he said, and told me to stick out my tongue.  I did and he put on small colored dot in the center.  "Let it melt, you'll like it, I promise.
I didn't taste anything sweet.  "This isn't candy," I said.
"Oh, just wait, it's candy of the gods, you'll see."
The room started to whirl, or was it me.  The walls were moving and there were gaudy rainbows and everyone had an dark aura.  Dark smoke swirled and monsters reached out for me.
"Candyman, " I cried.  "Save me."
He only laughed.



Next: ELEMENTS


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## FleshEater (Sep 11, 2012)

I wrote this free hand without spell check, please forgive any errors.

Phillip was a doll maker. Although he didn't create just any "dolls", his seemed to come to life. He knew his art would be the most influential the world had ever seen. The grand master piece Phillip was constructing was nearly finished. A few important elements were still needed; he knew these would be rudimentary in the perfection of his grotesque craft. He had searched and searched until one day he discovered the missing piece. She was a beautiful, alluring blonde who had stolen his attention and rendered him speechless. It was her celestial face, beckoning, the final piece alas. 

Next: Caryatids


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## obi_have (Sep 13, 2012)

She carried the weight of the world on her shoulders...or at least the weight of the second floor. The peculiar man had petitioned, "Please hold this up here like so, I'll be right back with something else to buttress it." 

She acquiesced, and after a couple of minutes awaiting his return, she discovered she could no longer move her arms and legs. She tried to call for help but could make no sound either. 

Now she knew the secret behind the amazing detail of the building's caryatids. Too late, she realized the peculiar man was no sculptor at all.


Next: rodeo


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## Galarath (Sep 13, 2012)

Drake certainly had his work cut out. A shimmering gold idol, the exact one he searched Greece years before, was within reach. It perched on a ledge supported by the most beautiful caryatid Drake had ever seen.


 As he moved closer, the floor began to shake. Twelve pillars knocked into each other one by one, eventually smashing into the caryatid beauty. As the stone figure smashed, the idol flew towards Drake. He held his hands open, outstretched his arms and awaited his prize.  


 The floor around him gave way, sending Drake plummeting to the Earth's core. Life is a bleep!

Next: Choices


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## Galarath (Sep 14, 2012)

Oops! Sorry about that. What are the odds that someone writes and posts not very long before you, when you are writing for the same word! My apologies. I have tried to delete my last but don't seem to be able to. Whoever follows this thread, just carry on from obi_have's post as they got there first.


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## Vitaly Ana (Sep 17, 2012)

It must be dead cold in Manhattan bro. Charlotte and I drifted in today to Coral Port. We came to hover and hang and, drink a quart. Sort of like the old days. Anyways, you should visit and take your mind off of it. The water is 80 degrees. You can listen for miles. Everywhere you look: beaches. Charlotte knows a girl that moved here from Columbia. She is white hot and digs cops. Here is a picture of her in her little blue top. I took it from the bow of my new boat _Choices. _Visit me brother!

Next Word: ROYAL


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## Deleted member 49710 (Oct 25, 2012)

Awaiting dinner’s end, the Queen sits immobile in her royal dress, thankful for its capacious skirt. Vines curl across the pale blue silk, embroidered roses studding the tight bodice that presses her breasts flat and holds her breath still and shallow. Next to her sits the King, before him one of the multitude of seigneurs giving one of their endless reports. She composes her face in a benign smile and folds her hands calmly in front of her on the table. Directly below them, hidden by the table and its cover that hangs to the floor, crouches a marquis.


Next: swan


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## dolphinlee (Oct 26, 2012)

I never thought that I would ever be given swan to eat, but here I was by the banks of the Cam holding a piece of swan meat surrounded by a hamburger bun. 

A much older man was telling me that the college had a licence granted by the queen, to take a few every summer. I turned away from the speaker and looked out across the water to where a family of swans were moving gracefully on the water. Reluctantly I took a very small bite. 

“Disappointing isn’t it?” said the older man. “It might as well be chicken.”

next word eagle


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## J Anfinson (Oct 27, 2012)

Giving the ball another whack, I tried yet again to get out of the sand trap, but it was useless.  This had been, by far, the worst day I've ever had on the course, and I was having thoughts of giving up.  

The ball sailed through the air, but ricocheted off a tree trunk, sending it right back into the pit.  I pulled out my notepad, lowering my score yet again.  

I lined up my next shot, and hit it.  It finally managed to get out of the trap, but landed in water.  I'm never going to get an eagle.

Next word:  Lightning


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## Vendetta5885 (Dec 1, 2012)

Lightning lit the room, revealing three people at the table.  Rolling thunder smoothly broke the awkward silence.  No more words were spoken. The man’s face was colorless; his lower lip trembled as he buried his face in his hands.   A single tear rolled down the young girls face.She grabbed the young boy’s hand and they walked toward the door.
The man watched the door close behind them and a smilecrossed his lips.  He got up from the table and wiped the tears from his eyes.  Lightning lit the room revealing an empty table and thunder broke the silence.

Next word… frost


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## lothianwriter (Dec 1, 2012)

It was a cold day, one of the coldest of the year so far. Becca sat staring out at the snowy scene all morning, her warm breath had slowly melted the frost and ice from the window. She already had her winter warmers on. Her hat, scarf, gloves and big puffy jacket were making her feel too warm in the house, but she did not want to waste a single second of time when the snow stopped falling, which it had. She looked pleadingly at her mother who smiled. 
“OK, you can go and play, but be careful” Becca Ran.

Next word: Insatiable


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## Pluralized (Dec 5, 2012)

A skinless hand reached up and pushed the switch on the rusted machine. Something deep within the mechanism gurgled and the blades began to turn.


I laid there, groggy from the sedative. The creature’s mantis eyes studied mine, and as lustful hunger flashed across the black, pointed slits, I felt my heart start to pound. My back arched, the tethers wrapping my wrists grew tighter as I thrashed and pulled. 

The blades whirred and advanced. Streams of saliva hung from the creature’s mouth, it’s jagged yellow teeth forming a cruel grin. 

Next word: Submarine


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## Staff Deployment (Jan 5, 2013)

Pressure gauge twitches. Little needle hovers above red paint. Not good. "What's our depth," I shout.

"Twenty thousand leagues," boss shouts back.

"We under attack or what?" I keep my voice calm. Calm voice is quieter than the creaking hull. Boss can't hear me. I say it louder. "Under attack?"

"Ain't nobody should know we're here." True. It's secret, they told me. Get down to this depth then press the red button. Don't know what it does. Big money in it though.

Another shout from Boss. Pain. The British agent's here.

We were warned about him. This henchman job sucks.

---

_Next word: Archipelago._


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## Jamie (Jan 5, 2013)

"We know you did it. The blood's a match. We've got the axe, your prints are all over it. All we need now is a body. Where'd you bury him, Jamie?"


"His head is in Than Kyun.'


"What? Just the head?"


"Arms and legs are in... Pulau Bada, I think. The rest of him is in Kyun Pila."


"My god, what the hell happened?"


"He tested me. Tried to be a smart ass. Made me look up a word I didn’t know."


"Jesus, you chopped him up and scattered him across the islands just for that?"


"Could've just said Apple."


--------------


Next word: Apple


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## BenTurnbull (Jan 22, 2013)

(Mild Language)




Man, I wish I’d never met that woman; never seen those buoyant brown locks of hair bouncing around her shoulders; never lost myself in those green eyes with their inimitable curiosity.

The sex is great, don’t get me wrong, but what else did I get?  

Responsibility. I have to work all day to provide for her and the little guys. Boy were they a surprise.

I miss the good ole days, when I could walk around the place naked, not a care in the world, no one to look after but myself.

Why’d I have to eat that God-damned apple?

---------

Next word = extension


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## TheSaintsAreComing (Jan 22, 2013)

*In My Own Company*

A mirrored image of myself strolls throughout the house, whistling to herself. Oh, how I move with such grace, such beauty. The tiniest of wild streaks runs through me, visible through the translucency of my innocent facade. Words fail to describe the euphoria when I whisper in my own ear. They're messages I've felt in my own heart, confirmed through my shadow. 

My spirits sink at the thought of watching myself leave through that front door. Gone, and again, my soul is now split in two. After all, what is a true lover but an extension of one's own self?
Next word: Starlight


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## Cheid (Jan 23, 2013)

I remember when things were simple.  I used to stand on my back porch and look up at the sky, bathed in starlight.  I would wonder what was out there in that sea of beautiful gems.  Now I find myself floating alone and desperate among them and I know – Absolutely nothing.  They always told us that space was a vacuum, but that doesn’t really hold any meaning until you find yourself out an airlock without a space suit.  My only consolation is that they are even more beautiful out here than they ever were from behind the safety of glass.

 -------

Next word Tears


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## Staff Deployment (Jan 23, 2013)

Jimmy tears up his old dictionary. Each page perfectly encapsulates the meaning of every individual word, all of the meanings, all of the intricacies and little details. Ripped pages go in the fire.

Jimmy believes that if he inhales dictionary-fire-smoke, he will absorb the dictionary's power and becomes the greatest writer in the world. Quite a noble quest, he tells himself, and one that will surely lead to immortality.

Jimmy leans into the flames and breathes in. Enticingly bitter, but not close enough. He needs more. He needs it all.

Jimmy promptly dies from burning his face off.

Next word: Wombat


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## OLDSOUL (Jan 23, 2013)

Wombat was the nickname he'd landed in grade school. It seemed those who embraced nicknames tended to live them down, but not Wombat. He wholeheartedly and gleefully personified his nickname, and not for reasons you might think. Any person that derided him would find out first hand why he'd acquired and kept his nickname all the way through school.

It took the new kid John, one afternoon to figure it out. He'd tried to bully his way into popularity by targeting Wombat. Seemingly easy feat. The guys pet name was Wombat after all. But wombat didn't chase John in a laboured fashion around the school like John thought he might, no, when John went to take his books out of his locker at the end of the day, he found three square nuggets of poo sitting on his maths book. 

Next word: Swagger.


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## Saeria (Jan 24, 2013)

.


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## Saeria (Jan 24, 2013)

"Swaggah, uhn! I got th'moves like Jagga"
"Do you mean swagger,honey?" Lisa shouted from the kitchen.
"Mooom, you're bustin' up my groove here!" Her son retorted.
As she turned away from the stove a sudden flash of flame leapt to the ceiling. The shrill call of smoke alarms called her husband to the kitchen.
"What's burning?"
"Paper plates!"
Suddenly both Lisa and the stove were drenched in ice water.
"Ice, Ice baby. That's old skool swagga." her husband laughed as he Hammer-danced out of striking distance.

New word: victuals


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## FleshEater (Jan 24, 2013)

See Also: Eating Disorder

The man in the mirror isn’t the captain of the football team, or the man that built his company from the ground up. It isn’t the father of two beautiful children that have long since gone to pursue their own successful careers. The bloated image staring at him, knees together, eyes welled up, looking sorry and pitiful, isn’t anyone he recognizes. The man he knew has been buried in pounds of sweets and fats, in gluttonous addiction, alone, with nothing left. Looking at this pathetic, sorry excuse of that man, he can’t help but feel that this is the end. 

New Word: Seed


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## Lizzie-1990 (Jan 24, 2013)

I sporadically pretended you didn't exist, put on lipstick before your shift, undid my top button.  Watched you watch me whilst old men nudged each other behind their Guinness.  Planted the seed then told you my age.  Your willing Lolita.  I didn't expect you to be so fucking fearless about it though, babe.  I watch you now, with your friends around the coffee table, playing poker or something, are you?  You’re spilling beer on the second-hand sofa we bought, we didn't bother with Christmas presents that year.  “I had 'er wrapped 'round my little finger from the start" you slur.  

New word: Run


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## OLDSOUL (Jan 25, 2013)

I interrupt your regular viewing to bring you a most urgent newscast. I have discovered a new solar system not too far from our own. How we missed it before, I don't know. But this particular planetary system was named by yours truly. The system I found has a planet, much like Saturn. I dubbed the planet Uterine. During it's unveiling not one person even smirked. It sounded scholarly enough, yes. Not much to it, but therein lies it's genius. Similar to Saturn, Uterine has a ring of asteroids circling in it's gravitational field. I dubbed this, the Uterine lining. It caused a raucous of laughter at it's unveiling, to which I was not a part of. The reason is obvious is it not? Yes, I have a black sense of humour indeed. Most don't pick it in me, but in that planets name lies the reason I'm being broadcasted onto the worlds television channels. I bring you news that we have in fact, one month to live before the Uterine lining dislodges. It is estimated to leave a trail of bloody destruction all across America, that will last for a week, at the end of which we will have been long dead. I advise those in it's general path of destruction to run and hide.

Next word: Anal fissures.


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## Deleted member 49710 (Mar 18, 2013)

It’s revenge.

“You’re like, so _anal_,”  Julie spat earlier, after Darla had imposed order on her teenager’s  room, sifting layers of accumulated treasure and detritus--wrongly,  Julie claims. “Why’d you hafta touch my _stuff_?”

And  now, catastrophe: recipe cards in a wild chaos on the floor, brown for  breads and red for meats, yellow, green, pink, everywhere, anywhere.  Schmoopy stands on them with wet paws, eyes and tail joyous.

“Oh--”

Darla’s  voice sighs from the crack of her mouth, the fissure in her organized  and perfected shell. Scissors in hand, she heads for the tangle of  expensive jeans in Julie’s closet.


*next: *bugs


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## Pluralized (Mar 19, 2013)

*Offspring.

*
I realized I was holding my breath, and exhaled my cumbersome lung-load. The baby stared at me with those beautiful brown orbs, and I struggled to convince myself I had really seen it. The twitch returned, the pupils elongated, and brown antennae protruded.


I clenched myself and grabbed the head with both hands, peeling jaws open to find a series of wandering legs awash in a sea of saliva. I checked the other end, the diaper full of bits of thoraxes and rogue feelers. The fuel for transformation was being processed. A deafening, hungry screech filled the room.

Next: Swimwear


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## Jacko (Mar 22, 2013)

George approached the edge of the cliff with a small smile on his face. He was about to take the biggest risk of his life, all for the amusement of the crowd of giggling girls below.
"Hey ladies!" He shouted. "Have you all come to watch the gun show!" 
The group of girls blushed and giggled as George began to flex his muscles on the edge of the cliff.
God I'm amazing, he said to himself.
"Come on George, hurry up and jump," said Brian, standing impatiently behind him.
George smiled. He loved being at the centre of attention. 
He approached the edge of the cliff and spread out his arms. 
"This is your time to shine George," he whispered to himself.
He swan dived off the cliff and plunged head first into the lake.
 The sound of shock deafened the air, as everyone surrounded the water edge in anticipation.
"George are you ok?" Said Brian, peering down from the cliff 
George emerged from the lake and was welcomed by the sound of laughter.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"It's your swimwear George, you've lost them!"

Next: Crazy day


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## Narnia (Mar 30, 2013)

She shoved her daughter out the door.  The bolt clicked into place.

“Hurry up Evie.”

“But mommy, my doll!”

A look of despair fell across her 4-year-old’s face breaking her heart.  She was already late for work, she didn’t need this delay.  

“Okay baby, just wait a second.”  She slid her key back into the lock and twisted.  She grabbed the little brown haired doll and placed it into her daughter’s outstretched hands.

Hugging it tightly her daughter smiled at her, “Thank you mommy.”

Life, the important things meant taking time out of your crazy day for what matters most.

Next: Trailer Park


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## Pluralized (Mar 30, 2013)

*Language Warning
*​I found myself in the trailer park behind the high school, and begin to panic. The night before is such a blur but I’m certain there was kissing. Was there a moustache attached to that memory? Seems to me there was a moustache. _What the fuck?

_
The night began with tequila shots at Raif’s trailer. We piled into his car and drove downtown, parking in front of the pub. I remember walking in, scanning gruff faces along the bar, the taste of more tequila, a couple beers, and my head hitting porcelain. 

That’s all I remember. 
_
And that fucking moustache.






_Next: A proctologist with Tourette's


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## Dictarium (Apr 1, 2013)

“Well, Mister Daniels, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong up there.” The doctor went from an uncomfortable squatting position to a standing one as he delivered his patient’s diagnosis. Mister Daniels looked relieved and let out all of the air he had kept inside his lungs during his examination.

The doctor walked over to the biohazard waste bin and deposited his gloves, falling victim to one of his ticks in his left cheek as he did so. He hated those.

“So there’s nothing wrong with me?” The man looked hesitant to even question further.

“Well, not your butt, anyway.”





Next word: Silly


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## Morkonan (Jun 3, 2013)

Walter Plimpton had an itch. It wasn’t that his peers thought he was terribly eccentric. On the contrary, Mr. Plimpton was the very picture of a dedicated accountant and greatly admired by his coworkers. But, Walter had an itch – He loved cats.

Anything that was a cat, be it stuffed, made of clay, carved from stone or fashioned from paper, Walter would hasten to buy it for his collection. He was a true connoisseur of all things cat-like and several museums offered him large sums in hopes he would part with his menagerie.

  Then he got hit by a bus.

Next Word: Fear


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## Pluralized (Jun 3, 2013)

Hank never had liked the dog. When Quanson was a pup, Hank had kicked and cussed every time he came near. The little brown dog would still come, wagging its tail and trying to lick Hank’s hand. He kept the dog tied to a tree in the yard for a decade, seeing it just two or three times a week. 


The dog grew into a large, snarling beast. Quanson broke loose. Hank awoke and there was the dog, standing over him. The warmth in his groin spread, and his heart thumped in his chest.


Quanson then bit his face off.



Next: Grasshoppers


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## Morkonan (Jun 3, 2013)

“Why is it called a “”Grasshopper?”” asked Sam, as he studied the drink.

“Because it’s green,” replied the bartender.

“But, not all grasshoppers are green. Some of them are brown.”

“No, those are crickets.”

“Well, is there a drink called a “"Cricket?"” asked Sam. “If not, there should be one. After all, it’s only fair.”

“I don’t know.”

“Then how can you be so sure about the Grasshopper?” asked Sam.

“Because I’m a bartender and I know how to make a drink called a Grasshopper, that’s why,” said the bartender.

“Can you make me a Cricket?”

“I’m cutting you off.”


Next Word: Flight


----------



## tabasco5 (Jun 4, 2013)

"Which one was that?"

"93."

"And you're telling me they never found a plane?"

"That is correct."

"But what about the crash site?  Didn't you see the pictures?"

"Yes.  Didn't you see the pictures?"

"Well, yes."

"Did you?"

"Yes--I mean--what do you mean?"

"Google it.  Flight 93 crash site.  Do a little research on it, then tell me about it."



Next:  Leaking Roof


----------



## J Anfinson (Jun 4, 2013)

Byron rang the doorbell and waited. The storm had passed the week before, and all other companies were swamped with business. He told her he’d gladly take the job.

The door opened. A young woman smiled at him. “Thank God you’re here. There’s water all over the house.”

“I’ll get started right away Miss, but like I said, I need half the payment up front.”

“Oh yes.” She reached inside for her purse. “It’s in hundreds, will that work?”

“Absolutely. I’ll return with the materials.”

Walking back to his car, he smirked. This scam was going to make him rich.


Next: Skipping Rocks


----------



## Vitaly Ana (Jun 7, 2013)

Jeff was a boy of six when he skipped his first rock. He was standing on a beach in Vancouver with his thoughtful Dad and playful dog. 
Before this particular toss, every other rock thrown had dropped with a "kerplunk" and ensuing splash of water - rock and hope sinking together.
This rock skipped twice though, gliding over the Pacific shore. Jeff still wishes he can have that rock back, since it was the only time his Dad 
had really ever smiled at him. His dog barked at the waves. Jeff felt a lash of love.

Next: A Mango Tree


----------



## Charlaux (Jun 9, 2013)

Their son moved away to Canada and it was for the best. Sam spends his summer evenings in the greenhouse now, and Louise keeps the kitchen window open and the television on a low volume. The cool glass shines.

So he cultivates his swollen fingers fumbling string, and splinting frail stems to the sticks, one-handed. He grows tomatoes, and strawberries, and speaks to Rosie. He learned to take the seed from the pit with an old knife, collects three. 

“I’ll grow a mango tree.”

Rosie is a house spider.

Louise learned to hide the motorbike keys in the laundry basket.


Next word: compass


----------



## Vitaly Ana (Jun 10, 2013)

Everywhere I look, I shake. I could be gazing to the West at a perfect sunset, I'd shake. I could looking down at a perfect patch of grass, I'd shake. It could be a perfect moon, or a handsome man, or the Northern Lights. Doesn't matter, I'd shake. I'm as nervous as a compass in a dryer and, like that compass I have no direction. I am spinning in the wild. I can't decide what to do, or who to trust or even what to wear in the morning. Ever since that damn shooting, I shake.


----------



## shinyford (Jun 14, 2013)

Okay, I'm going to grab 'compass' as my word too - hope that's okay, Vitaly Ana.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

North, that's a strange one. Never knew why you guys wanted North as your cardinal point. What happens North? Does the god set? Does she rise? No! North and South, they just observe the action! East and West – that’s where it’s at!

We, the Humans, ‘Maya’ in your tongue… we know what’s important. East! That’s the cardinal point, where the gods create each day. Birth! That’s what’s cardinal!

You, you’re forever rotating, waiting for tomorrow to bring whatever today’s already brought. But us… we’re on a celestial treadmill, drawing the Sun God to us every morning.

I think we win.



Next word - that old Blackadder favourite: "sausage"


----------



## escorial (Jun 14, 2013)

Eggs,bacon and Sausage is a traditional english breakfast that has been used to cure hangovers. The french often comment english cuisine is for survival and not for flavour or taste. So we have a continental breakfast versus a full english and if I was french sitting at an english cafe and ask for a continental brecky they would get a mug of tea an a cake. Now an english customer in france who asked for a full english would get streaky bacon and a runny egg with a sausage of sorts and that is why anglo-french relations crap.

"versus"


----------



## Chaeronia (Jun 24, 2013)

Versus. 

**

_I'm Lying But You Knew That Anyway_

The crowd cheers; flags move with spastic fervour. The giant telecast crumbles to tesserae, circles, re-coagulates.

_Your Naivety Is Vestigial To A Millennia-Long Addiction To Serfdom. You Are Politically Congenital_

The cheer is staggered this time, splintered by reading speeds and degrees of comprehension. My colleagues make notes, thus so do I, using them as disguise. The next edition of _Verses of Versus_ is due.

Another pixellated ballet as the slogan dis- and reassembles.

_We Might Be Scum But You're Witless Idiots_

The roof lifts. Celebrations are bestial.  

Still, I remain determined.



Next: Rictus


----------



## Charlaux (Jul 19, 2013)

The measuring tape snaps back into its case like a scorched lizard tongue. It’s too cold in the room, and all gray: you’d expect it to have stuck to the metal surfaces: metal filing, a metal work desk, metal instruments of measuring. The metal-cased bulb. The chill of a morgue. 

My hand is clasped, and I’m warmly welcomed: “Welcome.”

It’s intimidating, looking up at him so all-in-black. No tie, and sleeves rolled back, folded along the cuff edge. Cool, powdery hands. 

It’s a relief to be finally welcomed but the would-be sigh waits forever in my chest. 

When he’s not looking, my rictus widens imperceptibly. 



Next word: dust


----------



## Taknovrthewrld (Jul 19, 2013)

Todd and Hank built houses, and their current project had far passed the deadline. Both of them felt cold as they rushed to finish the house. Hank was rushing to measure and cut board when Todd bumped into his table saw. The cut was crooked.

"Drown you! What're you doing?"

"The same thing for fifty years, Hank!"

The two shared an expressionless look. Hank stepped back from his work. Heavy dust covered the machine he'd been using. He reached for the handle, passed through it.

"Boy, are we dead?"

"Everyday you've asked me, since the beginning. You never stopped working."



Next word: flux


----------



## Accentuated atmosphere (Aug 2, 2013)

*Flux:*

The beautiful girl, she rode a pristine white horse through the land of her father. her dress flies freely in the clamorous gales as the windy whispers become adverse wails. Her horse runs with a start and she is propelled off of it.

Mud covers the dress and her face is daubed with her salty tears.

The girl's armor had a chink. She clutched her chest in mortal pain as her heart dared to stop pumping once more. She had set out without her medicine. Slowly, things grow darker.

Her dress still clings to the desiccated husk left behind.  

Next word:
Unwelcome


----------



## Pishwi (Aug 2, 2013)

*Unwelcome
*Max hesitated at the base of the casino. He'd been kicked out twice already, and if it was the same bouncer as the last two times, he could only expect worse.

He walked up a few steps, and peaked over the top; it was him again, the same bulky, bald man. Max cursed and retreated back. He needed a disguise, else he'd be completely unwelcome. A smallish man came waddling down the steps towards him, sporting a mask similar to the one worn by Renaissance doctors. Of course! It was the masquerade festival! He ran back to the mask shop.

Next word: *Rice*


----------



## emilie (Aug 9, 2013)

I'll never forget the day that I took the challenge my friend gave me.  He basically demanded that I drink five cups of rice wine.  I had told him that every alcoholic beverage leaves the drinker hung over in the morning.  And he had said that rice wine doesn't.  So, we argued. And that was how the bet got started.  I was determined to drink every drop of that nasty tasting stuff, then throw it up afterwards to prove that there was nothing special about rice wine.  I became disgusted at the first sip.  It tasted terrible.  Strangely though, I discovered my friend was right.  Rice wine is the only drink that won't make you sick if you drink too much.

Next word: sidewalk


----------



## Odd Greg (Aug 20, 2013)

“Hey, Jimmy!”

Samuel came running down the stairs from his porch with a silver-colored bag in his hand.

“You gotta see this!”

“Yeah,” said Jimmy. “What is it?” He was watering his yard with a hose, swaying the nozzle gently left and right.

“There’s this new place up on Broadway. You know? At Marine?”

He stopped and opened his bag for Jimmy to see inside.

“Huh. Flamingos. Really? Um, nice, I guess.”

“Yeah, the place is called, _The Stairway to Heavenly Savings_. Lots of great stuff.”

Jimmy shook his head and snickered.

“More like _The Sidewalk to Walmart_,” he said.

Next Word: *Candlewick*.


----------



## RyGuySandman (Aug 30, 2013)

*Candlewick Park*

So there he stood. On the edge of going crazy and the front porch stoop of the trailer inhabited by the woman who'd drove him there. Wasn't her fault they were stuck in a sinkhole cesspool like Candlewick but what could ya do.

He snuffed his cigarette out on the ground, watching the embers dance as he ground them against the concrete. Spitting the taste of the burned tobacco from his mouth he yelled, "you ready yet?"

Everyone watched the old man. He called out to his wife from the front step, just as every morning since she had passed.

Next Word: Nepotism


----------



## midnightpoet (Sep 6, 2013)

Bianca lit a cigarette and leaned back in the swivel chair.  Old Walter will get his comeuppance now.  He just thought being the President's nephew would get him the V.P's spot.  Now, setting at the V.P's desk with her name on the door, she couldn't help but laugh.  Old Walter had just one problem.  He wasn't the president's mistress.

- - - Updated - - -

oops.  Next word: graceful


----------



## enchantedsecret24 (Sep 6, 2013)

I cling to the rooftop for dear life, as my feet dangle, and my body sways from side to side. I can't believe Dan really pushed me, he  must be insane! Me, a werewolf? HA!

"Stop fighting it Lala," Dan yells down at me.

I'm completely breathless now, as I repeatedly try to pull myself back up. This time my hands slip completely.

I fall towards the earth, and my fear rings loud in the quiet night. I land on the ground, hard, in a perfect crouching position. I look up at Dan and he smiles at me, then leaps off of the roof and lands beside me.



Next word: Train


----------



## midnightpoet (Sep 17, 2013)

Joel clutched the haversack as he climbed toward the train's last boxcar.  He had been running for hours, it seemed, and he wasn't sure if the posse was still after him.  He had stolen the haversack, which contained a few dollars and a half-eaten sandwich, from a homeless man just minutes before.  Luck was with him, the boxcar door was open he climbed inside just as the train lurched forward.  He devoured the rest of the sandwich and soon fell asleep behind a large crate.  

When he awoke, the haversack was gone.

- - - Updated - - -

next word: tree


----------



## Candervalle (Sep 19, 2013)

“Will you get down from that tree Tippet!” Mr. Crumpfeather was bristling at the youth’s hijinks. “You will run afoul of that beast,” cried Mr. Crumpfeather from his ivory stool so quaint in the garden. “Oh go on you old blowhard,” retorted the rebellious youth from his high perch. Mr. Crumpfeather was so taken aback from this slight that his flabby jaw quivered until his lit pipe fell to the ground. “Now see here you rogue, that tree will be the death of you!" And just like that, the tree grabbed the stubborn boy and pitched him from its heights.

Next word: doubt


----------



## escorial (Sep 19, 2013)

Never doubt your own ability and let yourself become absorbed in the whole thing. Not advice someone gave her just a notion a saying she picked up along the way, may have been in a movie or a magazine article but the main thing was she kept plugging away with her ability and hoped to recieve some recognition for her work. She was always aware of the fact she was unpaid for her passion and the time given up to it was getting less and less but the need to create and put it out there was a lifetime goal.

Next word..ability


----------



## Pennywise (Sep 23, 2013)

“I can do magic” boasted Ronnie to his younger brother John. Ronnie was an eight year old bright kid who loved bullying his five year old younger brother. “With my magic spell I will turn you in to a pup and take you for a walk in the park” teased Ronnie again. John is just about to start crying when their mother Martha interjects “John don’t take your brother seriously and Ronnie you have the ability to ruin a perfectly peaceful day. No more antics from you”.   Ronnie squirms and leaves the room and John follows suit, both are inseparable.

Next Word: Let go


----------



## illogical (Nov 27, 2013)

*Let Go
*I look down, and see crowds of people going about their daily  lives. They don’t know me, and I don’t know them, but I admire each and  every one of them. They are strong. They have succeeded.
Succeeded where I have failed.
A cold gust of wind catches me off guard and my hand begins to shake. Do it. Now.
I can’t.  My fingers won’t unfurl, won’t let me fall. I know this is the  only way, but it still brings a bubble of mucus to my throat.
Don’t think. It’s too late to think.
Close my eyes.
Let go.*

Next word: *Hope


----------



## ThornhillD (Dec 14, 2013)

Silence, it is the whispering sounds of death. Not a single person in the crowded room spoke nor made eye contact with anyone or anything but the floor. The man by the door, standing in attention, clean, shaven, and crisp in a decorated uniform, pierced our very souls with his hard gaze. Hate took up the empty space in his pupils. A man walked in shouting in a foreign tongue signaling us that it was time to go. we walked in line into the night. The air, infected with the fouls smell of burnt death. He led us into a dark room, no lights, just soft dark powder on the floor. The silence remained as he closed the the only exit. The silence was broken with screams for we knew the fires were coming. hope did not come this day.

"sky"


----------



## Warrior Monk (Dec 18, 2013)

"Watch the sky! That is where our salvation lies!"

The man wearing the canvas bag screamed to passing walkers, most of whom ignored him... Except one girl. She knew what the "crazy" man was talking about. She had abducted him and taken him to their world to run tests. But he was wrong. There was no salvation up there. Only more pain and misery, like here on earth. 

The man's gaze fell on her. He recognised her. He  knew now that he was in for a whole different kind of screaming, a whole different kind of misery. 

New word: Watermelon


----------



## KnightPlutonian (Jan 4, 2014)

They’d spent months tilling the cold, hard ground, hoping for a single vine to show. When one did, they were almost unbelieving. They’d thought the nuclear wars had destroyed the soil, scorched it beyond saving. But through sheer perseverance, they’d managed to cultivate a portion of it back to life.

Even after the initial success, they were disappointed with the yield from the plant for none had come. It had sat there, seemingly unmoving, and had send their spirits spiraling downwards. But after they noticed the soil being raised, they dug down. There existed a single plant. One, house-sized watermelon.


----------



## M. Cull (Feb 3, 2014)

Picking up where we left off, with arbitrarily chosen word from last post:

*Cold

*Hours have left me,
Days have gone by.
Hundreds of weeks
Of life gone awry.

Losing the battle
And not winning the war,
I'm left with just prattle
and a void for a core.

At times, I have wondered
where it all fell apart,
how within me was sundered
not just my beating heart,

But yours, too.  

Time before that was wondrous,
life and color and heat.
No storm was too thunderous,
that we’d bow in defeat.

Yet here we are, separate
all our passion winked out
And our life that was temperate
with a love so devout,

Is Cold.






Next word: 

*Thunder*


----------



## davidtrounce (Feb 7, 2014)

Lifting up her watermelon, Ally came in out of the thunder. There was no point looking up anymore. Those once glorious days when her youtbue hit singles were ringing down broadband cable were long gone.

She snapped at Ronnie as she walked in to the kitchen "pick up your rubbish. You to John". The rain was now pelting down and the thunder grew louder and the skies grew darker. The light began to flicker.

Ally lived with her brothers in a large house. It had to be large, and Ally had to be strong to carry such a house-sized watermelon in to the kitchen.

A watermelon this size could feed them for months. “If only I had a knife.” she whispered to herself.

Next: knife.


----------



## Pluralized (Apr 15, 2014)

...


----------



## Bard_Daniel (Apr 15, 2014)

Knife Fight:

They danced, like princes of the underworld, across the stage of the back alley.

"I'll cut you good, fucker!"

Johnny came at him low, poising to cut his nuts off and have them scrambled, like eggs, all over the floor.

"Eat shit."

A siren rang. Both men stopped what they were doing and looked around.

The cops were already waiting.

Justice; mercy; benevolence.

Three words that are hard to define, in utility, in the modern world.

But when they put them in the back of the police car.

I think all three came true.

==

Next: Truth?


----------



## Ari (Apr 15, 2014)

Truth​
David finishes with both arms tight against his chest, hands gripping my foot, a vice for me to stand in. My left leg is stretched out behind, arms in perfect alignment, perfect arabesque. David shifts slightly, balancing me. 
At last he says, “down”.
I move my legs together, twist to put my hands on his shoulders. He catches my hips and lowers me to the ground.
Stanislav nods, curtly, arms folded. “Better. Now do it again.”
I take a shuddering breath and he suddenly frowns at me. “Hungry?”
“No.”
“Good.”
He always asks that question and never wants the truth.

--

Next: perfect


----------



## Pandora (Apr 16, 2014)

The young girl skips from the the gas station store, trying to catch up to her big brother. Pretty pink bows carefully placed in her hair 
match her pink high top tennies.  I think, pretty in pink head to toe. She stops in front of my car to unwrap her candy. 
Her pure white sweater contrasts her beautiful brown skin, small hands delicately remove the candy which she quickly pops in her mouth. 
Her dark eyes raise to meet my green, I smile, she smiles then adds an instinctive, shy wave for me and skips on. 

Alone, quiet in the car, I replay what I've seen, knowing how preciously perfect it is.




Next . . .

Wind
​


----------



## Plasticweld (Apr 16, 2014)

*Intimadated  exactly 100 words*

It sat in the corner, if it were a staring contest, I would lose. Coiled up like a snake waiting to pounce I had no desire to ever get near this thing. 

My dad was 6’4 I never saw him wrestle one.

My daughter’s pit bull attacked it with vigor, no matter how hard she shook it, it continued to growl un phased 

My wife told me to use this thing, I could not just sit here in the living room and write.  Reluctantly I agreed, I guess I would have to break tradition 
I would run the vacuum cleaner


----------



## Pennywise (Apr 20, 2014)

Plasticweld said:


> It sat in the corner, if it were a staring contest, I would lose. Coiled up like a snake waiting to pounce I had no desire to ever get near this thing.
> 
> My dad was 6’4 I never saw him wrestle one.
> 
> ...


​whats the next word


----------



## Plasticweld (Apr 20, 2014)

Cleaner


----------



## Pennywise (Apr 20, 2014)

I woke up with a jolt from my Sunday siesta as I hear a commotion. I look out the window and see the neighborhood kids cleaning a stray Kitten who had perhaps fallen in the ditch nearby to take respite from the heat. The more water they poured, the cleaner it got and was soon a pure white color. The kitten seemed to be enjoying the cold water and all the rubbing. But as soon as they let go of him, he runs back into the ditch. Kids shrug and find stray dogs. Children definitely move on faster than adults.

next word - blank


----------



## CosmicGhost (Jun 5, 2014)

-------Meeting one of my first loves later in life. She was in a car accident which resulted in spotty memory of her past, but she is healthy and 100% functional now.-------

You don't remember the ferry out of Seattle? 
_
We went to Seattle? _

 Yes we went to Seattle, with my parents. It was the day the Kingdome was demolished. We tried to see the Nirvana exhibit that just opened but it was too expensive. Remember how much we loved Nirvana? We went to every record store we could find looking for music and clothes. I have a picture still, you were beautiful.
_
 No, I don't remember any of it. It's all blank. _

 What do you remember about me, back then? 

_ Sex. Lot's of sex, we were crazy kids huh?_

 I nodded.



Next word: Candlemaker


----------



## Freezeblink (Jun 6, 2014)

“No! Please, I don’t know anything!”

The caped man pushed him hard against the wall, “Do you know why they call me Candlemaker?”

The other man nodded quickly, his movements quick and rigid with fear.

“Good, then you know what I can do. Now tell me where your boss is.”

The criminal froze for several seconds. This time Candlemaker pushed and held him against the wall by the neck.

“No! Ok, we have a warehouse by the docks. 32b. He stops by every few days to check on us. You can stake it out or do whatever hero shit you guys do.”

Candlemaker smiled and held the criminal as he struggled to get away. He watched as the criminal’s skin became glossy and rigid as it turned to wax.

“I’m no hero.”

Next word: Ice


----------



## Pandora (Jun 6, 2014)

A winter memory in the ice covered North . . .
Weather on it's way might bring some icicles to challenge us all. Six foot icicles, fatter than 2 small, mitten covered hands can reach around. Smooth and bumpy, shiny and clear.  When looked through, they magically,distort the world. A cold phenomenon, hanging water, drip, drip, drip. Listen to nature's beat, we'll do the icicle dance! A twisted treat for the young at heart, slips through the lips, a guaranteed smile! They melt in the cold winter sun, a fresh smell beckons Springtime is just around the corner. 


next word . . . tremors ​
​


----------



## Hitotsmami (Jun 6, 2014)

My first time trying one of these challenges!

---

Tremors.

Another beer.

A skinny gray cat paced by. It mustn’t have noticed me, sleeping in trash.

“Boo!”

The cat darted down the alley and around a corner. I sunk back into the trash and scratched my overgrown beard. The tremors must have lulled me to sleep. A glance at the sky, between two low-income apartment buildings, proved it was still night.

I grabbed an empty beer bottle and pushed it to my lips, sucking desperately for a drop like a babe would from its mother’s breast.

When I failed to taste the fermented yeast, the tremors came again.

---

Next word... Decoy!


----------



## Taknovrthewrld (Jul 21, 2014)

A story told only through dialogue, because why not?
-----------------------

"Well, looks like a fan has ran onto the field, Mike, and by the looks of it he's not wearing any pants..."

"I see, Chad. And there goes security. Boy, that guy should run for the home team! They should give him a uniform and put him on the field!"

"Ha! Yeah, Mike - Oooo! There’s another! Seems the first was only a decoy, now there’s two - wait, no! Three, four, five - there are at least ten now! Security can’t possibly catch them all!”

Well, Chad, they couldn’t have planned it better. Security is too thin at this point...”

“Oh well...”
----------------

Next word: Mattress!


----------



## Elsey2 (Jul 29, 2014)

Bone-shattering winds whipped through my body and blew the blizzard-like conditions into the exposed skin on my face. The stinging was becoming unbearable, and I scolded myself for the fiftieth time for not purchasing a snow blower.

Was the extra two hundred dollars really worth_ this_?

I wiped the icy flakes from my bitter, red cheeks felt an added chill as my teeth chattered and a puff of smoke left my frost-bit lips. The pain in my lower back began to feel paralyzing, though my boots pushed forward to finish shoveling the last few yards of snow in the driveway.

I sighed, recognizing the snow was beginning to decorate the asphalt that I had already cleared. To add insult to injury, I looked up to see nothing but the large, orange snowplow heading in my direction. It was arrogant and menacing as it made its way toward me at the top of the drive.

No, please no. I begged silently to myself, though I knew what came next was inevitable.

Without warning, a wave of snow showered over my head like a spitting, icy ocean laughing in my face as the oversized automobile barreled its way laughing down the dark, empty street.

There was one thing I fantasized about at that moment. I wanted to be back on my mattress wrapped in my fluffy down comforter with the heat blaring to seventy degrees.

New England winter; why must you be so cold?

-----------

Next word: Restaurant


----------



## Courtbot (Jul 31, 2014)

The restaurant was too chilly to serve ice cream and too warm to serve hot chocolate. The people at the restaurant were mostly temperate. Except for the waitress who was too hot for the frigid forty year old on a date. 


The menu was too diverse with too many choices. The people were not unique enough to gossip about. The food was terrible in a variety of ways. The chefs were uniformly apathetic.


The owner was too tired to deal with his terrible, terribly sad restaurant. He had sold his soul to the kitchen and found it had been undercooked.

Next word: microphone


----------



## Pandora (Aug 6, 2014)

October 31, 2009 Philadelphia Spectrum, Section 102, 2nd row under Eddie's microphone . . . 
I've felt thankful to have Pearl Jam in my life. Each song like a page of my story, a time, a memory to recall happy or sad. Here, with these men in front of me, really seeing them, into their eyes, I felt I almost knew them. I had a profound feeling of God's plan. His plan that brought them together 19 years before, together by given gifts and talents to share, create and bond in friendship. I knew I was apart of this plan, yeah! Rock on!


next word . . .

Smile


----------



## NickWolfe (Aug 9, 2014)

Mixed emotions bubbled through me as I sat waiting.
"Smile!" The photographer said, and then the camera flashed.
That instant I knew exactly how I felt, angry. Angry at the fact I was forced to sit on a man's lap and have a picture documented of me WHEN I was angry. Angry that the photographer could not pronounce my name right no matter how hard she tried. I was angry that my family picked their stuff up and left me at that place. Angry at the fact the man I sat on was a fraud. No more smiles after that.



Next word...
Faith


----------



## KayMarie22 (Aug 13, 2014)

"I have faith in you. I have faith in the man you can become.  I know you're capable of greatness."  My words fell onto a calloused heart.
"Even though I know things are over between us, someone had to say them. You had to know that." His eyes grew tired as though he wondered how much of a fool I could make of myself.
"I could never walk away without at least telling you the way that I see you and I hope someday you'll see it too. "  I wanted him to love me, but I'd rather he love himself.


Next word:  love


----------



## Pandora (Aug 13, 2014)

It is warm and sunny, smells like fresh mowed lawn. I'm in the driveway of our small brick cap cod home, playing with my Superball, cool invention unless you have to pay for the broken windows. My father arrives about 10:30, he is driving his new 1966 Plymouth Sport Fury II, white with black top, snazzy. His round red face is smiling, he is mine until dinnertime.


"Come on Tinker, let's go to the liquor store!" I jump into the co-pilots seat as he calls it, usually Mom's spot, not today, it's Saturday! 

I love to ride with Dad.



Next word : Promise


----------



## Plasticweld (Aug 13, 2014)

Let your no mean no and your yes mean yes.

I tried to drum this into my kids while they were growing up, the way to do this of course is by example.  When my kids asked to do something, I asked for the details, they were always given a yes or a no, never a maybe. 

There were times when I should not have said yes, it would have been easy to say I changed my mind and the answer is no.  My unwritten promise to them was that I would be constant and dependable in what I say.

Next word:  Trust


----------



## TimH216 (Sep 26, 2015)

We were out to eat at a Mexican restaurant before our date to the opera. My date chose only a side salad and water for her meal. I decided to go with the Spicy Burrito. The regret set in just as the waitress took the check. We get to our seats and the rumbling begins. I find release at high notes as I lean to the side, but I can no longer hold this one in. I wait for a high note and release as the opera house explodes. But it was me that they heard. Never trust a fart.

Next word : check


----------



## Red Sonja (Nov 28, 2015)

Inooho became ruler; his mercenaries roved our lands. He didn't like slackers and especially not elders or mothers not going to the fields. Sometimes people were shot. Many vanished.

Inooho came to Meb's hut. Old Meb sat in the sun and sorted plantains. "Why is he not in the fields?" Inooho demanded.

Meb gave Inooho a contemptuous look. Enraged, Inooho leveled his gun at the old man.

Meb pushed a lever and a contraption sprang from the dirt; basket-like, it carried Inooho over the escarpment and dropped him onto the shore far below. "Check," Meb said, and continued sorting.

------------

(99 words)


*NEXT: Service *


----------



## Red Sonja (Dec 23, 2015)

(100 words) 

King Frotto was deposed. Angry ranting continued to emanate from his dungeon cell.

Us service guys leaned on our spears as palace captives, mostly disheveled women and whimpering brats, huddled against a wall awaiting disposition. One stood apart. Recognizing Treyva, I approached.

"Have you been treated well?" She spoke not, of course. "Don't worry," I said. "Doubtless you'll attract a nobleman."

Eyes flashing: "I told Frotto everything! Yet your men walked right into the palace."

For a moment I waited, then said with a smile I could not repress: "Frotto must also know what a liar you usually are, then."

-----------

Whoops, forgot the next word: 

*Electricity*


----------



## Red Sonja (Jan 1, 2016)

(100 words)

Lisa couldn't believe it. There was Shana, waiting for the bus, grinning idiotically.

Lisa stopped, jumped from her car. How could Shana, whom Lisa had driven into ruin, dare show her face?

"What are you smiling at, stupid cow?" Lisa demanded. "You have no car or money, and your electricity was just turned off!"

Blinking, Shana replied: "…Because it's a nice day…?"

"Do you know who I am?"

"Uh… not really, no."

Lisa's eyes bugged out; she started ranting, and was still doing so when the cops arrived. By that time Shana's bus had pulled up and Shana was gone. 

*NEXT: Grumble *


----------



## Red Sonja (Jan 20, 2016)

Bookstore

Guys lolled about the entrance. One laughed at my halting progress into the store.

Curtains, shelves, books – some rare editions. Somewhere somebody vaporlocked in unintelligible polyglot.

I dinged. An angry man burst into view. "What do you want?"

"This… is a bookstore…?"

Grabbing a random book, he threw it with detestation. "For you, elderly cow!"

Scooping the book, I scrammed.

Outside I hit the mic. "It's definitely your boy." Within seconds, the grumbling sounds of SWAT vehicle arrival made me hasten.

The book was "Tales of Mystery and Imagination," 1923 version with colored plates.

_I'm keeping this,_ I thought. 

------------------------

100 words not counting the title! And: Happy birthday E.A. Poe! 

-------------

*NEXT: Pendulum *


----------



## GVictoria (Jan 20, 2016)

I looked to the setting sun wistfully from the window in my apartment. I sighed. Everything was so peaceful and happy with the birds chirping and the children laughing. I can't help but hate it. I turned away from the view and looked at my grandfather clock instead.


_If only... _


I shook myself from those thoughts. They're not good for me, but it's hard to avoid thinking about all the regrets I have during that time. My eyes followed the pendulum's motions, hypnotized.


_I could have saved him then..._


I closed my eyes. _I wish I can turn back time.

_
Next Word: Syncing


----------



## bdcharles (Jan 21, 2016)

_… our thoughts are syncing … can this be real …?_

I looked for the speaker, but the medication reduced my movements to a lurch. I flopped back on the hospital bed, exhausted.

_... mmm … machine consciousness … _

Nurse Givers fussed with her red perma-smile, lifting tiny vases, setting them down. _She’s preparing the room, damn you_, I thought. _For the next resident_. The opiates seemed to twist my body into different shapes. Dysmorphia, they call that.

_i’m … coming on-line_

Overlaying the room, shimmered banks of computers. _Never sleep again_, I thought, panicking. _Switch me off switch m-


*# *_*Next word: *_*fractious*
_


----------



## Saul Bee (Aug 9, 2016)

Eyes wide hands clenched words spewed forth.
"Don't you dare touch me!"
Each movement was thought about carefully, slow and designed not to antagonise.  This pair had been here before. The space between them gradually diminished and as it evaporated that calm voice lied again.
"It's not a problem we can sort this out."
Predictably unpredictable a book flew past.
As the two bodies collided the tension seemed to flow from one to another.  One figure stiffened waiting for the next explosion, the other went limp. Tears flowed and a voice sobbed "You hate me now!"
Sadly it was true.

Next Word: Elevated


----------



## per se (Aug 22, 2016)

The elevator chimed harshly as the door silently slid open. I stepped in, practicing my confident stride. Alone, I took a calming breath. As the door closed, a manicured hand shoved into the shrinking space. The door opened on a young mother pushing a baby on the cusp of toddlerhood in a stroller. Maneuvering into the metal box, she spun around to face the door, then resumed gazing at her phone. I peeked at the child, finding blue eyes staring at me with open interest. I gave him my best conspiratorial smile. He beamed back at me. I was ready.

Next word: Twelve


----------



## ned (Aug 23, 2016)

Twelve

The man watched calmly as the innkeeper scratched notes on a slate. "A table for twelve you say?"
The man nodded, adding. "Plus myself."
"In the private room upstairs?" Again, the man nodded.
"That's fine, but our cook is off that night. and It'll be a miracle if she comes in."
The man half-smiled. " What can you offer, at such short notice?"
The innkeeper now scratched his head. "We have wine, as much as you want. But as for food, I can only suggest we order extra bread rolls from the bakery."
"That's perfect." Said the man, now fully smiling.

Next word: Train


----------



## midnightpoet (Aug 23, 2016)

Frank sat quietly in the corner of the boxcar as the train sped through the night. The click-click of the wheels had nearly put him to sleep, but he had only dozed off a few times. He had planned the trip carefully; disguised as a hobo, he blended in and no one took him notice. As the morning sun rose, the train stopped not far from where he expected.  He grabbed his knapsack and climbed to the roof of the car.  Taking out his scoped rifle, he set it up and waited – the President’s motorcade would be along any minute. 

Next:Rifle


----------



## ned (Aug 26, 2016)

The Deer Hunter

Squinting through the telescopic sight, the hunter breathes easy, as his pop had taught him, and releases a round on the cusp of the out-breath, targeting the heart. The shot rings out, scaring birds into the sky and strikes the doe in the head, causing it to briefly quiver then slump to the ground.
The hunter lets out a holler and runs into the glade. Too heavy to carry, he kneels next to the carcase and takes a quick selfie with his cell-phone then wanders back to his truck. Unnoticed, in the cover surrounding the glade, two fawns look on.

Next - Beach


----------



## eefraoula (Aug 28, 2016)

When I came to, I was underwater, the ocean currents churning and stirring as if I was a hunk of meat in a salty stew.
A sharp pain burned in my chest. I hoisted my head out of the water, filling my lungs with air.
In the distance, a hazy shore glistened. Dazed beachgoers laid unmoving, baking under the sun.
I took a deep, ragged breath and shouted: “Hey! Help-” but a frothy wave suddenly rushed over me.
As I resurfaced with a panicked gasp, I heard a faint chuckle, an amused voice from behind:
“Get on the boat, dumbass.”

Next word: claw


----------



## Shirl the Whirl (Sep 2, 2016)

Adam's cat purred with contentment as I stroked her silky fur.  She snuggled further into my lap, serenely closing her eyes and luxuriating in the attention.  I felt myself relaxing and wondering why I had never liked cats.  Adam smiled at me, and I felt like I had passed a final test.  He put his arm around me, and as I gazed into his eyes, I let out a gasp as the cat's claws sank into my thigh. He took it as a gasp of love.  Our first kiss was an exquisitely painful reminder of the fickle nature of felines.


Next:  milk


----------



## Teb (Sep 20, 2016)

Smoke billows, each breath contains scalding hot air that catches in the lungs. Flames flicker and dance in the morning half light, creating surreal shadows that could be straight from the very depths of Hell itself. A banshee shriek pierces the air and echoes into the distance as a figure approaches through the haze, tall and sinister it’s mouth aglow.

The guard stops, removes his cigarette from his lips, waves his green flag and the footman acknowledges with another blast of the steam whistle. The last few goodbyes are said as the steam train begins down the lines.

Basking


----------



## Grub-r (Oct 19, 2016)

The spotlight shines intense. Awash in its glow, the man sees nothing. Not the standing crowd in front of him cheering or the notes he meticulously prepared, now forgotten. The whistles cut sharply through the applause, a gull's call interrupting the rhythmic sound of the waves crashing on the beach. 

He closes his eyes, feeling the heat from spotlight sun against his skin, a rejuvenating rush. The journey here was fraught with impossible obstacles left conquered in his wake. 

Wave after wave, the accolades wash over him, flooding him with joy and pride. Alone on the beach, basking in glory.

Word: Mosaic


----------



## dither (Nov 3, 2016)

From my bus-stop at around six-thirty in the morning. Across the busy main road from where i wait runs a seven foot metal railing perimeter fence along fairly wide footpath cum cycle path. Inside the fence, a row of maturing tall trees set back some ten metres or so , stand in a carpet of fallen leaves. The ground-covering is a mass of reds and browns, from gold and tan right through to the darkest chocolate. A natural mosaic cast down by the changing of the seasons. Beyond the trees dogs run and chase around with abandon on a field of frosted grassland.


Errrm,
does this count? Is it worthy? I hope you guys won't mind. It's just a  dither...

Word: Company.

I think i've stretched interpretation of the word " mosaic " to the very limit.
Apologies all.


----------



## jenthepen (Nov 5, 2016)

Bill was on the annual shopping trip to buy Christmas presents with the family and, on the way, he called into the garage to complain about a recent repair on his car. 
  Unable to get any satisfaction, he slammed the door on the way out and got back behind the wheel. “Call themselves a reputable company!” he yelled, “What a useless cowboy outfit!”
  Bobby, sitting in the back seat began to sob quietly and his mother glared angrily at Bob. “Fancy shouting like that!” she said, “You’ve upset him now!”
  “Yes,” wailed Bobby, “he knew I wanted a Superman outfit.”



Word:  Boots


----------



## dither (Nov 5, 2016)

He has a ten minute walk to catch the bus that will take him to within about half of a mile from where he works. From there it's a good twenty five minute walk, he's no slouch and he's in his sixties. Mind and body aching 24/7 screams " What the hell is going on here? " On Monday evenings he actually feels quite " up for it ", ish. But, as the week wears on those puppies are yelping and by the time he gets home on a Saturday morning a'owww!!!  Then f_i__nally, _he falls into an armchair and kicks off those damned boots. Ohhh man.​


 

 

 

​


Word: Joy.


----------



## jenthepen (Nov 7, 2016)

As the prison gate shut behind him, Albert Skinner gulped the warm spring air hungrily. There was a special joy in simply standing in the world of free men, yet he knew it was only a matter of time before he would be back inside.

  It might be a cliché to blame your background but, for Albert, there was no doubt that his life could have been different, if not for his father. His future was decided as soon as he was born. Governor Skinner had waited too long for a son to allow him to choose a different career.

Word:  moth


----------



## Ptolemy (Nov 7, 2016)

A moth darted past me on a summer day, landing perilously on my winter coat.
                “munch munch” said the moth with a gleeful smile, “thank you for this generous coat!”
                “But Moth you see, that coat doesn’t belong to you.” I said, wondering how a moth could talk.
                “Oh but good sir, I have a family, a house, rent you see! I need this coat to pay for my 76 moth babies!” he cried
                That’s when I contemplated and thought, wonder what I should ever do. I looked down at the moth. And realized.
                SMASH!
Moths can’t have 76 kids.

Next word is space


----------



## CBJason (Nov 11, 2016)

He sighed looking around: cold empty coffee thermos on one side, radio to the other, pens, photos, business cards, and various distractions laid all about. He didn't know where to put them. He couldn't write with this crap around.  He needed more space to clear his head. Music was peaceful enough, and lighting was perfect. He kept staring at the blank screen. Nothing was coming to him. _Write!_ he thought to himself.  Nothing. Why could he not produce during the day? It was only at night, when distractions faded that words began to flow. Right up until he lost consciousness...

Next word: nose


----------



## The Fantastical (Nov 13, 2016)

*The Nose Knows...*

The Nose was on the hunt again. This time a Bargain Error had escaped from the Infinite Wholesalers. They had called him in two days late, the trail had gone cold. But he was the Nose that knows. Looking up at the steel grey sky, he jumped into his Hovermobile and headed towards the high and lonely mountains. As he drove higher a mist descended. It was not long until he saw ahead of him a figure jogging in the mist. 


He pulled over alongside and rolled down the window, "Took you long enough to get out of there old friend...."

The next word is - *Bombilate*


----------



## Srossics (Nov 13, 2016)

[Ignore this post, I read the next word wrong]


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## Saul Bee (Nov 28, 2016)

On my back the grass seemed to stretch to infinity. I searched for peace.
Too long it had been since I escaped the sins of the world.  Then they arrived, insulting me with laughter, and rustling, and hot sweaty noises.
The rage exploded, they had no right to be in my place.  I was left to run again or perhaps, there was another way. Hard fingers felt hard stone and I rose from my bed of grass. Soon the naked writhing bodies were left dripping red and I settled back down, the grass stretching above. Lulled by the bombilating bees.


The next word is - hardware


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## dither (Jan 10, 2017)

I hope you guys won't mind. It's rushed and ill thought out which in itself is an insult to the forum. But it suddenly came upon me. I'm short of time and that keyword won't be there for ever.


Casting my mind back to the town-centre where i grew up I wonder how many people remember the Fine Fare Supermarkets. We had one, a big one. There was an upstairs cafeteria. T'was nothing fancy but a decent breakfast and an assortment of hot meals could be bought _and _eaten there at one of the many tables. Huge windows looked out over a thriving market. There was "The Exchange " public house. Goode's the Fishmonger's where upon entering you really did walk on a carpet of blood and sawdust. Crispie's the Hardwear-store and the magnificent All Hallows Church presided over all from across a thriving market square.​
I would like to offer up    " Locked " as the new keyword. Thank you.


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## jenthepen (Jan 13, 2017)

His heart was locked against the world. For fifty years he had lived alone and he was good at it. He congratulated himself on being a sufficiency unto himself and he had come to believe that he needed nobody.

After all, his needs were few and his pleasures simple. His beliefs about society were endorsed by the newspaper that arrived each morning to smooth any doubts that the world presented. The local shop provided all his culinary and sanitary needs and Mr. Patel, the owner, was reassuringly remote.

Yes, he decided, life was most satisfactory– and then he met Marjory.




Next word:  *windows*


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## dither (Jan 14, 2017)

jenthepen said:


> His heart was locked against the world. For fifty years he had lived alone and he was good at it. He congratulated himself on being a sufficiency unto himself and he had come to believe that he needed nobody.
> 
> After all, his needs were few and his pleasures simple. His beliefs about society were endorsed by the newspaper that arrived each morning to smooth any doubts that the world presented. The local shop provided all his culinary and sanitary needs and Mr. Patel, the owner, was reassuringly remote.
> 
> ...



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If only he'd got out more when he was younger but he'd been too scared, he hadn't dared. " Who cares? It doesn't matter now", he consoled himself. Of course he cared, of course it mattered and it hurt like hell but what's a soured old sixty something to do? At his time of life. And so, he walks the streets, alone. Looking in shop windows, neither seeing wanting and certainly not needing _anything. And it was on one such jaunt that he saw her. " See anything you fancy?" " Jesus! Learn to whistle, you shouldn't go sneaking up on people like that...._​


Is this allowed? Inspired by jen.

Keyword  DOGS.


----------



## Red Sonja (Mar 25, 2017)

No, I never wanted to participate in the experiment; as far as I know there were no takers. Simply put, he went insane, paid goons to kidnap me, and locked me in a cell, saying if I was "good enough at magic" I could easily escape. 

Walking through walls I had never practiced, but I knew some other things, and did those things. It was a boring couple of weeks, but when he released me and made his doggy apology, and put his entire estate worth a couple of million at my disposal, it somewhat made up for the ordeal.

*Mortify (any form of the word) *


----------



## MadMickyG (May 5, 2017)

How could I be anything else but outraged?
“It’s seven in the morning you idiot!” I yelled, hoping to be heard above the lawnmower shattering Sunday morning silence. I leapt from my bed in earnest, assured I would teach my neighbor some etiquette. My fingers jerked back as they touched my keys, the metal holding the night’s chill within. Defiantly, I picked them up and released each door lock from guard duty. Charging out with gusto, I approached. He stopped and looked at me, laughing. I went from furious to mortified instantly, just realising I hadn’t put on any pants!

Next word: machination


----------



## bdcharles (May 5, 2017)

MadMickyG said:


> Next word: machination




The first days of Closure were punctuated by the steely cocking of a million guns, or the hammering brutework of jackboots and distant _poom-poom_s, though none heard it deep under Tookinalla Station. Moans of filthy, tortured inmates begged lightless corridors to answer who had abandoned whom, for this was how the machinations of the new world operated; pushing vigorous pawns into places of high power and dispensing dry food to downturned mouths clustered round the chute by order of the Duke, whose money, the flickering newsreel reported, was almost gone.

Chains rattled, and spears of light split the cobwebby gloom.





Next word: "draughtsperson"


----------



## -xXx- (May 5, 2017)

bdcharles said:


> Next word: "draughtsperson"



Shazmyra rolled the nib between fingertips before touching the precious bit to wall. Any consistent scale would suffice, but the precise position was vital. What purpose would one smear among many hold?

Light, dry, some reference direction?

Turning one corner, running palm to surface beside an obscured grate, ticks and construction lines connected like a tribal tattoo: taut, tunneled. One needle shivered in a shallow divot no larger than three fingers width. Shazmyra drew the anchor above it: solar and magnetic declination brasscap.

NE6/Q2

The movement of air quickened, pushing Shazmyra’s pulsing climb to rest upon cast iron run overhead.

next word: compass


----------



## LadyF (May 20, 2017)

-xXx- said:


> next word: compass


 
She doesn’t need a sailor, she needs a captain, a captain...

A captain who will kidnap her on his yacht, and spend time with her in an open Jacuzzi in a still sea. His heart will be her compass…for a perfect sailing weekend and he will be wearing a captain’s hat.

She will sit upon his lap, he will tenderly bite her neck. They will sip cold champagne with the taste of kisses. He will playfully touch her and tease her. The vessel will gently rock side to side; beautiful music will blend with the noise from the blue infinity.

Next Word invented by me: Don't-Minder


----------



## w.riter (May 22, 2017)

.


----------



## w.riter (May 22, 2017)

LadyF said:


> Next Word invented by me: Don't-Minder



He was a Don't-Minder, a name invented by her. She was his accomplishement, his dream come true. His heary chest she would caress and they would make a mess in the bed by morning. Afterwards he would light a Cuban cigare and talk to her about the last night. Soon they would forget what they had been talking about as they would realize that they are still being active in bed. In the same bed.

''Hey, Don't-Minder!'', she would call on him. ''Do you mind? I need to go to work.''

''Get up and go wherever you want, just come back to me...I thought this was your work...?''

''Someone must have put something in your drink honey, I'm not a prostitute.''

''Do you really think I consider you a prostitute? I think you are my greatest accomplishment. I bankropted last night. I lit my cigare with a hundred.''

Next word: Pigeons


----------



## C.Gholy (May 23, 2017)

Todd didn't have many friends. His closest companions were the three pigeons in his back garden. They were not without their flaws. They had a tendacy to use his sister's head as a toilet, but sometimes it would hit the edge of the swing and all over her.

Kelly was a spoilt child. They had been sharing a room since the day she was born, but she offered so sympathy whenever he gets beaten up in the playground. 

Though Todd can always rely on the three pigeons. They always seem to watch over him. With little smiles in their little beaks.

Next word: Feather


----------



## w.riter (May 24, 2017)

C.Gholy said:


> Next word: Feather



The leader of the greatest Indian tribe, the great and notorious Hawk Feather, took with him the rest of his men composed of his personal guards, and headed for the highest point of the hill. All the other warriors were either dead or captured and their woman disgraced. Hawk Feather and his companions looked at the bright future; they had the ultimate meaning of the Indian way of life in their hands: dying a glorious death. 
''Men!'' he yelled to his soldiers, disappointed that they were not fit enough to fight the white man. ''We are here to avenge our brothers and sisters, our mothers and our fathers! So, make no mistake: we will be glorious!'' 
What did he mean by it? None of his men could tell. Were they to join another tribe? How was it all going to end? Or is the word of the blind medicine man going to become truth? For he foretold: ''The white men will take the remainder of us and put us in camps''.

Next word: Caramba


----------



## w.riter (May 28, 2017)

The bank robbery turned into a mess. First, he thought that the bank was empty. End of the working hours, no people inside, and an old security guard. None of it was true. His connection fed him false information. Instead, the place was crowded with police as another bank robber had tried to beat him to it and commit a robbery. 
''How on earth was I to know that another would come?'' Then it hit him: another bank of the same name, but in the completely different part of the town.
''Ay, caramba!'' was all he left behind to the police and the unsuccessful bank robber.

Next word: radio station


----------



## -xXx- (May 30, 2017)

w.riter said:


> Next word: radio station



White sand beaches pulled the blue-green depths into sparkling sheets before residual glitter became a last enticement.

"And they're paying me, too. Can you believe it?" drifted the sweet tones of sun ripening fruits.

"Yeah, twice a year. The signal comes in, I bounce it back out." Silence seemed to hum impatiently.

"Nah, it's a diagnostic challenge of some kind. Seem like nice enough guys. I mean, you should see the house I'm sitting. There's an edgeless pool from dawn 'til dark. Yeah, yeah. I'll catch you tomorrow. Go pick up the kiddos."

The antenna looked like a beach umbrella.

Next word: reef


----------



## w.riter (Jun 2, 2017)

-xXx- said:


> Next word: reef



The reef, called ''He'', spited the natural elements for thousands of years, and more. 
''Hey, honey, are we going to test our destiny and climb over to the reef?'' These words of his fiancee caused a bittersweet taste in his mouth. The heights gave him a strange feeling in his guts.

''You know how I feel about the heights...!'' 

''Well, you'll just have to overcome it.'' his fiancee was obstinately catching up with him: in spite of his fear he had already made headway to the reef.

''I'm overcoming it...!'' his pace was spiteful and hard. ''I'll get to that reef, even if it's the last thing I'll do.''

The both finally overcame the strenuos challenge, reaching the reefs top. Their bodies began moving for joy. Before they knew it, He collapsed under their weight, taking them with him down to the sea He wanted to kiss so much.

Next word: awe


----------



## SueC (Jul 25, 2017)

She forgot her lines... again. She stood staring at the camera lights, praying for inspiration. She could feel herself getting warmer as she knew all eyes were on her. He had just said, "Muriel, how do you feel?" and she, playing Muriel, was supposed to respond. How did Muriel feel, exactly? Did it even matter?

"Well, to tell the truth, Brian, I am not so great right now. I know I am supposed to tell you something, something we have all rehearsed again and again, but for the life of me I can't recall the line right now. Who cares?"



Next: Signs


----------



## bdcharles (Jul 25, 2017)

SueC said:


> Next: Signs




~ * ~ ​ 
The shapes of the clouds, the patterns of hopping frogs through the reedbed, even the exact note of the hum of insects in the trees, all told Echo that things were as good as they could be in this wide and flat land. No rivers were flowing away from the sea, and the sheep no longer walked in circles.

So a passing observer might wonder why she was stood perfectly unmoving in the market-place, fruit basket forgotten, desperate lips silently invoking god upon god for a signifier. For she had seen the man’s face, and his was so terribly familiar.



~ * ~​ 


Next: hilltop


----------



## H.Brown (Jul 25, 2017)

bdcharles said:


> Next: hilltop



Only moments I stand here looking down on my small patch of the world and I am astounded by its beauty. From my hilltop perch I see the people scurring about like ants. I see the sea sparkling in the distance, dotted with little boats. I hear the drone of vechiles hidden by trees, the joyous laughter and squeals of young children playing hide and seek.

This hilltop affords me the best smells; donuts mixed with freshly cut grass, mingled with the salty tang of sea fret. It's a conversation of life. Detached I stand and wonder, what about me?

Next: Plane


----------



## SueC (Sep 6, 2017)

I looked at my phone. _Where are you?_
_I’m in line. Where are you? _I wrote.
_                I’m just coming in. Which line are you in?_
_                The longest, slowest line on the planet._
                I looked around to see if I could find her.
_What are you wearing?_
_                Black. All black._
                Great, I thought. Black. I looked around for someone in black and saw a sea.
_What are YOU wearing?_ She wrote.
_                Same. Black too._
                My line inched forward. I could see the entrance.
_See you after the line, _I wrote, _I’m almost in_.
_Is there life after the line? _She replied.


Next: Hurricane


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## AustinFrom1995 (Sep 8, 2017)

I remember when it happened, I was only a small boy when the sirens rang, the streets filled with people and my mother grabbed me and ran out to join them. That's when I heard the predatory howling of wind, making the mistake of looking back I saw a large plume of dust and debris reaching into the sky. I became paralyzed with fear and would surly had remain cemented in place if not for my mother pulling me along. We became caught in a torrent of people as they fled their houses. But we became separated in the maelstrom... 

Next word: conspiracy 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## -xXx- (Sep 14, 2017)

Donovan skipped link to link collecting user attributes in a background app. Every half hour appended data processed and the graphic overview displayed the new mesh.

Journalist names appeared top left, center or right depending on the final bias assessment of the article. All sources sorted into organizational structures with bias orientations and capacity titles.

Thursday, September 14, and a bibliography footnote displayed beneath the report principal keywords. "Conspiracy" occurred 212 times in comments to original post; "agree/agreement" occurred 15 times within 10 press releases.

Donovan listened for the laserjet to initiate and straightened his tie, heading toward the taskforce.

*marathon*


----------



## C.Gholy (Oct 3, 2017)

Tom and Tim were prisoners in class. Mrs Jackson demanded absolute silence. 

"Algebra: what a load of rubbish!" Tom hissed, crushing his pencil tip on his exercise book. 

"That's maths for ya," Tim whispered, baffled at the textbook. 

"Acute angle, obtuse angle and reflex angle... what good is this going to do us in the future." 

The next twenty minutes seemed to drag. It didn't help that Mrs Jackson glared at them. 

"Time to pack up!" Mrs Jackson's announcement was music to their ears. The bell rang and they scurried out the door. "Hey! This is not the London marathon."

*
Back*


----------



## ChrisIsGreat (Oct 4, 2017)

He could never go back to home, he'd left it all behind for a reason.  Besides, there is no time like the present.  As he drove up the cliff, he's heartbeat grew faster and faster, knowing well what was about to happen, what would have always happened in the end.  He parked his car, taking the box out of the passenger seat he walked to the edge of the cliff, opening the box he took out the only thing, a ring.  He put it on and jumped knowing he could never come back.
[FONT=&quot]





[/FONT]
*wonder*


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## AustinFrom1995 (Oct 14, 2017)

She pulled her coat tighter as the late winter wind blew down from the mountains and into the valley, carefully stepping through the thick crust of snow Lucy made her way out to the edge of town. The sharp 'crunch crunch' of the snow was the only sound she could hear. Looking around to make sure she wasn't followed, she at last reached her house and went inside, unzipping her coat Lucy took out a small metallic box she had stashed in it, the box's secrets were disproportionate to its size, and inscribed on its surface was one word: wonder. 

Next word: Legacy 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## MacDub (Oct 28, 2017)

*Legacy*

   Jim sat alone in his one room apartment. Empty beer cans on the floor cast shattered reflections of light from the static flickering on his television.
   "When," he breathed, and slouched down in his chair with clenched fists. The hands on the wall clock clicked one last time and aligned straight up at twelve.
   A faint rapping tapped on his door from outside in the cold night. He stood up with a resigned sigh.
   Jim slumped to the door, turned the knob, and opened it. He knew what waited. He knew he would only leave behind his sad disheveled legacy.

Next word: trusted


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## jenthepen (Nov 2, 2017)

*Trusted*

Having an affair with a gangland boss’s favourite girl was a prescription for disaster but Rico couldn’t resist. Her raven hair and carmine lips had mesmerised him.
 She changed when the old man found out, put on quite a show with her crying and begging - said that Rico had threatened her, forced her. She could always get a man to believe what she said, especially when it was what he wanted to hear.
 She laid flowers on Rico’s grave after the funeral. She hadn’t signed her name but the imprint of her carmine lips on the card was signature enough.


next word:  promotion


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## Pelwrath (Nov 18, 2017)

*ASymposium*




“What determines the image we see,” I asked Dr. F
“Am I lame, but do we know we aren't the image?”
“Is it about left side vs. right side or upper vs. lower,” replied Dr.F
“If you accept the simile that your nervous system is a river, then is the mouth it's delta?”
“Why not the brain, for that is where they all lead,” I said.
“The brain is a spring, it's the source, Dr. M”
“I'll study on an island and will examine this, Dr. F”
“And I in my tower, Dr. M.”


Nextword:
Chary


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## MacDub (Nov 19, 2017)

*Chary​*_(adjective - cautiously or suspiciously reluctant to do something)​_
A curious sound scritched from within the box. Smears in the dust around it could be faintly seen.

He stood before the altar on which it sat. The end of a decades long search grew closer by the moment.

His trembling hand reached out even as he took small steps backward. Sweat formed on his brow as his eyes narrowed.

Upon touching the box, he flinched as if it were hot. The man shook his head in resolve and opened it.

Inside he found a scampering rat and a note reading: "I got here first."

"All for nothing," he whispered.

*Next Word: Relaxed*


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## Yours Truly (Dec 22, 2017)

*Relaxed*

Kitchen was clean, kids were in bed, it was time to relax. I walked to the living room. Karen was on the couch, wrapped in her fuzzy blanket that she loved. She looked so comfortable.
I sat in my lazyboy and waited for the inevitable drift into serene sleep. I was happy they couldn't taste it. Happy that I did it without violence. I could never admit to them what I had done, it was better this way. Life was hard, death would be easier. Finally, after all the pain we went through. We could just sit back, and relax.

*
Next Word:* *Anxiety*


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## ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord (Dec 13, 2019)

*Daymare *(Anxiety)

Tingling in my toes. I’m dying. No, it’s the oxygen … not enough oxygen. Throat closing. I’m dying. With my other eyeball I see the zombies crawling, as if they were really there. 

_Just breathe … _

I put food in my mouth. It becomes a living squirrel. I try to drink water; it’s full of tiny dead babies. I pick up my toothbrush, and it turns into a snake. Everywhere, everywhere, those awful orange worms, on the floor, on the walls, squishing under my heels--I shake my hands as hard as I can, trying to make them go away. 



Next theme: Secret place


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## Mish (Dec 17, 2019)

*Sanctuary* (secret place)

The ashes and splinters of yesterday are stripped away by the sanctity of the sanctuary as I slide into my new skin of tomorrow. The strife, the fear, the sadness are cleansed with forgetfulness. The sanctuary breathes inner peace, resets flawed perspectives and repurposes the inner strength towards the new battles of the new dawn. To some this secret place is an oasis to others an isolated dwelling and to others still it is a locked room reserved for desolate prayer. For me it has always been my home. Away from anxiety.
*
Attention span* (anxiety)

Focus! They are saying something important, I have to listen… Even though the deadline on my high priority tasks was yesterday. Or was it the day before? What are they going to say? What will they think of me? Am I a failure? No! Everyone makes mistakes once in awhile. They will understand. They will listen… Like I fail to right now? What did they say? Are they breaking? I should have really paid attention. I’ve done it this time. Wait, here they come. Are they mad? No. Phew… Sure, let’s have lunch!

Next theme: Psychosis


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## undead_av (Jan 18, 2020)

Theme: Psychosis*

Rocking Horse (100 words) *

Nickels clinking into the rocking-horse-machine. Grimy old nickels, ones you find under restaurant counters. You can get enough to fill all your pockets full.

You can get enough so you could buy anything. But you picked the rocking-horse-ride. 

Like when you were little, and you got to have a gumball _and _a ride. The glory of it! _Again_, you would beg, but you had to go home.

But you didn’t have to go home now. You could ride forever, putting in nickel after nickel—
_
Ma’am.
_
_            No. No! I don’t want to go home_.

            Nickels scatter across the sidewalk. 

_Not again.


_Next Theme: Primordial


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## ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord (Jan 18, 2020)

*In The Beginning*

"A little more carbon, I think," said the boy.

His Dad, sprinkling hydrogen from his fingertips, smiled and added a drop. "Beauteous."

"Hey Dad, watch this!" The boy smashed a ball of dust together. It glowed white-hot.

His Dad made his own clump and tossed it at the  boy. It exploded on his face in a brilliant crimson flash. "I like it, son!"

The boy roared with laughter, and sent his star hurtling like a snowball. Star after star they sent flying at each other, making circles in the formlessness, together kneading the whirling void.

Next theme: bogeyman


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## NoFuchsGiven (Jan 19, 2020)

I’ve been with him since the moment he was born. I’ve watched as he’s grown over the years. Each step he took I was right there encouraging him to take the next.  It hasn’t always been easy and he didn’t agree with everything I’ve said, but I can forgive him. Deep down he knows that I’m right. He’ll usually come around to my way of thinking. That’s the best thing about latching on to a soul from birth. You can influence the person much more. Make them do things they wouldn’t normally do. Things I want to do. Like Murder.

Next theme: travel
​


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## Knightmare92 (Aug 5, 2020)

"He's after you boy, you damn messed up this time!" Black smoke trickled through he's rotten smile, he's once gleaming sheriff badge now hang loosely stained, as if poisoned by hes black heart. 

"YOU better run boy!, you better travel!" 

So much for law and order,i straddled my horse and rode. Thats the last time i ever met eyes with that man, a few years later through word of mouth i found out that man got hung on corruption charges. Good riddance. 

"RUN BOY , RUN!"... in the end justice will be done

Next word : Hero


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## TL Murphy (Aug 7, 2020)

*Theme, Hero

*He cruises Megalopolis looking for trouble and finding it. He cares too much. He doesn’t know what he wants. 

_It’s better this way, he consoles himself, strapping on his favorite rocket shoes – too dangerous to be known, each move predicted, every thought calculated, the channels of his life laid out like a map rising from smoke each time he removes his mask. How could he walk the sinister streets and look villains in the eye if everyone knew the truth? No! _

He’s a mystery from the start, an enigma to the end with a silver bullet in his broken heart. 


Next theme: Loser.


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## rcallaci (Aug 19, 2020)

Just Desserts


He can’t believe he lost. He thought he was infallible, the second coming. But he’s just a pathetic loser.  He was going to make the country great again. Instead he made it worse.  He’s refusing to leave even though he lost by a landslide.  It’s time for me to intervene. 

“It’s time to go Donny, come on get out from under your desk and stop whimpering, it’s really annoying.” 

The orange idiot said, “Why have you forsaken me, I did all that you asked” 

“Ah yes, you made America a shithole, but I’m the freaking devil, what did you expect. 




 Next Theme: Hellfire


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## apple (Aug 19, 2020)

"I'm innocent, you bald-faced lying baboon!"

" Takes one to know one, right? Now, choose the room you will suffer for all eternity."

"YOU'RE FIRED!"

"Yep, hell's hot."

Orange halo was escorted to first door. Lost souls shrieked in agony. Flesh peeled and burned.  
Door two, torture reigned with whips, nails, and tearing dogs. 
Inside three, smiling people waded deep in feces, waste, and stink, while drinking cups of coffee.
Orange Halo pouted, " It's baad... but I choose door three.” 
The door slammed as he was pushed inside, and a voiced roared, " Okay idiots, coffee break's over. Back on your heads!"



Door slam


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## Lee Messer (Aug 19, 2020)

When she got home, all she heard was her beloved toddler laughing hysterically. Alas, even hellfire would forgive such a boy.

Immediately, she thought, “Oh no.”

Suddenly, this little ghost of a boy ran by the doorway to the kitchen with a cloud of white dust following him. Her jaw dropped, and she stared as he ran back down the hallway towards the bathroom. She emerged into the kitchen and saw a catastrophe. Flour was everywhere. There were little white footprints all through the kitchen, and down the hall where she could hear him laughing gleefully. She quickly put her grocery bag down, and ran into the bathroom to see him jumping in a mound of flour and throwing it into the air above him making more clouds.

next word: Bewilderment


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## TL Murphy (Aug 19, 2020)

*Bewildered*

Am I playing golf today or signing an executive order to outlaw the postal service? Or am I outlawing science? Don’t you know? You fired! And who said a woman could be vice president?  Disgusting! You know I have a news briefing on the lawn – or is it a rally in Raleigh. They love me there. Thousands of people in white hoods.... or is it jack-boots?  Never mind, the chopper’s waiting. Where is it going? Oh yes, golf in Florida.  Or is it New Jersey? That idiot pilot doesn’t have a clue. He’s fired! Who here can fly a helicopter?


Next theme: You’re fired!


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## ArrowInTheBowOfTheLord (Aug 20, 2020)

*You're Fired*
_ (highly Screwtape-Letters-influenced) _

"_What_?" the little demon roared.

His superior sneered. "That's right. Your incompetence--"

"_My_ incompetence? Who let him read that poem? Who allowed the human a moment's contemplation on _transcendent reality_?"

"Minor slip-ups, that _could_ have been used to our advantage, if you hadn't bungled it at the end and actually _shown up _when he summoned you with that hex. You should've known he'd just get scared and go to the Other side!"

"I wanted--"

"I _know_ what you wanted. You wanted to make a sorcerer. But what did you make? A Christian."

The smaller demon fell through the trapdoor, shrieking. 

*Next: Neon*


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## rcallaci (Aug 20, 2020)

The Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue 


Children huddled in cages, whimpering, moaning, and crying out for their mothers.
A father grieving for his daughter as she lay dead: with a bullet in her head. 
300,000 dead from the virus and still rising as the government twiddles their thumbs and says it will magically disappear, have faith. White supremacists: dancing in the streets.  Tear gas and rubber bullets rein down on urban cities. Law and Order rules the day. The Speaker of the House and the Senate’s minority leader arrested. 

Neon lights of red white and blue flicker on the empire state building.

President Trump Re-Elected.  


new theme: *contamination*


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## apple (Aug 20, 2020)

A  hole in the red, white and blue sequined mask contaminated the 2x4's in the lumber department of HOME DEPOT when Darla sneezed. She was building Mr. Adorable a new scratching post, but more like a pretty cat lounge with velvet and tassels, than an old scratchy thing.
It's surprising how many people buy 2x4's at HOME DEPOT, and sneeze or cough on lumber. But an Essential establishment is extremely essential especially for people like Darla who adore their cat.
Two known virus cases resulted from the contaminated lumber, Billy, the employee, and, of course, Darla, who never got to build the cat lounge.



Theme: Sneeze


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## rcallaci (Aug 22, 2020)

(I added sneeze Apple forgot to put in her theme)

The Switch

I sneezed, again, then again. Damn these allergies. A least it's not a cough, then I would be concerned. It's a sign that you may have the virus, and I just can't afford to have it at this time. I start a new job next week, been out of work since the virus came here. Money ran out, been living off the kindness of friends. But my luck is turning; I can finally see the light shining from the dark tunnel I've been in. 

I'm feeling a little woozy, my heads spinning; my chest feels like a ton of bricks. Oh shit, I got the virus and I'm supposed to start work tomorrow. I guess the light in the tunnel flicked out. 

Theme: *New Beginnings*


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