Once More Around the Zzzzingo!
Once More Around the Zzzzingo!
Jo smiled when Owen grabbed her hand, his fingers sticky from cotton candy and cold from his drink, and led her straight for the Zzzzingo! She remembered when he would have held her hand the whole way, pulling her along. Twelve now, Owen no longer held Mom’s hand in public. Not for long anyway. Once she was following, he dropped her hand and started to pull ahead. And away.
Just like Robert, his father.
“Wait up,” she said, smile gone, her voice sharper than she intended.
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Once More Around the Zzzzingo! – Draft 3
Once More Around the Zzzzingo! – Draft 3
GENRE – Romance
LOCATION – A rollercoaster
OBJECT – A straw
Jo smiled when Owen grabbed her hand, his fingers sticky from cotton candy and cold from holding his drink, and headed straight for the Zzzzingo! She remembered when he would have held her hand the whole way, pulling her along. Twelve now, Owen no longer held Mom’s hand in public. Not for long anyway. Once she was following, he dropped her hand and started to pull ahead. And away.
Just like Robert, his father.
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Once More Around the Zzzzingo! – Draft 2
Once More Around the Zzzzingo! – Draft 2
GENRE – Romance
LOCATION – A rollercoaster
OBJECT – A straw
Jo followed Owen through the crowd, remembering when he would have held her hand and pulled her after him the whole way. Twelve this year, Owen no longer held his Mom’s hand in public. Not for long, anyway. He forgot himself earlier, when she declared that she had seen all the state fair craft and animal exhibits she wanted to see.
“Finally!” he had said, and grabbed her hand then, his fingers cold from holding his oversized and overpriced soda, and made a beeline for the Zzzzingo! Once she was following him, though, he dropped her hand and started to pull ahead. And away.
Just like his father.
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Once More Around the Zzzzingo! – Draft 1
Once More Around the Zzzzingo! – Draft 1
GENRE – Romance
LOCATION – A rollercoaster
OBJECT – A straw
Jo followed Owen through the crowd now, remembering when he would have held her hand and pulled her after him the whole way. A late September baby, the Oklahoma State Fair in Tulsa had been a part of Owen’s birthday tradition since birth. Jo had felt the first significant contractions of his delivery while waddling around the fairway, sweating in the lingering heat of the summer, following Robert, Owen’s father, from log ride to rollercoaster to tilt-a-whirl and worse. She had sat out the rides that time, just the thought of the rides making her nauseous.
Twelve years old this year, Owen no longer held his Mom’s hand in public. Not for long, anyway. He forgot himself earlier, when she declared that she had seen all the state fair craft and animal exhibits she wanted to see. Her part of the day ended, and his began.
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Short Story Challenge 2008 – Story #1 Draft #3
Short Story Challenge 2008 – Story #1 Draft #3
GENRE – Fantasy
SUBJECT – Digging
Title: “Clankie”
by David Michael
The air of the trench always became thick just before the order came. From the arcane residue of the barrage roaring overhead, settling with the dust into the trench lines and dugouts, covering both men and forgéd. From the silence that underlay the noise of war.
From the fear? Like all of the forgéd warriors, Nin felt no fear. Forgéds felt nothing. They only waited, as still as statues of iron and wood and leather and bone, as if they would wait until the end of time.
How long would we wait? The thought surprised him. Nin wondered that he wondered. Of course they would wait. Time meant nothing to him. Time meant nothing to any of the forgéds. He and his brothers and sisters–his squadmates–his series and batch–other Nins or older Fearns or newer Getals–those created before him or with him or after him, one after the other in an oversized laboratory–would wait until the end of time, rusting and rotting as the magic of their crystalline cortexes ticked away one mote at a time, if the “standby” order were not rescinded nor followed by a new order.
Short Story Challenge 2008 – Story #3
Short Story Challenge 2008 – Story #3
GENRE – Fantasy
SUBJECT – Digging
Title: “Not Again”
by David Michael
Roh jerked awake–
Or would have, except something large and heavy pressed down on his arms and legs and torso–which probably saved his head from exploding under the influence of one too many scotch and hold-the-sodas and several too many blows to the head–
Blows to the head? What had happened last night? He remembered girls–a redhead and a brunette–big smiles, wonderful eyes. Plunging silk over pleasing curves.
–and gasped, sucking in a great breath–
Short Story Challenge 2008 – Story #1 Draft #2
Short Story Challenge 2008 – Story #1 Draft #2
GENRE – Fantasy
SUBJECT – Digging
Title: “Clankie”
by David Michael
The air of the trench always became thick just before the order came. From the magic residue of the barrage roaring overhead, settling with the dust into the trench lines and dugouts, covering both men and forgéd. From the silence that underlay the noise of war.
From the fear? Like all of the forgéd warriors, Nin felt no fear. Forgéds felt nothing. They only waited, as still as statues of iron and wood and leather and bone, as if they would wait until the end of time.
Short Story Challenge 2008 – Story #2
Short Story Challenge 2008 – Story #2
GENRE – Fantasy
SUBJECT – Digging
Title: “Following the Battle”
Agnes woke up pissed. Last night’s cheap wine still sloshed in her head after too short a sleep. And the high-pitched voices of the ninnies screaming outside the tent irritated her to instant crossness.
She hawked and spit over the side of her cot because not even soured wine and a bad case of morning mouth could cover the taste of men’s filth in her mouth. The solid tang! of the spittoon helped her focus.
The night before a battle was always the busiest as scared men with no control over their futures sought control or comfort or just one last chance to spend money they might not get another chance to fritter away. But the morning of the battle, when the men whipped out their dicks for the actual cockfight, that was supposed to her day off. She was supposed to be able to sleep in.
Short Story Challenge 2008 – Story #1
Short Story Challenge 2008 – Story #1
GENRE – Fantasy
SUBJECT – Digging
Title: “Aleph Time”
by David Michael
The air of the trench always became thick just before the order came. Like all of the mechanical warriors, Aleph felt no fear. Mechanicals felt nothing. They stood still as statues of iron and wood and leather and bone, awaiting the word, as if they would wait until the end of time.
Because time meant nothing to Aleph. Time meant nothing to any of the mechanicals. He and his brothers and sisters–his squadmates–his comrades–his series and batch–other Alephs–those created with him, one after the other in an oversized laboratory–would wait until the end of time, if the “standby” order were not rescinded or followed by a new order, standing at attention, rusting and rotting as the magic of their crystalline hearts ticked away one mote at a time.