75 WORD CHALLENGE -- September 2011 -- TDZ VICTORIOUS!!

[Hex]

RULES:​

Write a story inspired by the chosen theme in no more than 75 words, not including the title.​

One entry per person.​

All stories Copyright 2011 by their respective authors, who grant the Chronicles Network the non-exclusive right to publish them here.​

The complete rules can be found at Rules for the Writing Challenges.​

Contest ends at 11:59 pm GMT, September 23 2011

Voting Ends at 11:59 pm GMT, September 28 2011​

You do not have to submit a story in order to vote -- in fact, we encourage all Chrons members to take part in choosing a winner.​

The Magnificent Prize:​

The Dignified Congratulations/Grovelling Admiration of Your Peers

and the privilege of choosing the next month's theme or genre.​

The Theme for September:
​

Behind the Scenes
​

The Genre:
​

Science Fiction or Fantasy

​

 

[HareBrain]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

Puppeteer


Arguing next door again, stealing my sleep. Foolish couple: why cohabit if you only bicker? Two months now.

No longer.

Playing with puppets, not my thing since childhood. But nervy, sleepless tension regresses one.

Photographs for faces. Garbage nail clippings stuck onto hands. Discarded clothes remade into costumes.

They think me a harmless old lady.

Punch hits Judy, harder, harder.

Neighbour noise peaks in screams, goes quiet.

I take up the telephone.

‘Police, please.’

 

[southron sword]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

An Aliens Sense of Humour

The Sergeant thinks he’s in charge. I am God. I’m an Alien, ofcourse, but to the pious Sergeant, God. He prays to me, looking for guidance.


The Sergeant is a mixed up man, so I use him like one. I have created a monster. I’ve twisted his life. He enjoys the killings now. I’ve manipulated him well.

I’m just an observer these days. Behind the scenes. But I do enjoy seeing these Earthlings squirm.

 

[The Spurring Platty]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

Irrelevance

The colonizers watched from the bridge as the battalions neared the town.

Hidden from view, nine withstood them, energy flowing from outstretched arms.

It was slaughter. Synchronous energy decimated the troops and headed for the ship.

Panic arrived first.

“Reinforce shields! This civilization should not have such weapons.”

“Admiral, how can their technology be so advanced?”

“It couldn’t be. But it is certainly … sufficient.”

Waves of true magic tore through the Clarke, consuming all.

..

 

[Chel]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

Honourable Knight

“Hey you with the pen!” comes a voice from the notebook. “Last chapter I was flirting with that merchant's daughter, now it's some barmaid. I don't want to be lecherous. I'm an honourable knight, you created me to rescue princesses and battle dragons!”

“But I don't want you to be one-dimensional and boring,” I protest.

“So make me greedy or paranoid or reckless?”

I sigh and start writing my Honourable Knight again.

 

[Sid Hawkins]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

THE WATCHMAKERS

‘You do understand the consequences of your error?’

‘Yes, Sir. I briefly lost concentration and as a result the planet I was controlling, known as Jupiter, now has an orbit which has altered by 14.7 metres.’

‘And you understand the profound seriousness?’

‘Yes, Sir. Human telescopes will detect the change and so humans will either have to alter their theories or, worse still, discover the truth.’

‘And we can’t have that can we?’

‘No Sir.’

 

[Varangian]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

Rain pattered gently upon the concrete of the footpath as two detectives walked the pavement towards their target. The street was silent. It was past midnight and people had long retired to their beds.



The detectives stopped outside an old, single storey house whose owners’ had long past caring for its upkeep.


“You ready?” one muttered.


The other grinned in reply, un-holstered his side arm, reached out a hand and pushed open the front door.

 

[Star Girl]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

Alien Fun Times!

The bomb explodes!
The men run as quickly as they can from their trench with weapons in hand.
Artillery blazes from behind! They keep running.

“What did you order now?” One said to Two.
“I'm fighting ‘War’.” Two replied.
Two clicked commands into the computer.
“What are you doing now?” One asked.
“Just having some fun.” Two replied with a grin.

Both watched from inside their spaceship eager to see the outcome of their games.

 

[TheTomG]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

THE EDITORS

“Woah, déjà vu!”

She laughed. “No excuses! Come on, inside!”

He hesitated, glanced at the rings in the window, then grinned. “Ok.”

Around the corner, a man beamed in satisfaction “Exquisite, Mr Lowesham. Our desired result.”

Mr Lowesham nodded, face red and beaded with sweat.

“Well, no time to waste, Mr Peters is deciding whether to have another drink.”

In a bar nearby, a man looked at his empty glass. “Déjà vu,” he thought.

 

[Scott R. Forshaw]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The Midnight Shift[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The darkness entombed him, like so many that had gone before him. The faint murmuring of a thousand souls, all waiting in anticipation of his certain demise sounded from a hidden beyond. He began to shake, nervous and apprehensive at the thought of his imminent death. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Many had trodden down this road before, and only a few had lived to tell the tale.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]The lights flickered, and the curtain began to rise. [/FONT]​

 

[alchemist]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

Mars Inc.

"The ambassador's assassination?"

"Me."

"The starport bombing?"

"Yours truly."

"So you set us at each other's throats..."

"...and sold weapons to both sides. But you got the best." He winked. "Everybody wins. I got very rich and you defeated the Blueskins."

"You're wrong." I clicked my fingers and the door opened. A guard's head rolled across the floor. "Nobody was defeated..." A blueskinned figure entered, her gun pointing at his face, "...and not everybody wins."

 

[Anne Martin]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

They

Jen sniffled. The ceiling camera focused on the tear at the corner of her eye. She blinked; it fell. The camera zoomed. An exotic drink had celebrated a divine afternoon on Crlc Beach. Now ...

Hourly, a prick on her neck brought paralysis and hallucinations? Could one feel what she felt, cry until one bled (the drops falling up). Could she melt into a pool of blood? Would they ever let her sleep?

Who?

Whirr, prick.

 

[Christopher Lee]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

To feel a Wizard’s Flame​

​

Beatrix’s veins rippled visibly under her soft, pale skin as the magic coursed down her arms. Its heat giving off sensational feelings as her nerves sent the signals to her brain. Her eye’s burned, joints locked in place, and every muscle in her body pulsated with anticipation.



In the split second the magic comes to culmination, her mind is clear, body light as a feather, and time stops altogether.

 

[mtzGr]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

Fun with Chemistry

The city was overrun. The why was unclear but it didn't matter. People were dying, people were coming back, and more people were dying. Nobody needed any answers. They had seen the movies, they knew. The radio and television were still broadcasting, but nobody was watching. Everyone was running, or busy being dead.

Two men in white lab coats stood staring at the chaos. "Didn't think it'd spread so fast."

The other could only grin.

 

[High Eight]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

The Day That the Ship Goes Down

The last minutes were sheer horror. The bow going under, the godawful noise of the ship's back breaking, the stern section's final vertical plunge..... and all the time the screams of the people going over the side and struggling in the icy water, gradually diminishing as they froze to death.

It was awesome! I would recommend TimeTours' Titanic Excursion to Anybody!

I'm doing the Siege of Paris next year. I wonder what elephant tastes like?

 

[Perpetual Man]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

Faceless

I am a nobody.

Suited in grey. A paper shuffling bureaucrat.

Lost amid shadows.

A stroke of my pen; an empire falls.

Tick the box; a leader dies.

The presidents, prime ministers and tyrants may think they run this world.

But they are the mechanism, I am the key. Through hints and innuendo I turn the cogs: they do my bidding.

But when they pull back my drab curtain....

There is no-one there.

 

[paranoid marvin]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

The Making Of Bill


I was in the Nag's Head last night minding my own business, when this bloke walks up and says "Hi I'm from the future, I've got something for you" and dumps this pile of manuscripts down on the table in front of me. He must have been the landlord, because as I was leaving with the papers under my arm he shouts across the pub "Oh by the way, from now on you're barred!"

 

[Rooky]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

Experiments in Reality​

She woke, drenched in sweat; “Oh God”, she said, “How long has it been”? “I should have stayed; it’s all gone, why did I listen to ‘them’?”

“But, there’s no time to wallow, ‘they’d’, seen to that”. She’d often talk to herself now, for a human voice but… she was free!

As she got up, a quiet voice, out of earshot said, “Phase One complete sir, subject unaware of experiment, proceeding to Phase Two…”[FONT=&quot]


[/FONT]

 

[nixie]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

War Games​

I knew we were going to lose when our Prince was killed. We fought on but I secretly plotted my escape.
One day they’d gone leaving a gift behind. We brought it into the city, amid great celebration.
Later alarms sounded the walls had been breached. Ignoring the call to arms, I grabbed my father and son; my wife fell to the invaders. We fled as the city died. Friends, family left behind.

 

[Phyrebrat]

re: September 2011 SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- CLOSED

Dustmen



The dustmen come every Friday.

Residents put their trash out the night before. We neither see nor hear the bin men, but the Council ensures our refuse is taken to the dump next to the old Art Deco cinema.

I saw Old Lady Slippers and her ancient husband in the new movie at The Gaumont this week! They disappeared months ago.

Fridays: bins are collected, gates are pulled to, and the town is cleared up.