June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- VICTORY TO SLEEPYDORMOUSE!

[The Judge]

Rules:​

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

One entry per person​

All stories Copyright 2013 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, June 23 2013​

Voting Ends at 11:59 pm GMT, June 28 2013​

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 challenge of choosing the next month's theme and genre​

Theme:​

THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
​

Genre:​

Science Fiction or Fantasy​

This thread to be used for entries only. Please keep all comments to the Discussion Thread


​

 

[BigJ]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

A Discussion on our Demise

“Planetary invasion?”
“Waste of good soldiers.”
“Orbital bombardment?”
“Too inefficient.”
“Nuclear orbital bombardment?”
“Still too inefficient.”
“Bioengineered plague?”
“Do we have one ready?”
“Development could begin today.”
“We can’t afford to wait.”
“Asteroid redirect?”
“Are there planet killers left in Sol?”
“There’s the Kuiper belt.”
“Too far.”
“Induced environmental disaster?”
“Implementation in a hostile environment is problematic.”
“The planet cracker then?”
“Seems to be the logical choice.”
“What’s does this species call themselves again?”
“Humans.”

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

Antipodes

Folks say if you dig far enough you’ll reach China. I know that ain’t true ‘cause I tried it once. Conjured me up a magic shovel and dug a hole all the way through the Earth. Waved at the Devil as I went by Hell. When I poked my head through the other side it was just ocean, as far as I could see. You can’t believe the crazy stuff people tell you.

 

[Hex]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

QUEST TO THE EAST, QUEST TO THE WEST

Unable to detect a pea beneath fourteen mattresses, Lucy fetched a golden apple from the Sun God's orchard and knelt at Lysander's feet. "Marry me, my prince."

The Queen demanded more.

Lucy brought the firebird singing from Baba Yaga's chicken-footed hut. "Marry me."

"She is no true princess."

The third quest -- fetching Erdwenorg the Sea Monster's heart -- ended early, for he was wise and sarcastic, and when he hatched, had eaten his mother.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

Leave it to the kids



Recessions: no holidays, no fizzy wine. Something had to give. We promised the kids a horse and a pool, then waited.

The first had a double bow, impossible to follow; the second vanished. One appeared, bold against the sky. We let the kids loose. They scooted down, closing both ends; the leprechaun didn’t stand a chance. One pot of gold: ours.

The sun’s bright, the kids splash, Snowpearl neighs. I sip my fizz: slainte, fairies.

 

[AMB]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

Coastal Erosion

‘Don’t go any closer! You’ll fall!’

‘I’ll be fine. Still plenty of solid earth beneath my feet. Nothing’ll happen. But this view… there’s no end. The Bounding Lake really does go on forever.’

‘Come back, Johnny. Please.’

‘Fine. You are such a spoilsport, May. Here we stand at the very edge of everything. Where’s your sense of wonder?’

Johnny started towards her. Crack.

May watched helplessly as her world suddenly got that little bit smaller.

 

[Cathy M.]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

Frozen desolation

People used to think dragons breathed fire, but we all know better now.
When they first came, flying through the air with wings wider then houses, they opened their jaws and showered us with a freezing spray that encased the earth with ice. Now they rule while our kind barely hangs on, clinging to existence in underground caves with what little food we have left. Every day we grow fewer, knowing our end is nearing.

 

[alchemist]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

Running To Stand Still

Two weeks in a Nepalese cave ...

A month on the International Space Station, hiding in the toilet ...

Even when he brought his own creation – the transdimensional bioportal – into reality, they found him.

So he gave up. He stood outside the city's biggest hotel and let them question him, one by one ...



“Gry'nthar steps into an empty room in chapter six. How come Rebecca finds the Orb of Awesomeness there in chapter fifteen? And ...”

 

[kromanjon]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

Wanderer

They called him wanderer ’cause that’s what he did. Reckoned that’s what he was good at. Told me he reached the end of the world once.

“Mighty drop that,” he said.

What did he do then you ask? Turned right around and kept on walking. Said that now that he’d seen the end, he might as well find the beginning as well.

 

[like_the_morningstar]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

Hope


“Armageddon?”

“No.”

“28 Days Later?”

“Definitely not.”

“FINE. You pick.”

A tear slid down.“I want to see our kids again. I don’t want to go … like this.”

“You’d rather be driving with our car full of supplies, gas masks – oh yeah, and AMMO?”

Then softly, “We agreed, remember? This way’s better.”

“Epoch.”

Puzzlement – then he smiled. “Only if we can do it at the end.”

“Like them,” she whispered, eyes pooling with hope. “Yes.”

 

[stormcrow]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

Daughter of Creation

Desir de Mona has lived for longer than she remembers.

She sees echoes of herself, in the Halls of the Time-looms where all Earths endings and beginnings are woven and inside the singularity where all are again undone.

She: the black pebble skimming lakes of fire. She: the red stone on fields of ice.

She: reborn across countless galaxies.

With each birth she un-makes “now”, seeding flux through change and chaos, to shape herself again.

 

[ratsy]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

[FONT=Courier New, monospace]Where the Stars go to Drink[/FONT]

[FONT=Courier New, monospace]The tavern sign swung in the wind. It read The Ends of the Earth.[/FONT]

“[FONT=Courier New, monospace]Whatcha suppose Ends means?” Raph asked his pal.[/FONT]

“[FONT=Courier New, monospace]Not sure. S'pose it's meant to make you think.” [/FONT]

“[FONT=Courier New, monospace]Well I am awful thirsty. What say we head in for a frosty one?”[/FONT]

[FONT=Courier New, monospace]They opened the door to blackness and soon they were floating in space.[/FONT]

[FONT=Courier New, monospace]Raph had never understood the world literal but he was beginning to.[/FONT]

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

The Streets Of The City​

Her heart skipped a beat. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

They told her she was mad. They told her the city had never existed. It was just a myth, a legend.

But this child of an ancient line of genetic engineers now floated high above the streets of the mythical city.

With a flick of her tail, the mermaid descended to the sea floor, and cruised the streets of drowned New York.

 

[reiver33]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

[FONT=&quot]The Final Chorus[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]All that remains is a world of archetypes and abstracts. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Warrior gazes silently at the shimmering oblivion of a featureless desert. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Whore shivers despite the relentless heat. “We cannot cross that, it leads nowhere.”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Judge shields her eyes against the glare. “Purgatory, perhaps, but behind us lies only the grinding ice.” [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I look skywards. “If we weep, will it not rain?”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Madonna strokes my cheek. “And to think we call you Fool.” [/FONT]

 

[Bowler1]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

Luke 6.31 – Do unto others

They’d used a Planet Buster – turning the cradle of mankind into an archaeological graveyard.

We scattered to the stars, learning quickly - developing our own weapons, and using them.

In our wake we left the flotsam of war, floating free – the cost in lives immeasurable.

Finally returning victorious; our enemies flee before us, terror driving them on.

Viewing the remaining ends of Earth; rock and rubble circling the sun – I weep freely.

What price victory?

 

[Luiglin]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

So what if?

I would have gone to the ends of the earth for her ... not that she ever knew. I was a coward then, afraid of rejection.

She's still beautiful, but with eyes full of sadness where they used to sparkle.

So what if?

I hold her picture and punch the button to the past.

I've had a good life, wouldn't change anything, but she deserves to know her future. A chance to keep those eyes sparkling.

 

[mosaix]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

The Restaurant at The Ends Of The World (With apologies to Douglas Adams)

The Restaurant At The Ends Of The World

Menu

Starters

Primordial Soup

Green Salad

Fish

From The Grill - Dino Steak

Wings


Main Course

Chef's Special - Ribs, Serpents, Apples

Processed Meat

Mushroom Cloud

Industrial Strength Coffee

Seagull In Oil

Goose - Cooked


To Follow

Can of Worms

Hot and Sour

Water - Lots of It - No Ice

Baked Alaska

Bitter Almonds

Humble Pie


Customer Notice - Imminent Closure Due To Foreseeable Circumstances. Re-Opening Again Soon Under New Management.
​

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

A Race To Be Abandoned
​

Gaea watched in horror as Earth and Morcalia collided into one another at warp speeds. She could not believe what had happened. Ninety-nine percent of humans and elves in the universe, killed in an instant.

It was the humans’ fault. And as such, they would no longer receive Her blessing, or Her love. Whatever fate awaited the colonies, so be it.

Earth was dead, and to Gaea, so were the ones responsible…humans.

 

[Glen]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

The ends of the earth

We’re living in science-fiction. When I was a child making ray guns out of stickle-bricks my iphone would have been a marvel. I can call anyone, see the world’s libraries, track my position on a map of the world. But here I am, asking for a plastic bag in the supermarket. I should know better. Rare metal mining. Plastic refuse in the oceans. The ends of the earth are in my hands.

 

[Venusian Broon]

Re: June 2013 -- SEVENTY-FIVE WORD WRITING CHALLENGE -- READ THE FIRST POST!

An Unexpected Plane Journey

The explorers managed to land on a rocky protuberance that jutted out over the edge. On either side, as far as their eyes could see, innumerable blue torrents poured producing a gargantuan white curtain of thunderous water. Billowing clouds deep below hid any sign of an abyssal floor. Eventually the bosun dared to approach the captain.

"What are we going to tell Ferdinand and Isabella?"

Bugger, was all Columbus could think.