May 2015 -- 75-word Writing Challenge -- VICTORY TO VICTORIA SILVERWOLF!

[Culhwch]

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


NO links, commentary or extraneous material in the posts, please -- the stories must stand on their own​

​

WHEN WRITING YOUR STORY, PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS A FAMILY-FRIENDLY FORUM​

All stories Copyright 2015 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, May 23, 2015​

Voting Ends at 11:59 pm GMT, May 28, 2015​

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:

Departures


Genre:

Science Fiction or Fantasy​

This thread to be used for entries only.

Please keep all comments to the Discussion Thread.

We invite (and indeed hope for) lively discussion and speculation about the stories as they are posted,
so long as it doesn't involve the author explaining the plot.

** Please do not use the "Like" button in this thread! **​

 

[Ashleyne]

Deep Heart

King Pagmunton laughed at the screams from the torture chamber. And he did so with a cold heart.

One evening, he executed a family, striking them down with lightning. He saved the girl 'till last.

Her sobs bit into his heart, and he sobbed along with her. He abdicated and gave her his crown.

The rest of his life, he cleaned the crumbs of his tyrannical reign. And he did so with a heavy heart.

 

[Remedy]

From us all


Hush, sweet babies, close your eyes

You’ll fly from here to far

Our sun, so angry, comes for us

Please find a gentler star


Through void and dark, we’re sending you

In search of pastures, green

Both young babes of gender, two

A future, fresh and clean


When you awake, cast off your fear

Isolation, leave your mind

For in your pod, in blankets rest

The love of all mankind


Inscription on exit-hatch interior

 

[Zoe Mackay]

Papers, please!

“Arrivals” is full of joy.

“Departures”… more of a mixture. The excited and the resigned; the willing amongst the unwilling. I watch over them, check their documents, wave them through.

New worlds wait at the end of their journey. For some, a whole new life. A few linger in the lounge.

Once, I watched boats cross the river. Now it’s gleaming spaceships through the dark void. My job is unchanged. May I inspect your ticket?

 

[A. Fare Wells]

Galaxy Insanity

Olun Gambrel pressed his palm against his scalp and massaged it. His headaches had gotten much worse in the weeks orbiting around HR117.

The radio squealed. "Explorer 10. Do you copy?"

Gambrel grabbed the com. "Copy control."

"We're detecting an anomaly in your vicinity. Is everything alright out there?"

"Affirmative. Nothing out of the ordinary here."

"Roger that. You're good to return to base."

Gambrel smiled as maggots fell out of his nose.

 

[willwallace]

Momento Mori



Crumbling walls and empty halls surround the keep.

Inside a darkened room the wizened wizard weaves his spells.

“Where has it gone? Why can’t I find any?” Magic has nearly vanished from the earth, and his powers ebb.

A vortex opens, spinning haze forming a portal.

From it a woman’s hand extends, beckoning.

“Come, leave Man to this Realm, our time here is over.”

Accepting, Merlin thus passes from the ken of Man.

 

[Luiglin]

Groan

“…punchline. Now where were we?”

The Minion beckoned a hulking mountain of a troll forward, a pale skinny figure held tight within his rubbery paws.

“Excellent, punishment time.” The Dark Lord rubbed his hands together. “Norman snap his little finger please.”

A crack, a groan and the troll ambled off.

The Minion cast a quizzical hand at his Master.

“What? I just fancied just a little bit of a break from the Norm that’s all.”

 

[Cascade]

Extraction

Denny drew the black queen on the night before we left.

He’d been talking about Jersey and his girlfriend, and his daughter, Raelene.

“What sort of white trash name is Raelene” I’d said, and he'd laughed. Then his eyes went blank for a second and he coughed twice, and me and Coop and Hannity, had our masks back on and our blasters up.

Denny just nodded, and saved us the work.

One night from home.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

What a Difference a Day Makes

Time travel is simple. Everything moves into the future, just at different rates. You can’t go backward, but forward is easy. No paradoxes.

It takes a lot of money. I sank my life savings into one twenty-four hour jump. Success would make me rich and famous.

I entered the Box and stepped into tomorrow. There was no one around to tell me why I was surrounded on all sides by miles of smoking rubble.

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

One Way Out​

Sari stared across the small room. Paintings of fantastic worlds laid all about her, dreams she never thought possible.

Her parents were never supportive. An escape, they claimed. She should focus more on reality, her father said.

But worlds beyond hers…that was exciting. And now, this glowing purple portal granted everything she wanted.

Only one chance. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a walking stick, and stepped through…

 

[Droflet]

Training For Nirvana


We made our way through the bustling terminus, hope and dread battling within us. Olivia clutched my hand so tightly it hurt.

People lined the platform, a rhythmic shuffling betraying their uncertain expectation.

The locomotive and attendant carriages must have been over a hundred years old yet they gleamed with a startling luminescence.

Carriage doors glided silently open and all the departed souls boarded.

Next stop, the final adventure, illumination of the last, timeless mystery.

 

[Glen]

Life is Change

“How to decide? At last, the chance to meet Mary at the carnival…”

Try to move on.

“…but the buzz of the comms unit threatened immediate call up…”

These are all old themes. Even I shouldn’t be here. That was last month’s genre.

“…to the off world war…”

Better.

“…He turned, downcast, headed for the spaceport.”

Well done.

It’s hard to let go. So much change. Should I have someone in the story die?

No.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

STEPPING OUTSIDE

I look from Maria's swollen belly to Citadel-Dome's display board. No change. Damn the new longevity.

I stand. We've waited, hoping, but it's past time - Baby needs born. I touch Maria's belly; a single kick responds.

I leave, passing through the gate, into the wilderness. Acrid air makes me gasp. I might be some time.

A sharp click. I smile. The display board will have changed: Citadel-Dome has one new space available.

 

[Juliana]

Light Speed Love

Go
Stay
Yes
No
Safe
Please
Now
Never
Yes, yes, that’s an order; ship waits, go…

Stars
Empty
Life
Bleak
Wish
Can’t
Back
Never
No, no, only meant to save you, so…

Miss
Always
Heart
Broken
Years
Pass
Joy
Never
Why, why, miss you and I can’t let go…

Souls
Join
Light
Speed
Death
Bonds
For
Ever
Now, now, stars beckon, let love flow…

 

[tenaciousb]

TIME MACHINE TIME


Johnny entered the small time machine and closed the door. The familiar smell of freshly soldered wires welcomed him as he flicked the switches to their active positions.


The booth started to hum, creating a deafening crescendo, causing Johnny to squint his eyes.


WHOOSH


The machine arrived at it's destination. Johnny opened the door and was disappointed to see himself entering another time machine.


Aw nuts, thought Johnny as another booth arrived. Not another paradox.

 

[Christopher Lee]

Dangerously Close

The platform smelled like burnt metal. Behind me, streaks of green and purple lightning stabbed at the night sky. Two super-powers I could never compete with.

One of them, I was in love with.

The other, my father.

I leaped from the platform as it erupted beneath me, landing inside our cruiser. I sat beside a window, peering up at the stars as the two most important men in my life fought to the death.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

We Crash Soft, Ware Forever...

I said goodbye to her only once, and it wasn’t one of those stuffy farewells of exact, mutually understood intentions. It wasn’t “Goodbye, we will never meet again."

Mine was the fumbling yet hopeful goodbye after first meeting, when your fear is of revealing too much, so the heart conveys your true message: “When can we meet again? I really like you.”

But foolish, hurtful people disperse viruses, and memory is erased, and forever irretrievable...

 

[TØny Hine]

Kick the Bucket
drip............. drip........... ping...
cistern filling fully full
noxious whiff
an empty smile
cold clean ceramic
domestos
pain pain fight it fight
too much too late
ligature authors empty smile
ligature strong
bucket bucket kick the bucket
author and Cassi empty smile
back against cold door
no graffiti
will be a hangman soon
ligature round neck
ligature ready
bucket under foot
bucket ready
the drip stopped
wait for another
no it is time
kick the bucket

 

[Bowler1]

Wind Blown Seeds

I still feel the solar wind in my sails, warm and pulsing as I go deeper into the void of space.

One of thousands, I volunteered to search for a new planet to make our own, a new beginning.

Till then, mankind’s genetic material slumbers deep in my core, waiting to flower in the light of a new sun.

I’ve accepted my lot; loneliness, as my kin and the chatter of life are left behind.

 

[Mr Orange]

WIP


A gleaming... spaceship ploughs into a tropical beach before smashing into a… mounted knight under a palm tree. Coconuts scatter. The recently rescued... princess leaps clear, furious.

"What the 'ell is this? A, it's meant to be departures, and B, put some bloody effort in. You on a break or summin'?

"Oh, you are... long 'oliday... Well, what about m-"

A hatch opens, Captain Elijah Spacestud steps out.

Eyes sparkle.

"Seeya. Don't wait up."