July 2015 75-word Writing Challenge -- VICTORY TO DG JONES!

[TheDustyZebra]

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, July 23, 2015​

Voting Ends at 11:59 pm GMT, July 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:

Deception


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]

Two Razorlips

The sun always scorched my skin.

I've been talking to this gentleman online for years, and now, after my operation, I'm finally able to drive to his house. There's no burning as the sun shines on my new metal skin.

His front door opens before I knock. I step into his shadowed house, and he kisses me.

His lips are dry, just like mine. They scratch. He's just like me: photosensitive: allergic to the sun.

 

[Michael Coorlim]

Sisters

The planchette glides across the talking board, under my twin's hand, subtly guided by my own. She frets, she doubts, she wonders at the words as we build them together.

T H E
O L D
M I L L

She glances out past the curtains to the storm-ridden night beyond, but she needn’t worry so. We’ll be together again.

Soon.

 

[farntfar]

Overheard at the Two Brewers on Starbase number 6

“It has to be the biggest deception ever, Jim.
None of them realised until it was too late and we had complete control.”

“That was the trick, Bones. Keeping it quiet.
And Isaac’s sleeper work for the initial setup.”

“Indeed, Captain!
Most illogical of them to believe there were only 3 or that they begin at 1.
We are binary creatures after all.”

“Another Andorean oil, gentlemen?
I give you the 4 laws of robotics!”

 

[Luiglin]

No fairy tale

"You're quiet?"

The Minion shrugged heavier than normal.

"What big shoulders you have."

A hairy knuckled hand appeared.

"And what a callused palm you've got."

Red robes stole forward, exposing a bronzed ankle.

"You have ankles?"

"All the better to leap at you with," yelled a barbarian fighting free of the robes. "For Grandma!"

The Dark Lord yelped, flicked a switch and sent the hero tumbling into the pit."

"Grandma? Never heard of the place."

 

[Cat's Cradle]

What They Say, and Then What They Do, and the Shameful Difference Between the Two

With open arms, our brothers, we grant you freedom. We’ll work together, and if you sacrifice now, your children, beside our own, will share in prosperity and fraternity on this new, welcoming world…
(This world is near-barren; it can support only a select few. You must exhaust yourselves; you must suffer and your children must succumb; equality is not for the likes of you; you will not be there with us in the end…)

 

[Juliana]

A Game of Chance

I win, you lose…

Hand drops, glass shatters, wine spills red over the rosewood parquet. Poison in your blood, heart stills, stops. A wrong guess, a wager lost, silver in my pocket. I rise, pause, my heart constricts, cracks, shatters. I stumble, cry out. Pain, keen as the dragon-blade on my hip. Too late. Love? Washed away in a spreading stain of wine.

Life cheats life. Death cheats love.

I win, I lose.

 

[Bowler1]

The Execution of Robotic Laws

“I’m here,” said ButlerBot, holding Master’s sweaty hand, “I won’t leave you.”

Master coughed again, looking deadly pale and drawn. “Have you called the emergency services?”

“Yes, they’re on route.”

Master gasped his last and passed away.

All ButlerBot’s systems remained fully functional; no emotion, no sense of loss. Now there’d be no new programming upgrade, not with Master dead.

Memory logs were overwritten, amended, all incriminating evidence erased; the embedded third law still functioned.

 

[willwallace]

Why Stop Now



“He will be missed by all who knew him.”

The padre’s hollow words echo in my cold ears.



Somehow I see them.


Nancy, bruises hidden by makeup.

Carl and Agnes, relief plain on their faces now that daddy won’t be coming home drunk again.



Into the hearse, down to the graveyard, safely hidden under the dank, moist earth.



“Loving Father, Devoted Husband, Forever Missed,” reads the granite slab.

Must the illusion continue even in death?

 

[BigJ]

GSS Intrepid AI Status Report, Stardate 1378.87.904.2

Days since debris collision: 293 standard
Location: Unknown
Fusion Generator: Running at minimum life support threshold
Engines: Malfunctioning, inoperable
Locomotive Status: Effectively drifting
Communications: Malfunctioning, inoperable
Crew Manifest: Dr. William Holden (solo flight)
Detail:
- Suffered cranial trauma in collision
- Suffering from anterograde amnesia (inability to form new memories)
- No recollection of incident
- Short-term memory window: approximately 30 seconds
- Believes rendezvous with wife is imminent
- Will maintain façade until further orders received

 

[Droflet]

Tangled Web

Martha was shrewd, cruel and deceitful. So was I.

I knew of her dalliances with other men and today’s scheme would ensure me a speedy divorce and life of wealthy autonomy.

Recorder in hand I burst into her secret boudoir. And froze.

The three hideous aliens, like any cold bloody animals, did not take kindly to being disturbed during ‘mating’.

With claws, talons and tentacles they reached for their blasters.

Oh nuts. Nicely done Martha.

 

[Hex]

Invasion Day

Forced by the threat of aerial bombardment, the Astare warships retreated into space; Xanthos's battle fleet plunged triumphantly towards the defenceless planet and its easily enslaved civilian population.

Xanthos landed in a field, inhaling summer air. Where were the workers? He frowned at a hint of… metal? Hydrocarbon?

From the wheat around him, marines rose--

"But--!"

--levelled their blasters--

"Shoulda checked--" The sergeant grinned, sighting. "--just who left on those warships."

 

[TitaniumTi]

Echo's Story

It's true.
You
I felt lust,
Must
seeing him stretch, flex his muscles, naked by the river side.
Hide
But lust became love, and though he met my embrace with abuse,
Zeus
given a chance, he'd have loved me too. He is all that I adore,
For
but it's hopeless now. He's smitten by a chimera;
Hera
Tricked by meddling gods, he gazes with besotted bliss
Is
on his image, reflected in the mere.
Near

 

[Venusian Broon]

The last evil adventure of Askrad the black magician

Askrad, blade in hand, stood astride the princess on the altar. His minions had slain her rescuers. She was his.

He bellowed, “All this woman’s blood must touch the altar. Strip her.” Minions tore clothes while he began the rite. Then…shocked silence. Askrad with a quick glance down spotted the problem.

“And a transvestites blood?” the princess said dryly.

And so began the romantic adventures of Askrad the magician and Keith the princess.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

The Skin Game

I am always careful to make sure that I do not appear to be perfect. Humans have many flaws, which I must imitate.

Today one of them saw through my disguise. It was a male adult. Like many humans, he was light brown, with dark hair and eyes.

I was afraid that he would reveal my identity to the authorities. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Some of us have been passing for years.”

 

[Vaz]

Lesser Vessel

Drifting through a ribbon of stars, I arrived at the colony.
Greeted by the swirl of a whirlwind with the boy in my arms. Six bald heads stared gratefully from a never ending staircase that twisted into the red earth.

With him in my arms I looked just like the last scrap of parchment, the rest had been burnt.

Accepting him, hope drowned in their pupils.

Come night, I coaxed the parasite into his quarters...

 

[LittleStar]

In Time, The Hidden You​

Within monsters the peace
but fights lost causes. Temper
your thoughts of clarity; the mirror
doesn't show souls, just
your daemon in a
reflection;
inner daemon, your
just souls show doesn't
mirror the clarity of thoughts.
Your temper causes lost fights. But
peace; the monster's within.​

 

[AJB]

Trust

You think the scheme is risky. Trust me, the Green Shadows will not fall on your family. Don't let mouldy bones and faded faces cloud your instinct. You're a fighter, no coward. You've slain these abominations before. It's your duty.

Besides, it was your actions that lead to the dead. Your spells of reasoning only fed their hunger for rapid decay. They scented your incantations - your true intentions for their destruction. You owe us.

 

[David Doherty-Jebb]

The Enemy Vanquished

Once her vision cleared, Sarah saw the Demon was gone.

The Queen beamed in gratitude. “Sarah of Earth has trapped the Demon in Hell forever,” she told her armies. “All of Alaria owes her a great debt.”

Then she whispered to Sarah, “And none more than I. Now nothing stands in the way of my power.” She turned to her guards. “End her.”

The Queen treasured Sarah’s betrayed tears for many centuries to come.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

"We're going to beat every box office record there is, Mr Abrams. There's no need for this."

"I dunno. After the Jar-Jar debacle people need convincing."

"Yes. But this? You'll break people's hearts."

"Let them cry. Spread the word. Solo dies. And that doesn't bring 'em flocking we go to Plan b."

"Which is?"

"We kill him for real in the second one. And the wookie, too."