August 2018 75-word Writing Challenge -- VICTORY TO THEDUSTYZEBRA!

[Graymalkin]

Do Not Hang Up​

Playboy Tremborak found ancient markings in a cave.
Follow us to the stars
He dedicated his entire fortune to the quest.

Years later, he found the special telephone box; pushed remaining pennies, rang the numbers indicated in the directory.

"Congratulations!" he heard. Stars whizzed by, then suddenly stopped.
"Insert coins to continue."

Tremborak gasped in horror at the dangling 'phone and the endless cosmos beyond glass.

"Only joking," chuckled the caller.
"Got me," wept Tremborak.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

A thousand years had passed since the global war that destroyed man's last remaining natural resources.
Paper, now a thing of the forgotten past. Yet it was The Book that caused the war that ended terrestrial life.
The last few survivors forced underground. Now locked away and lost from memory,
unbeknown to them the last paper book in existence proved alien life had spawned humanity.
Ironic it was also the reason for it's downfall.

 

[BigJ]

Loved and Lost, and Found

“Why am I here, officer?”

“He’s been missing a year, ma’am, his belongings are being offered to family and close associates. You were on that list.”

“Well, yes, we were close once, but that ended years ago.”

“All the same, ma’am, feel free to look around.”

“What’s that?”

“That? Book of blank pages.”

“What do you mean, blank, it says, it, . . . “

My love, I told you my heart and soul would always be yours . . .

 

[johnnyjet]

The Book of Books

He said, "I'm looking for a book."

The librarian looked up.

"I've tried all the usual sources."

The librarian indicated a fat book on a far table; its edges were blurry.

A sign read, "You'll be transported to the closest copy. Touch at your own risk."

He opened it. He found his book among a list of constantly changing books.

When it stopped moving, he touched it.

And vanished.

No copies had survived.

 

[nixie]

Reading Hour
​

Passing the second hand book shop, a title caught Tom's eye.

Entering the shop, "sir how much is that copy of Worlds of Adventure?"

"50p"

"I'll take it, thank you"

Rushing home "mum going upstairs to read"

"Homework first"

"Tom dinners ready, Tom?"

She opens door, no Tom, only an old tattered book open on the bed. A picture catches her eye, Tom winks and waves as he turns towards the distant mountain.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

Not The Spellbook You’re Looking For.​

The wizard should be gloating. Lamentations of your enemies, and all that.
But he wasn’t.
He sat in his rocking chair, his head in his...hooves.
He had hooves.
Horns.
And long white hair over his whole body.
What went wrong? The grimoire’s writer was so powerful, the very word for an incantation was named after her.
He reread the title.
Oh, he bleated.
It wasn’t The Grimoire of Miss Spelled’s Spells after all.

 

[Cory Swanson]

Danno

I booked Jensen in, disposed of the physical body, hit save. Hard not to feel bad for him.

“You’re safer in there,” I whispered through the cooling grate of the computer. No internet. No outside access.

It would take a magician to put a hit on him in this digital clink.

Next morning, I arrived at work, flipped on the lights, powered up the server, only to find a magnet sitting on the hard drive.

 

[Stable]

Leaving The End​

Red strapped into the interpaginator and started the engines.

An Authorist bullet took Platis as she tried to finish the launch preparations. The zealots were closing in, desperate to stop their holy mission. Xeno, her last remaining crewmember, finished Platis’ work then jumped into the cockpit beside her.

It had been a long journey, from countries Well Edited, rich in Meaning, to dodging Inconsistencies in Poorly Written deserts.

At last, they would reach the Biography.

 

[chrispenycate]

The Book of Guilt​

"For every crime, for every man?" the chancellor near salivated,
Visualised coffers swelling with the fines.
"Magic is absolute, exception-free," the holy man related
"Secular law with natural aligns."

Into heap the volumes pour, concentrate of local flaw,
Perpetrator and allower reads random entry, aleatoir,
"I've made mummy, daddy mad: room's not tidy – I'm all bad."

The penitents that feel the guilt rarely need correction
While blood or reputation spillers account minor imperfection.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Not The First

"Hey Neil! Come here."
In two bounds, Neil reached his colleagues's side. "What is it, Buzz?"
"I've found a book. Read the title."
Neil gasped. "Any entries?"
Buzz turned to the first page. "Just one. 'August 1901. Had a lovely stay. Would love to visit again.' Signed Mr. Bedford."
Exchanging knowing glances, they began work.

Reuters June 23 1969:
The Fresnedillas Observatory reports a previously unrecorded mound close to the Apollo 11 landing site.

 

[Peter V]

Book of Life​

When I found the book, every page was blank. I only kept it for its wonderful cover of finest green leather.

Some years later, when I thought at last to write upon those pristine pages, I discovered to my surprise that someone already had. This despite always being locked away!

Within, I found the story of my life, every detail faithfully recorded. Curiosity overcame fear as I nervously turned to the last page…

THE END​

 

[Starbeast]

Hero Out of Time​

As the lovely, but dangerous sorceress approached, her armored warriors dismounted their winged dragons, then held forth their weapons. The enchantress addressed us, in anger. "You!"

"Me?"

"And your unintelligent equine!"

"Huh?"

"Exactly....are both guilty, and must pay, dearly. First! Give me, the book."

"Alright. Here."

"Ah...yes...CALAMISTRATUS LARIDUM. You shall now pay the ultimate price. A dollar ninety eight, over due library fee."

"You have change for two bucks?"

"In my purse."

 

[Hugh]

Another day on Yggdrasill​

It’s seemed an eternity hanging here.

One eye, blind to all else, is turned desperately inward, craving inspiration from Mimir’s Spring bubbling below.

The dragon Nidhogg gnaws at the roots of my self-belief, taunting my failure as a writer, while Ratatosk, the squirrel, fills my thoughts with frenetic irrelevance.

My writing is as stuck as these frozen wastes of Jotunheim

Why did I ever presume to be an author?

I’m way past the deadline.

 

[Shyrka]

The Book of Plays

Ah needed the money and they knew it. It was easy – he’d always slept soundly but after ah hit him...

Weren’t s’posed to look. Didn’ matter – them lines, arrows and squiggles made no sense, even to me. The headaches started right after. Then the shadows started murmurin’.

You killed him, they’d whisper. A few more won’t matter.

“Ah didn’t mean to!” Ah’d plead but there weren’t no one to listen. “Ah’m sorry, Coach!”

 

[RJM Corbet]

LOOK WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO MY BOOK, MA

I wrote my science fiction book and posted it on a writers' forum for other people to read and tell me what they thought of it.

They gave me all sorts of different advice about how to be a successful writer, so I changed my book.

The agent made me change it. The publisher made me change it too.

Then I understood -- my name was on the cover -- but it wasn't my book.

 

[Onyx]

A Cosmos Within

“How could ‘everything’ be inside?”

Aradi seemed to ignore the question, starring at the bound artifact inside the instrument sphere, then relented. “It’s written in a fractal language. Rudimentary syntax on the surface, yielding more meaning as you magnify the expressions. At some level, every concept is contained.”

The Adjutant stiffened, considering. “Who could write such book? How’d they do it?”


Sober, Aradi turned to him, “Once I read about them, I’ll let you know.”

 

[Plucky Novice]

Inimical Odds

I spit out a tooth and try to wipe the sticky blood off my hands, is it mine? I’m not sure. I’m 25 to 1, being hunted by a 9 to 1. Two of us left in this loaded arena. She drags herself into sight over the misty hilltop, a biomechanical monstrosity with lethal intent, twin stilettos in hand. I fire up my buzzsaw. It’s time to move up the blood book.

 

[Perpetual Man]

The Book of Always

The book was impossibly long or impossibly short. Old Father Time's fingers reached out to turn that last page.

Beyond his realm, reality contacted, colours blending into a diminishing spiral. Stars, whole galaxies, fizzing away, a lava lamp of discombobulated plasma distorted into oblivion.

Did he really want it all to end?

Just flick back the pages, reverse time against the principle of… well everything.

The universe held its breath.

He reached for the page...

 

[LittleStar]

The End?

Big T and Little H were already there, inseparable, but meaner together.

Then me, Baby E. None ever paid me mind... probly why I’m always around. But even I weren’t surviving this mission.

Big E broke the door, and Mini N shuffled behind; smiling, dagger-straight like. Then pot-bellied Little D; drunk, useless.

Finally our ever-changing commander, Punctuation.
Woulda smiled for Ellipsis; accepted Full Stop... but Question Mark?

Maybe this weren’t the end.

 

[The Judge]

Forged Anew at the Pearly Gates


Heaven is nice. Not much excitement, but full of lovely, trusting people.

Full of my victims, too. Like old Mrs Smedley. Ninety thousand I got from her, with forged stock certificates.

“You?” she demands. “How are you here?”

“Repentance, Mrs Smedley, comes even to the greatest sinner.”

Of course she’ll believe me – I’ve got my page in St Peter’s book, where contrition, remorse and atonement are written.

Beautifully written, if I do say so myself.