MAY 2020 75-Word Story -- VICTORY TO HUGH!

[Ursa major]

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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 2020 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, 23 May, 2020
Voting ends at 11:59 pm GMT, 28 May, 2020

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 next month's theme and genre


Theme:

Night Owls


Genre:

WEIRD FICTION



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, as long as it doesn't involve the author explaining the plot


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

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[Daysman]

Harry @ Midnight

The laughter from his dreams had invaded his flat.

Harry padded to the kitchen to investigate.

At the table, the piebald stranger grinned. "Harry's here! Moogly, come see!"

Guterral shrieks echoed from the lounge.

"No, he's awake! Harry, sit yourself down."

Harry sat. "Who're you?"

"He's forgotten us again!"

More screeching.

Creaking floorboards announced Moogly's approach.

"We're timesharing, remember? Three eight-hour shifts?"

Moogly entered, tentacles squirming.

Harry stared. "Oh... sorry, Moogly, mate, how are things?"

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

The Reign of Darkness

The light of three moons shone upon wind-scarred ebon towers, carved by a race of beings more ancient than the stars. Blind and bent with years, the sorceress read their blasphemous inscriptions with withered fingers. She laughed, a sound like the barking of the hyena-men that prowled the wasteland. Raising her arms in praise to gods exiled long before humans rose from the slime, she spoke a single word. The night lasted forever.

 

[BT Jones]

Night Owls

“There’s one! Let’s swoop down!”​

“No, I told you! We don’t eat mice anymore!”

“Are you kidding? We’re owls.”​

“We’re not just owls, we’re literary owls!”

“You what?”​

“You’re a tawny, you wouldn’t understand! If not for one particular mouse – ‘weird fiction’, ‘night owls’ – we’d have never existed. Now, we get to glide a virtual night sky in peace until the end of time…or the internet.”

“What on earth are you on about?”​

“Bloody tawnys!”

 

[Danny McG]

Spotted Owl

“But I’m innocent, please believe me” he wailed.

The State Inquisitor scowled, “Your neighbours have given statements about your behaviour, admit it”

“ I suffer from insomnia, that’s why I go out at night, I walk the streets - Huaark!” His head flung forward.

The inquisitor looked at him malevolently, “You’ll burn now, Abomination!”

He stared in horror at the evidence of his were-owl nature, the coughed up pellets of vole skin and bones.

 

[scarpelius]

We Are the Night Owls

We've done unspeakable things, countless atrocities, one cannot imagine.
When we died, no one wanted us: hell refused to open its gates and the path to heavens was engulfed in mist.
We were sent back to redeem ourselves.
Creeping out from deep fissures in reality, lurking in the shadow, faceless horrors, creatures with sharp teeth and long tentacles, emerge every night to get in your dreams.
Sleep tight kid.
We Watch!
We Prey!

 

[paranoid marvin]

Night Terrors

In deepest night, at fullest moon
The creature leaves her lair
Her focus soon to be her prey
Cannot escape her stare

Her quarry sniffs the still night air
Aware not all is right
Time to make his way back home
Alleviate his plight

Scurrying through the cool dark grass
He spies ahead his home
A swoosh, a cry, a gasp of fright
He finds himself airborne

 

[Astro Pen]

Night Swoop.

Sumiko perches on my chair, preening, awaiting instruction.

“You must return to Hiroshi’s apartment and kill him while he sleeps.”

She is my bird of the night, a feral girl, untameable and deadly.

Her skill is that she can remember the exact layout of any room.
Later, she can walk through that room in complete darkness using only the memory in her head.

This makes her the perfect ninja assassin.

 

[sule]

When Night Ends...

***
​

Dawn comes. Guards pull me from my cell and down the cramped corridor. Double doors grumble outward.

The blade anticipates my foregone conclusion. I'm forced to kneel, head bowed. A breath of air strikes my neck a moment before--

**
​

I'm back in my cell. A full moon pushes cold light through the barred window. Chains of ink wrap my wrists.

I'm last night's prisoner; my sentence doesn't end. I bleed at the memory of dawn.

***​

 

[mosaix]

Graveyard Shift

“You're listening to Radio Morbid, with me, Dave Phantom, taking you through to the small hours...

Just time for one last request. Alice, who passed on yesterday, requests we play 'You Poisoned Me!' by Cyanide Drops for her husband, Rob. Nice...

*music plays*

Alice, Rob asks us to play 'Prove It!' by Scott Free. Cool...

*music plays*

That's all folks. The sun's coming up so back to the crypt for me. Until tomorrow...”

*music fades*

 

[HoopyFrood]

Night Lies

They dwell within the witching hour, in a solitude of their own making.

Pallid faces with staring eyes that are lined in red, their hunched forms hidden under cover or ensconced in dim rooms, youth and aged alike.

Silent, except for a whisper of stirring leaves, and furtive, so as not to wake the sleepers, they clutch in their hands that which binds them in a futile promise.

Just one more chapter.

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

Your Welcome​

"For God’s sake, can’t a man sleep?"

Looking, I see its room 666.

“What this time?” I murmur, climbing the stairs.

I tap on the door of 666.

“YES! What is it?” A man shouts from inside.

“You rang, sir,”

“Oh yes, sorry, I thought you’d phone up first.”

“Sir, at Hotel California, personal service is our watchword, even at two am.”

“Well, It’s just I would like a bath, but there're no towels.”

 

[Luiglin]

Hooters

The bar emptied but he waited, the wall supporting his inebriated infused confidence.

Then she appeared, they’d been sharing looks all night.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he drawled.

She walked past and he staggered after. His addled mind hunted for a good opening line… and failed.

“Why do they call you Hoots?”

With deliberate unhurried pace, her head twisted around to face him.

“It’s because I can do this. Fancy a bite to eat, little mouse?”

 

[Guttersnipe]

"The Ones You Love"

Three weeks, no sleep. Flick on the TV, change it to the news.

"They look like real people, Melvin," says the anchorman, looking in my eyes, "They're monsters. Your wife is one. Kill her when she returns."

Somebody knocks on the door. My pistol is ready.

Another knock.

"Melvin?"

It is my wife's voice. I feel guilty. I toss the gun, open the door.

She gives me my pills.

I mean, she gives me maggots.

 

[Kharn]

Ever Asking​

He heard the mournful call on the wind again, that aerial hunter of the night. He could hear it asking, ever asking the same question.

“Who?”

He covered his ears and shut his eyes, his breathing hard. Again it called to him.

“Who?”

“I don’t know!” He shouted into the abyss.

With a start he awoke, drenched in sweat. A dream, nothing more.

Something clattered to his window, an owl clutching a bloody knife.

“Who?”

 

[Calliopenjo]

Garden Gnome

Night had fallen with the moon full and bright. It shone down on a lone gnome standing watch in a garden. The moonlight hit it and the eyes came alive. It smiled as shots of light hit innocent insects and animals. As the light moved and dimmed, so did its power.

Sunlight shone on scattered carcasses in front and beside the innocent statue. Humans puzzled over how could something like this happen as they cleaned.

 

[nixie]

Fun in the Snow
​

The north wind does blow and we shall have snow. What will Robin do then?

He will smile with delight, go into the night, dragging a large sack behind him.

He knows very well darkness will hide him, the snow will cover his tracks.

He will go to the river, throw in the sack. The river will freeze, Robin will leave, hunt his next victim, without leaving evidence behind him.

 

[elvet]

The Park Ranger
(A Campfire Tale)​

My fire's glow lit a wavering circle on the ground, holding back the gloom of the forest.
An owl's hoot startled me, and I chided myself for being so jumpy. Funny how the cloak of night turns the familiar into the unknown.

Twilight deepened, and my transformation began--teeth to fangs, nails to talons--human to monster.

Out hunting, I found my prey gathered around their own campfire.
The dark perimeter hid me well.

 

[chrispenycate]

What? And leave show biz?

​

It's open-air festivals the worst. Night club tours; crawl into the truck's bunk - close enough to a coffin - and let the driver take the daylight hours. Halls were inside, and it's only direct sunlight I avoid - a big, floppy hat also hides ears, a long-sleeved shirt handles the scramble between, while humpers bring the gear. They pay me for ears, not muscles

Infrequent questions, claim albino.

Twilight, ahh, look after your elf.

 

[Elckerlyc]

Night Shift​

I am in a small room with bare walls. Overhead a single lamp. Its harsh light clashes with my body’s urge to take its nocturnal shape. My chains rattle while I squirm and howl.
Night lasts forever.
Finally the door opens. My daughter enters; a fragile silhouette against the dawn sky, crying.
“What’s wrong?” I ask hoarsely as she undoes my shackles.
“It’s Mother. She broke free, killed 8 villagers.”
Our secret is out.