JANUARY 2021 75 Word Writing Challenge -- VICTORY TO THEENDISNIGH!

[Guanazee]

The Further Adventures of…

On Floor-138’s balcony, Huck said, "You ‘plied to move up floors? Why?"

Tom bit an apple. Not Earth-grown, but Floor-138 Marsies can’t complain. "Aunt Polly said."

"What say you?"

Fumes from passing hovercars clouded Tom. "Be nice to live above street level."

"Worth the work?" Huck took the proffered apple.

"Don't matter. Failed the test.”

“Consider it escaping responsibility.” Huck tossed the apple. Many hands reached for the falling fruit. “Besides, could be worse.”

 

[mosaix]

Repeat Visit

The approaching visitor looks familiar.

He speaks. “Yes, I know, it’s confusing. I’m you, you’re me.”

“What?”

“Listen. Soon you’ll be forced to work in the detention centre research block. Co-operate.”

“But…”

“Listen! Secretly, you’ll invent a time travel device. Use it, go back, get yourself an alibi - not guilty.”

“I know nothing about time travel!”

“Neither did I. Anyway, don’t forget to come back here and tell yourself what to do. Otherwise…”

 

[sule]

The Time Traveler's Guide to Civil Disobedience

I thought time travel would fix my world. I spent years in hiding, developing a prototype to change our past.

I never got the chance. Troops broke my defenses, stole my prototype. With it they won wars never fought, silenced enemies never born. Made the past worse than the present.

I've been decades in prison. When no one's looking, I scrounge scrap for a second prototype. I'm going back to stop myself.

Paradoxes be damned.

 

[Luiglin]

All I need is a book and a light to read her by

Lights blinked, patterns within patterns. She didn’t bother opening the view screen. The sight would only reveal the infinity of space and she’d grown bored of that after the first week.

A review of the shift data revealed nothing. Five minutes in on an eight-hour stint and all the work done.

She grabbed a book off the rota shelf, cover gone, pages yellowed, spine broken. Time to escape.

“When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End…”

 

[BT Jones]

Reanimation Assessment No. 7653

Particulars
Dy Widnes, white male, 21.03 years.
Recovered sublevel 5, Manhattan Gender Identity Correctional Centre.

Resale Prospects
Aesthetics +50ky
Youth +100ky

Remedial Offsets
Nutritive replenishment -1ky
Repair oesophageal damage -80ky
Skin grafts –20ky

Nett +49ky

Reanimation fiscally feasible.

Neural Reformatting Invalidation Risks
Subject’s historic aversion to binarity and societal conform,
Cause of oesophageal damage (cyanide ingestion),
Graffiti at recovery scene (‘told U Id S-Cape!’).

Health Chairman Qiang Ruling

Compost organic biomass

 

[farntfar]

A Dragon Slade

Dragon lies
on piles of his plunders,
gilden diamonds, other precious jewels,
sees a knight,
splendid in his armours,
approach downwind, according to the rules.

Stirs himself,
standing tall and glistening,
belches smoke to show he’s seen him near.
Knightly steed cannot arrest its trembling.
Knight dismounts, calming thus its fear.

Coming close,
broadsword unsheathed and threatening,
entreats the stupifying wormling, “Come!”
“Parole board says
you’ve finished now your sentence.
Fly away.
Afterwards:
Stay home!”

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

What happened there?

I have been trapped in a time travel loop for five years. It started when I bent down to tie my boot laces.

I stood up and fell through a wormhole and landed on a trampoline. I found myself mystified how it happened.

Then I found myself tying my boot laces again.

Now all of a sudden a green glow appeared, and found myself walking away, only to trip over my laces.

 

[johnnyjet]

The Littlest Rescuers

The old scientist finished his tinkering and bid good night to his creations. The mini bots circled him, squawking their cheery adieus simultaneously.

Outside, under a moonless sky, three thugs with knives approached him.

A clarion alerted the bots.

Soon the alley swarmed with a hundred mini bots; the culprits were quickly and cleanly dispatched.

They vowed never again to leave their creator's side from that time forward. They carried his limp body home.

 

[Marvin]

Liberation

Got the keys to my first ride. Yeah its an older model, and yeah everyone says don’t skimp on the quantum drive converters. But boy she looks sweet.

Freedom! Anywhere, anytime. Take some mates, maybe even a chick...
I hear the volcanoes of Io are pretty cool.
Any escape from this backwater Moon town.

#

Damn! The thing just died on me going through the ‘A’ Belt.
Glad Mum made me get Intergalactic Rescue & Recovery.

 

[Peter V]

Going Through the Motions

“Regis got eaten by one of those giant serpents Sarge. Permission to abort.”

“Denied. Stay close to the thing.” Unseen, Sergeant Penfold grinned to himself.

“Sarge, Regis is the mission specialist. Without him we can’t complete.

“Trooper, those critters swallow their prey whole and have a quick digestive cycle. He’ll have enough air and his suit will protect him.”

“So I…”

“Get to dig him out of the biggest pile of crap you’ll ever see.”

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Mission Irresponsible VII

"Sir, President Disterpen has been captured!"
"Again?" General Langree shook his head. "Who by this time?"
"The Insectoids."
"Well, usual procedure, Captain Picatan."

~~~~~

A door materialised in Disterpen's cell. Picatan stepped out.
"Sir, we're here to resc..."
"No need." Disterpen proclaimed. "I'm escaping. Like always." His grubby fingers pointed down at a shallow hole.
"Sir, perhaps 'escape' through here?"

~~~~~

Disterpen swaggered into the debriefing room. "General, another successful mission."
Langree sighed. "Sir, about these 'missions'..."

 

[Hugh]

There’s so much you don’t know about Nebraska​

She was an Ogress, he a Warlock. They’d been destined to meet for millennia, and in their encounter the four worlds would slide into oblivion and creation begin anew.

She drove her eighteen wheeler west along Route 34, he a Volvo flatbed east. The prophecy pinpointed their meeting to midday, Axtell, Nebraska.

However, at 1159 Trickster Coyote ambled onto the highway, causing both trucks to swerve then continue on their way.

Prophecy!?! Coyote just sniggered.

 

[Heijan Xavier]

Who Would Win if Darth Vader Fought Lord Voldemort in the Land of Mordor?

Vader, having lost his lightsaber, retreated across the Gorgoroth.

“Coward!” Voldemort screamed. “You cannot escape the wrath of the dark lord! Avada Kedaaaaach…”

Laser fire erupted from Orodruin’s shadow. Voldemort, clutching his throat, lay lifeless amongst the Death Eaters’ corpses.

“No,” Vader responded, “you cannot escape.”


Epilogue

After escaping the dark lords, Gollum removed his ring and examined his stolen quarry. His eyes grew wide in the fiery glow of its crimson blade.

“My preciousss!”

 

[Vince W]

Routine Rescue

Jack kept his autobroom steady on the floor. Each grain of dirt sizzled with a satisfying spark of energy as the fusion reactors powered the machine in ever-tightening spirals and jinks. The enemy was relentless in their attack with only Jack to keep the fierce warriors from overwhelming Earth. His machine was old and battered, but Jack knew how to handle her. Unthinkably bright plasma struck Jack’s machine, he was forced to eject. Again.

 

[Provincial]

Retreat


The door opened onto an ancient garden. A fountain gushed low, scintillating arcs into a basin wide as a river, its sides studded with pearls and ammonites, its iridescent waters home to ichthyosaurs and sperm whales. The lawn of forget-me-not and marigolds was dotted with blossoming rose bushes; each giant flower cradling a sleeping child, dreaming happily and hopefully.

Click.

The warden unlocked her manacles and pointed at the bottom bunk.

“Welcome home.”

 

[G.T.]

The Savage Joy

A darkened sky under a smoke-rimed sun,
Over a lapping shore of blood-red waves;
A shadowed beach of hungry crows.
The snapping rag of a rival’s might,
The broken bonds of a free slave’s plight;
The pale skin of torn flesh knows
The dirty faces of doomed men.

A muscled stance on the rocky tor,
The glinting curve of chain destroyed,
A rust-filled scent of ghastly ichor;
The slaked thirst of a savage joy.

 

[Parson]

“Rescued from Catastrophe”​

Shirley was still angry. Moving up to the orbital habitat hadn’t been her idea! She wanted to stay with her friends, “But Mom said: ‘No! We’re going. Remember there’ll be less chores with a smaller place.’”

Bing! Her text read: “Five minutes! Shopping! Shirleen.”

“Great! See you then. Shirley.”

"But I’ll never have this place vacuumed in time!” Shirley thought. “If only Chip and Dale were here.”

Zap! Rescue Rangers to the rescue.

 

[alexvss]

Monster Pit

The monsters throw me to the beasts to die for the sake of their pleasure.

Visions of my brothers getting slaughtered in this very spot makes me crave revenge. The monsters releasing the beasts paralyzes me. They’re not natural; their bodies are sewed together.

They pounce at me, but an explosion kills them. Wreckage kills most of the monsters.

I look up to see my father. Smiling, I use my green tentacles to reach his.

 

[chrispenycate]

Liberation

We are, they explain loudly and repeatedly, freed from wage slavery – factories burnt, shops emptied, offices givie shelter to houseless.

No more commuting to bureaucratic boredom, stay home, watch your family fading. No more irrelevant jobs that together make society. No more concerts, theatre, Sunday drives – TV shows all reruns.

We hardly talk; there is no theft, but murder and suicide are rife, confounding liberators with our lack of gratitude.

Longing for slavery's return.

 

[Shyrka]

The King’s Well

It all goes. Everything that’s not fixed down and some things that are. Anything to make us lighter, faster. Anything to escape his grasp.

Provisions go too – we won’t be eating if we don’t escape. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. If we come to it.

Behind us, he looms large. Vast. Cyclopean. His great red eye swirls hungry.

We’ll try, but deep down, we all know. No one escapes Jupiter’s clutches.