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Evelyn stood alone on Philadelphia Street, her cold hands clutched around the poster she made. “Votes for Women!” it proclaimed against the drizzling rain. Her head still rang with the sounds of the march. Her friends, sisters and allies had all been there. Now she walked home still floating in solidarity. She didn't hear him until he was too close. Her grip faltered and she dropped her sign, loud against the cobblestone. He raised his fist. Their eyes met as his blow fell, h

Things Could Always Be Worse “Things could always be worse.” I repeat this aloud to myself. It was the last thing my mother said to me before she died in a machinery accident. It became a mantra for me. I settle into my chair as the starship quietly shuttles from Earth’s orbit towards the Cosmolauncher. A needle piercing the fabric of space that will zip me to the next phase in my future, indentureship. The other seats in my row are all empty, a hollow luxury in a ship packed

The Soul-Sear oven was hissing from its many steam pipes, releasing puffs of sweet scent through the bakery. The beastly machine took up most of the kitchen. It was made of brass and copper. It was the battery running the system that made it really special. It ran on souls. When it worked right, thought Gracie Gearnoch, the machine’s maker, elbow deep in its clockwork middle, her blue brows furrowed. "Nevin! The water intake valve is sticking again!" she called out. Nevin, an

The bronze tea kettle is so heavy that petite Darby must use both hands to pour the fragrant beverage into the dainty cups. She painstakingly performs each step in the ceremony. The trio of hooded figures around the table sing the melodic Tea Prayer. One by one each drank of the holy tea and Darby held her breath until the blessing took hold bestowing each with a soft glow for but a moment. They smiled, their applause echoed warmly in the stone chamber. "Welcome," they whisp

Genre: Crime Caper Subject: A Talk Show Character: Adrenaline Junkie The Golden Cheetah Fiasco “Our story is actually a love story,” Ace says to her beautiful, idiot partner as they get on the public bus, “not a stupid crime caper.” Otto dazzled her with a 1,000-gigawatt smile. “Yeah, baby, but doing it live makes it hit harder. And I know how hard you like it!” She couldn't help but laugh at him, he's so funny and reckless and she was absolutely in love with him. They arriv

In the heart of his Seattle studio, Raul Gomez Hernandez dripped sweat under industrial lights. On his paint covered workbench lay a jagged shard of crystal about the size of a grapefruit that shimmered with a rainbow sheen. It wasn't of this earth but a fragment of a meteorite purchased at an auction that had emptied his bank account. As an artist Raul knew that unique art needed rare elements. This was his most ambitious endeavor. Raul adjusted his webcam to face the cryst

The bronze tea kettle is so heavy that petite Darby must use both hands to pour the fragrant beverage into the dainty cups. She painstakingly performs each step in the ceremony. The trio of hooded figures around the table sing the melodic Tea Prayer. One by one each drank of the holy tea and Darby held her breath until the blessing took hold bestowing each with a soft glow for but a moment. They smiled, their applause echoed warmly in the stone chamber. "Welcome," they whispe

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/75993/harry-and-the-apocalypse Someday I will finish this story I started to help me process losing my cat Harry. The world as I knew it ended on a Tuesday in late September 2023. I was just sitting at my cramped home computer, virtually on Zoop, Math 107: Math in Society. I was internally screeching about compound interest when the screen suddenly warped, flickered and then all the power went out. The house was suddenly very quiet as the ele

I wrote this one as a Writing Battle Challenge as well. This one made it through 3 rounds before it lost in round 4 of 10. The Genre: Alternative History, Location: Arcade, Character: Magician. “If you do everything right, then no one will notice the changes.” These were the last words my boss said to me as she pushed the illuminated button. I had thought to reply but before I could, I arrived in Baltimore, Maryland on September 27, 1849. I materialized into a booth in Joey'

This was my entry into the https://writingbattle.com/join-battle Writing Battle Competition. I didn't win, but I got a lot of great feedback and wanted to share my 1000 word entry. Genre: Horror, Person: Hopeless Romantic, Object: Hammer. Ravi, 27 .5 miles away Pros: free dog walks Great hot glue gun skills Excellent curry Cons: frequent jay walker Allergic to felines “Well that won't work!” I say to Georgie my fat orange cat. Swipe left. “I know I said I was going to avo

Cat's Paw Excerpts from 17 year old Riley Fernandez diary before she lost her right leg. Dear diary, What a weird day. Like it was good but it was also awful. Like it was good because I'm going to prom and Lucas is going as my date! Like, I can't really believe Lucas agreed to go to prom with me. He's so cute and so much more popular than me and I didn't even mean to ask him, but then he like, said yes so I am happy about that. And tomorrow is my big driving test in driver's