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February 28th, 2021

2/28/2021

Another rainy morning and I was getting weary of the gloom. Sipping my hot coffee, I turned from the window. There was a coolness in the air that wasn’t rain. The heat of the liquid in the ceramic cup helped to warm the chill that coursed through me.
I took another sip, feeling the heat of the liquid as it slid down into my stomach. Such was the temperature when I slid into the big chair and let the cup sit next to me.

With the sound of rain on the roof, I closed my eyes. For a minute, I was back in my earlier life when things were simpler. Get up, go to work, come home, go to bed, and no one bothered me then.

My mind wouldn’t stop playing the scenes over and over in my mind’s eyes. I could see her falling. A crash of thunder broke my thoughts. I sat upright in the chair just as the electricity blinked back on. Blinking a couple of times myself, I remembered it was a nightmare.

But it wasn’t.

She was lying on the kitchen floor. Dead.

I returned to the kitchen. I carefully stepped over her body, shaking my head. They weren’t going to believe me. Hell, I didn’t believe it myself.

I dialed the police. “Hello, there’s been an accident.”

Ten minutes later, the first detective arrived. “So what happened?”

“She slipped on a water spot.” I pointed to the water on the floor next to the counter, obviously from the sink half full of dishes. “Hit her head on the counter as she fell.”

The forensics crew arrived. Two hours later, they left, not charging me with a crime. They did believe me.

I had gotten away with murder.

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February 21st, 2021

2/21/2021

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Another Saturday morning dawned in the city. She sat in the window gazing out and felt as tired as the old city looked. She closed her eyes for a moment and imagined she was back on her world, but the crunch of metal followed by shouting caught her attention.

The shouting came from below as two angry men were near blows. Annoyed, she blinked twice, and there was silence. She descended to the street, smiling at the figures now frozen in place. Approaching one of the men arguing, his face contorted in mid-shout, she placed a hand on his forehead and listened his thoughts. She repeated the process for everyone on the street, then sat next to a man playing checkers, his hand in mid-motion as he reached for a piece and considered what she had heard.

Making them disappear was a thought. It would bring the peace and quiet she craved, but it wouldn’t solve the problems. Her powers on this planet were extortionary, but one of the few things she couldn’t do was get herself back home or get the inhabitants of this strange planet to behave. Each time she reported to the Solar Collective, she hated making excuses for the planet. She didn’t care if they lived or died. However, she had her orders—get this planet under control. So, back to the two men in the street who had been fighting.

Gesturing her hands toward the mangled cars that had collided moments before, they separated. She touched the metal with her fingertips, and the twisted metal straightened, glass returning to the headlamps, paint chips merging as if never broken.

She returned to her seat on the windowsill and blinked three times. Clocks worldwide reverted to seconds before the crash. She blinked again and watched as one driver swerved to avoid the other car.

Crisis averted. The anger level on the planet lowered just a bit. It was a start, but there was a long way to go. She resumed staring out the window.

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February 14th, 2021

2/14/2021

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The lookout point, deserted and covered in snow, beckoned to my weary soul that craved the solitude.

Pilling my gear into the Land Rover, I doubled check my list of essential equipment—several deep-cycle batteries and an inverter, and a small generator to used only as an emergency to power rechargers or lights if needed. I paced clothes in duffle bags along with extra blankets and food rations.

For the most part, I had planned on keeping a low profile.

The three-hour drive to the lookout took me past some of the most scenic and treacherous areas of the county, which were barely passable even in summer. Despite that, I looked forward to my turn to watch the seas and the lands below the lookout tree. There was a small cabin near the tree I could use as protection from the elements if needed, but I hoped it wouldn’t be necessary.

It only took a few minutes to set a windscreen on the hilltop that overlooked the sea and set out my supplies. Scouts had looked at several areas but determined the old tree up on the cliff's summit was the best vantage point needed to keep watch for visitors.

I settled in with and began to watch for the possible invasion by sea of our neighbors from the west. While it was still daylight, I caught up on reading and checked the horizon every few minutes.

After a couple of hours, I spotted the telltale sign of incoming vessels. I keyed the radio mike and warned the main base that the enemy was coming across the bay toward the Port of Calais. The Germans had indeed braved the strait in a last-ditch attempt to secure a foothold in France. After I sent the word of the incoming invasion to my superiors, I collected my things and drove toward the woods to join the French Resistance and make life miserable for the incoming Germans.

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February 07th, 2021

2/7/2021

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A severe storm approached from the west, but that was the least of the worries that the city would face that day. The pyramids in the center of the city had been attracting strange lightning bolts for days and now as the storm approached they became more frequent and intense.

The city had rebooted itself numerous times during the last twenty-four hours. The electricity would go off and then back on as the lighting stuck the tip of the pyramids. Electrical items no longer worked— computers, radios, appliances.

The city officials were at a loss to explain or deal with the phenomenon as the streets became crowded with panicked citizens looking for a way out. The mob looting businesses for anything they thought would protect them from whatever was happening.

As the first blast of rain drenched the city, lightning struck the buildings once more but this time, the lighting came from all directions. The combination of rain and lighting did what he hoped. The city went black. This time it stayed black. No flickering as generators kicked in and substations rebooted. More importantly, no life support. As the rain and lighting crossed the city toward the east, he made his way down the basement of the building where the planet’s native inhabitants had hidden the weather control center. Working with the settlers had proven useful and he had access to the dome controls. He discarded the mask he wore to work in the Earth Settlement as the dome opened and the atmosphere returned to one that he could breathe freely.

The enormous Earth station was silent. The settlers from Earth lay dead in the streets. The cleanup would be massive but worth it. Earth would send a rescue ship, but it wouldn’t matter. They had taken their planet back. They would not allow Earth to destroy their home as they had destroyed their own.

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February 28th, 2021

February 21st, 2021

February 14th, 2021

February 07th, 2021

500 Words The idea is to write a short story about 500 max short based on a picture and an opening line. ​From there one can go ANYWHERE..​Please note: the images used are free-use images and do not require attribution.

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500 Words
The idea is to write a short story about 500 max short based on a picture and an opening line.
From there one can go ANYWHERE..

Please note: the images used are free-use images and do not require attribution.