Give Up

Bridgetown

Give up. Give up. Give up. And he tossed and turned on the bunk bed. Nightmares turning into night sweats. His ears beating to the drum of his heart. Tomorrow. It'll be another day. Tomorrow. But it never was another day. It was the same day, over and over again. The same intelligence gathering. The same raids. The same ambushes. The same killings. The same deaths. A never-ending string of horrors. Give up... He wished closing his eyes would make everything disappear. The noise, the nightmares, his heartbeat. Give up... That nagging voice hammered on. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, I'll give up.

100 Word Stories

Railing

 

Collins

The stairs to the basement had no railing. "No one ever goes down there anyway," he said. One day, they decided to sell the house. There was nothing but a small apothecary cabinet with empty drawers in the basement. "Who put this here?" She shrugged. "Garbage." That's when the problems started. He tripped and hit his head on the corner of the cabinet. She twisted an ankle and he dislocated a shoulder while trying to move it. Enough was enough. They decided to leave it behind. The cabinet whispered "Railing". They rushed to sell the house for half its worth.

100 Word Stories

Complete Idiot

 

Collins

The ticket booth was empty.

"I guess it's free today."

When he entered the fairgrounds, a man chasing him yelled, "Ticket, ticket!"

He explained that he did try to buy a ticket.

The man waved his hand dismissively.

"How many?"

He replied, "One."

The man looked at him. "Now you must pay for two."

"Two?! Why?"

"Because I say so."

Wrong answer, he thought. "Do you have a death wish?"

The man blinked.

"Give me one ticket."

The man gave him one ticket and charged him for two.

Good thing there was a loose plank right next to the booth.

100 Word Stories

Family Portrait

Time Remains

Everyone stood, side by side meekly. Four generations. The photographer tried his best, but no one smiled. Back in his studio, he decided to reinterpret the concept of a family portrait. The grandmother's face looking like a flowerpot, no top of the head, chopped horizontally above the nose, twigs around it (each twig representing a family member). At the last minute, he added, "We are all a part of this mess." Why? No idea why he did it. He's still waiting to be paid. The photo, however, was sold for a million to a multi-millionaire. Nothing happens by pure chance.

100 Word Stories

Dead Plant Fever

 

LEA 7

The new dead plant in the garden of dead plants was rather cheeky, bragging about being the deadliest dead plant around. The other dead plants chuckled. A fever of hatred ensued. The deadliest dead plant.... Who cares? She's dead. The new dead plant vowed to kill them all. The problem was that they were already dead. That's when she came up with a plan. Fertilizer! She summoned the wind. The fertilizer flew from the ripped bag, and the dead plants, horrified, began to sprout again. "Happy to be alive? That is a kind of death, isn't it, you silly weeds?"

100 Word Stories

An Empty Deodorant Can

 

Milk Wood

Beach towel, sunglasses. An empty deodorant can? She'd stopped using spray deodorants ages ago, when being environmentally friendly was a thing. Suddenly, the can beeped. She quickly tossed it away, but her guilt made her pick it up again. Then, a red dot appeared exactly when her ex walked up. "Hello!" For some reason, he took the can from her and... vanished. To her amazement, the can spoke. "Thank you for helping us capture a human specimen of the stupid kind. We'll research him thoroughly." Perhaps she could help again. She knew a few more specimens of the stupid kind.

100 Word Stories

Chip

 

Blue Crystal

The yacht was new. Was it? The plan was to sail aimlessly for a week, exploring the small beaches along the coast. A bad plan. Deciding to sail aimlessly was just the first of many problems. Upon closer inspection, they noticed water and chips of rotten wood drifting inside the hull. Then an error message appeared. An electronic chip was apparently damaged. An argument erupted, and chipped teeth happened. When they finally returned back home, they vowed to sell the yacht, and pay for the dentist with the money. It was either that or try their luck at the casino.

100 Word Stories

Classic

 

Milk Wood

Classic. A car? The radio. Classic music? No, the radio. The music on the radio? No, the radio. The officer closed his notepad, shook his head, and walked away. Classic. Someone overheard it. Why classic? The radio. Oh, not the cop? No, the radio. Why did he walk away? Don't know, but... the radio. No one paid attention. But he knew. The radio had killed them. So, he grabbed it, and walked away. Classic. The word kept repeating in his head. When he smashed the damn thing, it made a fizzling sound and that was it. Classic problem-solving strategy, brutality.

100 Word Stories

Empty Streets No More

Candia Urban Lounge

Slow down, she cried. The streets were empty. A strict curfew was in force. We can't slow down, he whispered. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward. He couldn't leave her behind. She was his world. She had taught him to believe that everything could go back to what it was. That's when he saw them. The three red orbs, scanning the alleyway. He instinctively covered her body with his, right before they fired. Years later, she told their child, now the leader of a democratic country, the story of that day when they had to run and hide.

100 Word Stories

Bubble Wrap

Milk Wood

 The bubble wrap, he said, we must make sure this book is well protected before we ship it off. Everyone hurried around, mostly just trying to look busy. Where's the bubble wrap? Finally, someone said that they had none left. Go buy some more?! They all ran out of the room. He waited, and waited. The book mumbled. He was startled. The book mumbled some more. What? I can protect myself, it said. He was stunned. How?! That's when everyone came rushing back. Bubble wrap! The book sort of sneezed and tragically everyone collapsed. The book clearly didn't like plastic.

100 Word Stories