Twittering Tales #160 – 29 October 2019

About the challenge: Each Tuesday I will provide a photo prompt. Your mission, if you choose to accept the challenge, is to tell a story in 280 characters or less. When you write your tale, be sure to let me know in the comments with a link to your tale. This is important as I have noticed that some of the ping backs have not been working. If you would prefer to post your tale in the comments (some people have very specific blog themes but still want to participate), I am happy to post a link to your site when I post your tale in the Round Up.

A final note: if you need help tracking the number of characters in your story, there is a nifty online tool that will count for you at charactercountonline.com.

I will do a roundup each Tuesday, along with providing a new prompt. And if for some reason I missed your entry in the Roundup, as I have occasionally done, please let me know. I want to be sure to include your tale.

Finally, have fun!

Twittering Tales #160 – 29 October 2019

Happy Halloween! Here’s a spooky photo by Kalhh at Pixabay.com to inspire you this last week of October. Have a great week and happy twittering! I’ll see you at the Roundup!

Photo by kalhh at Pixabay.com

One Foot In The Grave

“I don’t like it. Are you sure this is the place?”
“That’s what they said.”
“Nobody’s here. We should go.”
“Wait! I hear something.”
“Oh god! This is creepy. Let’s go!”
“Give it a minute.”
“For what? Are you crazy?!”

“SURPRISE!!!”

“Happy Birthday!”
“I’m gonna kill you. I hate surprises.”

~kat
279 Characters

Twittering Tales #159 – The Roundup!

Photo by Pexels at Pixabay.com

Starting us off…
Vincent365
“Ya suppa’s gettin cold Ira!”
“I told you Ma, just a minute!!!”
Online, Ira was Vincent365, an intrepid traveler who captivated his many followers with wild adventurous tales; all none the wiser that he was 33, jobless, a loser who lived with his mom.
He signed off. “I’m comin Ma.”
~kat

By Reena at ReInventions:
Assumptions
“Do you really care?”
“I wouldn’t be here, if I did not.”
What kind of chat is this? Who is at the other end? It sounds like commitment.
She tapped his shoulder with a thud.
He was watching a video.
“Use the earphones. I don’t enjoy being carried away by your fictional characters.”
(278 characters)

By Radhika at Radhika’s Reflection:
Quicksand!
The initial few years of marriage was bliss for Ron and Uma. Slowly Ron got sucked into the virtual web, that he found it impossible to come out of it. Unable to continue a life with him, Uma filed for a divorce on the grounds that he had turned a “technoholic”!
Letter count :265

By Lady Lee at Lady Lee Manila:
3am and still awake
Giving all reasons not to break
If only he has the answer
And if only he has a choice
Please listen said the little voice
Hope to start a new chapter
Then other things to consider
To fight and not be a quitter
To sleep again and not quiver
To accept that he has a cancer
(281 characters)

By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
Six Minutes
Tim sat at his desk watching the digital minutes slowly tick by on his computer screen. He grew impatient, nervously clicking the tip of the pen in his right hand. In just six minutes the whole world would finally see what he was capable of. He would show them. They’ll be sorry.
(279 characters)

By Jim at Mindescapes.net:
All Nighter
Sunlight streamed into the studio. Morning was here. This was the third all nighter in a row for Franz and it had finally paid off. His term paper was actually done. He would graduate after all but first, he needed some coffee.
228 characters

By Hayley at The Story Files: (This one might have been a wee bit longer than 280 characters…;) Oops!)
The number kept appearing on his computer screen. He didn’t have a clue what was going on but his anger was slowly being replaced by fear.
There was nothing wrong with the computer. He had built the thing himself, ran regular checks and could solve any problems.
No matter what he was doing, the screen would flicker, turn black then the number 54 would fill the screen before the computer shut down.
It was impossible, no one knew and yet someone clear did. It couldn’t be a coincidence anymore…
His secret was out, he was the city’s serial cat killer.

By Willow at WillowDot21:
Countdown.
He’d noticed the numbers, they all had. It had been an annoyance at first. Days passed and it diminished. No one in the office mentioned it yet they all had spotted it. One by one the numbers on the screens reached 00. One by one the programmers disappeared. Where had they gone.
(280 Characters)

By Graham at Graham is Just My Name:
The New Computer
Bret eagerly anticipated his new computer.
Delivered earlier, he unboxed it before supper.
At 10pm he turned it on.
At midnight he upgraded the Operating System.
At 1am he added the anti-virus.
At 2am he was ready Yay! … but fell asleep.
He woke at 7am.
Bright sunlight.
Time for work!
(279 chars)

By Mike at The Bookish Recovering Know-It-All:
Deep Dive
“Whoa… How long have I been down?”. David, rubbing the crystals of sleep from his eyes, was starting to come out of the confusion of reentry. He’d just spent what seemed like a week inside machine world. Or was it more? “No, it can’t be”. But it was. The screen flashed, “2054”.
(280 characters)

By Sadje at Keep It Alive:
The time read 11:54 and he had just six minutes to finish his story. The deadline was looming ahead and his mind just froze. He couldn’t think that last sentence to give his story the ideal finish. Why oh why did he chose to become a writer?
Character count: 241

By Suzette at Suzette B’s Blog:
Urgent Podcast Prep
Time is ticking down – 6 minutes to review and rehearse my questions before the big podcast interview at noon.
No time to waste.
Gotta turn off the laptop and go old school with pen and paper, “I edit faster this way.”  Well, no time to waste – on with the show.
Total characters: 280

By Tessa at Tessa Can Do It:
Gone?
“Well?”
“Found the gold sir,” the VP said.
“Take them to the termination room. I want them gone, now,” the director said.
They were locked in and the terminal started it’s count down. Huddled together they held tight. “5, 4, 3, 2, 1.” FLASH!
They were gone. So was the gold.
271 characters

By Di at Pensitivity101:
‘I’ll call you back in five minutes…….’ she’d said.
The clock ticked on.
‘I’ll give her another six,’ he thought.
115 characters

By Regina at Help From Heaven:
Sometimes Words Fail Us
What do I say to her? I want her to love me again, but the right words just won’t come. The pen seems permanently suspended off the sheet of paper. You know, it’s ironic that I didn’t lack words when I was calling her ugly names and falsely accusing her of infidelity.
(268 characters)

By Lisa at Tao Talk:
Ray, J, and the Death Ray
(Sentient Light) Ray refused to let J stop until the formula’s proofs were complete. Proofs commenced on Monday morning; work continued 24/7. Jolts of electricity persuaded J when he wavered. Here it was, Sunday, 6:54 a.m. Formulas for the galactic death ray were now complete.
[280 characters]

By Larry at East Elmhurst A Go Go:
Leo’s Insomnia
Leo had insomnia. He tried everything, both work and play. Tired of all the warm milk and late night talk shows he was slowly going nuts. “Why is each C in ice cream sandwich pronounced differently?” he pondered. ‘It’s 2:54 a.m.,” he thought sadly. “No one cares anyway.”
(273 characters) 

By Peter at Peter’s Pondering:
The dead man’s switch was now so uncomfortable that he was finding it difficult to keep it depressed.
One hour, 59 minutes, and six seconds so far.
His finger was sore.
It was bleeding.
He really wanted to let it go.
Only 54 seconds left and his daughter would be safe!
Just hold on!
(278 characters)

By Deb at Twenty Four:
Martin often denied he was obsessive, he didn’t clean compulsorily or check the door three times before he got in his car.
No, it was his job to be cautious.
As the phone rang he leant over, “Good Morning, you have rung the time at the third stroke it will be 6.54am”
(266 characters)

By Lorraine at Lorraine’s Frilly Freudian Slip:
On-line Video Games
Jonas snapped out of his reverie and logged into Warm Boundary.
Appearing nonchalant about his interest vanished:
Quarry54 was doing battle with Kat159.
Epic!
Highlight of his week.
(178 characters)

By Kitty at Kitty’s Verses:
Illusion?
54, The number of characters he had in his novel.Everything was perfect, except the story’s conclusion.
He decided to go out for a stroll to clear his mind.
That was two years back.
And whom did his mom find when she went to investigate some noise in her long lost son’s room now?
280 characters

By Prathiba at Prat’s Corner:
Another Idea?
“It is going to be legendary” he pinged him
“Like all other ideas?” she teased
“Mock me all you want, I am still doing it.”
“And if it fails, you would not be upset.”
“Never. I would have tried it and I know It will be fun.”
“It will be, let’s get the ball rolling on this podcast then.”

By Kelly at Letters From Inside My Head:
Countdown
“I leave my playstation … To no one. There won’t be anyone left.”
The world played on normally outside his window.
“I wish I’d told them.”
He waited. The countdown ticked away to 0.
Then … nothing.
“Mark! What the hell. I told you to get ready an hour ago! Come on, we’ll be late.”
Word Count: 280 characters/55 words

By Angie at AngieTrafford:
Revolution
Jamie signed off on his weekly podcast and breathed a sigh. It is a had been tight and there was a time when he had thought he would have to skip it. He had made the effort so the revolution would start on time. Just like the podcast he had finished with six minutes to spare.
Character count: 274

By John at Broadsides:
It used to be “skip adds in 3 seconds”, now its skip in 60. You have 54 left before you see that sexy MILF seducing the pizza delivery man, or the plumber, or both. 54 seconds before you find how disappointed you are, in yourself.

By Kristian at Tales from the Mind of Kristian:
Writing Turned Jagged
It was 11:54, according to the desk clock, as he sat down to write her a letter.
He now felt this was the only way to mend his broken heart.
His writing changed from its usual regular neatness to something wild and jagged as the poison took effect.
By 12:09 it was all over.
[275 Characters]

Excellent Roundup Everyone. I hope to be back in full voice in about a month. So much still left to do before we move, but everything is falling into place. Thank you for sticking with me during this busy time. I love Twittering Tales. I’m so glad you seem to like it too!