Starting us off…
The Lottery
The lottery was held a week before the meteor collision. One million souls would be selected, with the winners being notified privately.
Days passed and neighbor’s eyed each other suspiciously. But no one seemed to have made the cut. No one, but the leaders and their families.
~kat
278 Characters
By Reena at ReInventions:
Darkness
The darkness is soothing, but she is grateful for the windows. It prevents claustrophobia. It gives an insight into worlds outside.
It gives an opportunity to jump out to end her life.
Mental illness was reappearing. It was not possible to get out of this place, or out of her mind.
(280 characters)
By Lisa at Tao Talk:
Twilight Zone
Rod had dreamed every detail of the lunar station and spared no expense in making it come to life. It had to look streamlined and metallic; had to be shadowy/noir for the mood. Most important the light outside had to be bright, as if it was a long way from the dark side.
[275 characters]
By Fandango at This, That, and the Other:
The Perimeter
Jimmy preferred to sleep during the day and walk around the perimeter of the habitat at night. That way, he was mostly on his own and rarely encountered the other inhabitants.
Most important, he wouldn’t be on display for his captors peering at him through the large oval windows.
(279 characters)
By Ron at Read4Fun:
I Wannabe A Writer
Annalise tried all courses. Write A Novel in 10 Days. Become Rich at Home in PJs. The Write Way to Wealth. Character Clichés. This tour would be the last investment. Prideful Plagiarism, Inc. promised success after a guided tour of Famous Writer’s Block. Look at the vacancies!
277 characters
By Shweta at My Random Ramblings:
New Beginnings
Although the flight was turbulent, the landing wasn’t.
Clutching their oxygen tanks, the passengers set out to explore their new abode.
The round, white spacecraft stood out in sharp relief against the barren, rocky terrain.
Earth was too far gone to be saved.
Now, it was Mars’ turn.
(280 characters)
By Di at Pensitivity101:
The bell dinged, signalling dinner was about to be served.
The mice lined up by the holes waiting for the cheese to appear.
122 characters
By Kia at The Bookish Recovering Know-It-All:
“It’s been twelve days, fourteen hours, eight minutes and twenty two cycles of grief, acceptance and grief since the pods escaped and I was stranded. Here. In what’s left of this shell of a planet, I alone… I alone. I’ll have to get used to those words, that feeling. I alone. I.”
By Rugby at The Bag Lady:
Future Spaceman
“I thought you would like this part”. Joey’s dad watched his inquisitive son peering into the display. Joey dressed in his Star Trek t-shirt and hat, his must-wear everyday outfit. Trying to dissuade him was impossible. No one could change the dreams of this extraordinary boy.
280 characters
By Bear at Jellico’s Writing Nook:
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Turn around.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
jump on the round
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Turn out the light.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Say good night!
cc: 154
By Willow at WillowDot21:
Sweet Release
She awoke was she alone? Three days she had been captive. He’d raped, beaten and left her in her own mess. He was here, his breath on her neck. Then a siren went off, “no” he cursed. “It’s too early”as the water rushed in through the holes. Thank God death, was preferably to him.
(281 Characters)
By Jan at Strange Goings on in the Shed:
Absence
There is a shadow of Absence in this place, steeped in pathos and cold to the touch.
A hint of Monochrome signifies solitude, as Light gazes at reflection and Revelation waits.
Light and Dark couple, enact a sacred union, urge us pause for reflection, urge us keep the silence.
(276 characters)
By Larry at East Elmhurst A Go Go:
The Great Society
“This is a counterfeit future,” Doug told Tony. “Like in that 2001 movie, the real 2001 was nothing like that. You can bet that the real 4000 will be nothing like this. “Maybe it’s not the future,” his friend said. “Maybe it’s something much more dangerous and inexplicable.” (278 characters)
By Tessa at Tessa Can Do It!:
No Time to Relax!
“Stay in the crowd of people,” Ron said placing a hat on both of them.
“Are we going to climb this thing? How will that help?”
“When we get to the front of the line a man will hand me a paper letting us know where to go while NATOR works to find us a safe house. We’ll use the cab.”
280 characters
By Anurag at Jagadilmein:
The End
The flood had subsided, but no one was celebrating.
I stood on the deck alone, a pariah, for no fault of mine. They blamed me for the ending of the human race.
But how was I supposed to know that Noah’s wife would have a heart attack upon seeing a cockroach in her cabin?
272 characters
By Graham at Graham is Just My Name:
I awoke shivering.
Pale light filtered through oval windows.
Where was I?
I walked around the circular structure.
No doors, no escape.
Only the relentless vibrations of a contraption in movement.
A robotic voice announced.
“Your quarters are ready.
ETA 14 years 3 months 23 minutes.”
(275 chars)
By The Dark Netizen:
My Aching Body
The corridor was silent.
I could hear the creaking of my body with every step I took. It ached everywhere. The tests had been heavy. Sure, I’d read the terms and conditions before signing up for this, but the money offered had hastened my reading.
Damn those experimenting aliens…
Character Count: 280
By Kristian at Tales from the Mind of Kristian:
Out of Space
I was gazing at the stars when, like something out of the Twilight Zone, a UFO flashed towards me across the sky. A light beam picked me up as if I weighed less than a pebbleand I was on the spaceship looking down at Earth.
“You’re our Slave now,” said a voice from the dark.
By Rob at Art by Rob Goldstein:
A Fresh God
Charlie lives in a comic book. Superman says
everything is his; he can have the Fortress
of Solitude. Flash of blue. Swamp gas. A fresh
God pinches cheek and says, “I’m crazy baby,
you better believe it.”
177 characters
By Lorraine at Lorraine’s Frilly Freudian Slip:
Peekaboo
the sign on the dome read: “pick a portal; any portal”
seductive open doorway to
promises; dreams; ecstasy
a gateway; a sweet release
slide into another reality
step into a past
slip inside someone’s head
choice is yours . . .
until someone pushes you through
in their own rush for freedom*
(280)
By Sadje at Keep It Alive:
The new building was complete. It would soon house the faculty of planetary research. They had even shaped it in the form of the solar system. The eight planets lined up, doubling as windows. The professor was very hopeful that they would soon discover the ninth planet, Nemesis
Character count:279
By Kitty at Kitty’s Verses:
Milky Way
Have I stepped into the Milky Way?
The nine planets!! Oops! The sun and the eight planets, orbiting.
But all I can see is only darkness, retorted her friend.
Ever since her school took the kids to the planetarium, little Anna could only see the Milky Way everywhere.
265 characters.
Great roundup everyone! Thank you for answering the challenge. And thank you to everyone who congratulated me on 150 challenges! In a matter of weeks we will hit the three year anniversary! You all are sooooo creative! For this week I did a mashup of two photos from pixabay. Thank you to photographers, pendleburyannette and MichaelGaida! This week’s tales can be of the “once upon a time” variety, or Jurassic, or delusional! Haha! Have fun with it! Remember to keep your tale around 280 characters or less and I’ll see you at next week’s roundup!
like mercury colliding... 