Kingbobkingdom
birds, sky, stars
It was supposed to mean "Hola, soy Dora!" (Hi, I'm Dora) lol . Some child dropped a Dora the Explorer doll and scared the hermit crab. I'll have to make that more evident!
Ended BYC Writing Prompts! A Short Story Contest
- Thread starter Blue Raptor
- Start date
Anime2lover
Keeper of tiny dinos
- Apr 17, 2019
- 4,939
- 18,145
- 617
Are cliffhangers allowed?
- Thread starter
- #93
Blue Raptor
As Astera Per Aspera
Of course!
Entry #2 Prompt... dystopian. But for a challenge to myself, I put all of the prompt words in the story. (Some are part of a larger word, or span two words.)
Title: We Are Done Here
“Poultry… 35,” the chief inspector said.
“Recount!” I demanded. “I only have 17 birds!”
“There are 18 eggs on your counter,” said one of the robots. “Since you have a rooster, they are likely fertile and could hatch.”
Cussing at myself, I couldn’t disagree. It wouldn’t have done any good, anyway.
Survival in the western sector was hard. The unspoken, number one rule: Don’t call attention to yourself. Head down, under the radar, no drama. Do not ever exceed the animals limit during an inspection, as that was a punishable crime.
Five of my precious eggs were going to go bye-bye. I wished I’d eaten them for breakfast. If I’d known an inspection was imminent, I would have.
It still amazed me that humans chose to move here. Historically, this area had been for those who liked adventure. Or, had the fantasy that they would make their own utopian fairytale, growing their own food and “living off the land.”
Ha! The only creatures who did that nowadays were pirates and dragons. The pirates roamed the land and waters, taking whatever they wanted. The robots left them alone; pirates served a purpose. The dragons had been created in an apocalyptic attempt to make more edible meat. Medieval DNA experiment gone way, way wrong.
The robots encouraged humans to move here, selling the swashbuckling mythology of the west. Live your own sci-fi thriller. Reality was much more dystopian.
That there was work for everyone was a big selling point, but it was mainly working the crop fields. Planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting. Due to a ban on most pesticides, there was also the dirty job of “bugging:” searching for “the bugs that eat your food.” Crop yields were abysmal if the buggers didn’t keep the pests down. The pests were processed and fed to animals. The robots considered humans to be animals. They were right, taxonomically.
Humans had been trying to bring the pesticides back. Problem was, they didn’t really work, not like they once had. Like Endosulfan: fickle, though it did wipe out the bees. The robots said that just guaranteed more work for the humans, pollinating the plants. So They got the last laugh on that.
“Human!” barked the robot. “You are over your animal allowance. How do you plead?”
“No contest,” I muttered. There was no defense, as it was true.
“As it is your first offence, leniency will be offered.”
“Thank you,” I said. It was the only response permitted.
“You will be sentenced at 1600 hours.”
I had six hours to prepare. Better than what I expected. “I am grateful,” I said, nodding my acceptance and appreciation. The sooner They were gone, the better my chances of doing what needed to be done.
“We are done here.” The robots packed up their instruments, got in their hover craft, and left.
They hadn’t alluded to what the sentence was, but there was no mystery, no wondering, and no leniency. I’d probably be a bugger the rest of my existence. I had two other options: suicide (a noble choice, since you were relinquishing your food and water to others), or trying to escape. No one had ever succeeded.
I could receive a harsher sentence, I thought. I could become dragon feed.
To many, the dragons were still an interesting phenomenon. Fiction made fact. Dragon fights were a big draw, a huge credit maker. An odd mixture of ancient history and modern genetic tinkering.
I thought about what was to come. Dying would be better than being a bugger, but hope – the cruelest item in Pandora’s Box, if you ask me – still burned in my cells. I might have one possible ace up my sleeve.
In the age of virtual this, interconnected that, and cyber everything, I’d flown under all the radar, so far. The eggs this morning had blipped somewhere, on something. My bad, my very stupid bad.
I went back inside. Down, down, down, deep underground was my own personal Faraday room. Inside, I was undetectable. Inside, I had been working on my own portal.
Space-time portals were entirely robot controlled, but there were rumors of rogue builders. Like everyone else, I scoffed. “It’s the age of Cyber, punk! Like you’d get away with anything, without Them knowing about it.” You didn’t ever, and I mean EVER, even hint that you might know of or know about anything to do with a private portal.
I was so close to having my own. Could I finish it in under six hours? What if They came early? They wouldn’t be able to detect me down here… would They?
The only part of the portal that wasn’t finished was the re-entry function. I wouldn’t have any control over when or where I landed. Sitting there, looking at the Doorway, I knew I didn’t have time to work out the algorithms necessary to wrap up this loose end. Que sera, sera. I’d have to take my chances and just go. I took a deep breath and set the reentry date and location for 1962, Michigan, USA.
I returned to the chicken coop and fed them one last scoop of treats. I petted each one, stroked feathers, looked into those wise beady eyes a last time. “I’ll miss you all, ladies and gentleman.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
It was already noon. Time to leave, lest They came early. I left the run, turning my back on my feathered friends.
“Bawk-bawk,” Stormy clucked softly. I turned around. She was at the fence, watching me, ignoring the treats.
I went back in the run, scooped her up. “Hey, Stormy Bird,” I whispered. “Do you want to go with me?”
Title: We Are Done Here
“Poultry… 35,” the chief inspector said.
“Recount!” I demanded. “I only have 17 birds!”
“There are 18 eggs on your counter,” said one of the robots. “Since you have a rooster, they are likely fertile and could hatch.”
Cussing at myself, I couldn’t disagree. It wouldn’t have done any good, anyway.
Survival in the western sector was hard. The unspoken, number one rule: Don’t call attention to yourself. Head down, under the radar, no drama. Do not ever exceed the animals limit during an inspection, as that was a punishable crime.
Five of my precious eggs were going to go bye-bye. I wished I’d eaten them for breakfast. If I’d known an inspection was imminent, I would have.
It still amazed me that humans chose to move here. Historically, this area had been for those who liked adventure. Or, had the fantasy that they would make their own utopian fairytale, growing their own food and “living off the land.”
Ha! The only creatures who did that nowadays were pirates and dragons. The pirates roamed the land and waters, taking whatever they wanted. The robots left them alone; pirates served a purpose. The dragons had been created in an apocalyptic attempt to make more edible meat. Medieval DNA experiment gone way, way wrong.
The robots encouraged humans to move here, selling the swashbuckling mythology of the west. Live your own sci-fi thriller. Reality was much more dystopian.
That there was work for everyone was a big selling point, but it was mainly working the crop fields. Planting, cultivating, irrigating, harvesting. Due to a ban on most pesticides, there was also the dirty job of “bugging:” searching for “the bugs that eat your food.” Crop yields were abysmal if the buggers didn’t keep the pests down. The pests were processed and fed to animals. The robots considered humans to be animals. They were right, taxonomically.
Humans had been trying to bring the pesticides back. Problem was, they didn’t really work, not like they once had. Like Endosulfan: fickle, though it did wipe out the bees. The robots said that just guaranteed more work for the humans, pollinating the plants. So They got the last laugh on that.
“Human!” barked the robot. “You are over your animal allowance. How do you plead?”
“No contest,” I muttered. There was no defense, as it was true.
“As it is your first offence, leniency will be offered.”
“Thank you,” I said. It was the only response permitted.
“You will be sentenced at 1600 hours.”
I had six hours to prepare. Better than what I expected. “I am grateful,” I said, nodding my acceptance and appreciation. The sooner They were gone, the better my chances of doing what needed to be done.
“We are done here.” The robots packed up their instruments, got in their hover craft, and left.
They hadn’t alluded to what the sentence was, but there was no mystery, no wondering, and no leniency. I’d probably be a bugger the rest of my existence. I had two other options: suicide (a noble choice, since you were relinquishing your food and water to others), or trying to escape. No one had ever succeeded.
I could receive a harsher sentence, I thought. I could become dragon feed.
To many, the dragons were still an interesting phenomenon. Fiction made fact. Dragon fights were a big draw, a huge credit maker. An odd mixture of ancient history and modern genetic tinkering.
I thought about what was to come. Dying would be better than being a bugger, but hope – the cruelest item in Pandora’s Box, if you ask me – still burned in my cells. I might have one possible ace up my sleeve.
In the age of virtual this, interconnected that, and cyber everything, I’d flown under all the radar, so far. The eggs this morning had blipped somewhere, on something. My bad, my very stupid bad.
I went back inside. Down, down, down, deep underground was my own personal Faraday room. Inside, I was undetectable. Inside, I had been working on my own portal.
Space-time portals were entirely robot controlled, but there were rumors of rogue builders. Like everyone else, I scoffed. “It’s the age of Cyber, punk! Like you’d get away with anything, without Them knowing about it.” You didn’t ever, and I mean EVER, even hint that you might know of or know about anything to do with a private portal.
I was so close to having my own. Could I finish it in under six hours? What if They came early? They wouldn’t be able to detect me down here… would They?
The only part of the portal that wasn’t finished was the re-entry function. I wouldn’t have any control over when or where I landed. Sitting there, looking at the Doorway, I knew I didn’t have time to work out the algorithms necessary to wrap up this loose end. Que sera, sera. I’d have to take my chances and just go. I took a deep breath and set the reentry date and location for 1962, Michigan, USA.
I returned to the chicken coop and fed them one last scoop of treats. I petted each one, stroked feathers, looked into those wise beady eyes a last time. “I’ll miss you all, ladies and gentleman.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.
It was already noon. Time to leave, lest They came early. I left the run, turning my back on my feathered friends.
“Bawk-bawk,” Stormy clucked softly. I turned around. She was at the fence, watching me, ignoring the treats.
I went back in the run, scooped her up. “Hey, Stormy Bird,” I whispered. “Do you want to go with me?”
Last edited:
Anime2lover
Keeper of tiny dinos
- Apr 17, 2019
- 4,939
- 18,145
- 617
Entry 1 (this is a cliffhanger, as it is just the beginning of a still unfinished story I started. It is told through the eyes of a young hippocampus that has never left the water.)
Genre: mythical, fantasy
Name: the great adventure
I was born deep under the ocean in a small herd located in a remote part of the ocean. My father was lead stallion, a large black hippocampus with midnight black scales, fur, and mane. My mother, our herds healer, had scales that shimmer the brightest pearl green with blue fur and a blue mane. The first thing I saw were the surprised faces of my parents and herdmates. I would soon learn that it was because of my coloring. While most of them had just one or two colors, I was born a rainbow of colors. My father, being protective, shoed them off. I lived peacefully in my herd for three years until one faithful day.
"Be careful exploring today flora!" Mother Mira called to me as I left for shore. I had been allowed to explore the nearby shoreline but was banned from leaving the water. So I never did. I went toward the shore quickly. But as I approached, I noticed something I have never seen before. A big red and black thing floating above the water. I was curious and went to investigate. When I was closer, I noticed that right next to it, floating neatly in a bundle, was favorite food, sea moss. So I gladly swam up and started eating it, immediately activating an unseen trapbspell. Before I could react I was entangled in a strange magical plant that I could not break, even with my strong teeth and jaws. I started to panic as I felt myself being forced upward by the spell and was horrified to find myself lifted out of the water and onto the floating thing. It was covered with flat faced, scaleless, and mostly furless things, most of wich now stared at me with hungry eyes!
"Are they gonna eat me!?" I thought fearfully as I struggled to free myself.
"This one will fetch a pretty penny for sure!" Exclaimed one of the two-legged things.
"You know they look different as they dry. If she keeps those colors as a horse then we can sell her for more." Said a two legged thing that had a black thing on his head. He seemed to be their here's lead stallion.
"Cage her on deck to dry and set sail men!" The thing belted out. His "men" grabbed at me as I failed and bit. One held my two legs together while the others grabbed my tail and carried me toward a cave with holes on all four sides. The dry holey cage was sharp edged and cold on my wet scales and fur, making it really uncomfortable. It was no help when my scales started to become scratchy and itchy. It felt like that for what seemed like hours when I suddenly started to feel an excruciating pain in my tail! Almost like it was eing split in two! I squealed in pain as I looked back at my tail. To my surprise, it really was splitting in two! The pain didn't last long as my tail became two more legs! Along with a furry flowing tail the color of my mane.
"What did these creatures do to me!" I yelled out and kicked my new back legs against the cave. The two legged stallion came over and sneered down at me.
"Beautiful indeed!!" He said with a sinister grin.
"You guys come and get her up and into the hold!" He barked to a few nearby two legged things.
"Yes captain!" *they complied and hurried over.
"Make sure she stays standing. We want her walking by land fall!" The captain stated. The two legged things grabbed a bundle of woven sea weed like things. One was quickly looped around my neck before I could react and pulled tight so I couldn't respond to the four things going to both sides of me. I gave an undignified winners when I felt them place something under my back end and belly. They worked together so the seaweed things forced me up in a hurtful way. Being unused to my own weight, I stumbled forward into the front of the cave. My head was then bound, making it so that I couldn't bite, wich I tried to do, as they soon repeated the same thing with my front, lifting me up.
"Slowly toward the hold now!" One of them commanded. I wanted to resist, but my legs weren't strong enough to do so as I was forced to move forward. I looked on fearfully as I was brought to an unusually flat brown and steep cliff, wich surprisingly opened to reveal an equally weird cave leading down. I was brought to a large well lit opening filled with other hippocampus like myself, many of wich were also exhausted or terrified, held up by the seaweed things as the creatures soon did to me. They made it so that I had to stay up on my own or dangle irritatingly on the weed. Next to me was an older mare, looking at me with pity in her purple eyes. In front of me, the creatures put a thing of water and hard sea grass, wich I refused to touch at all.
"Young one, pity you were caught..." She said as she coaxed me to eat. She told me that we would be sold to work for the humans after landing. After about a month of waiting, we were taken off the ship and sold to different humans.
- Thread starter
- #97
Blue Raptor
As Astera Per Aspera
Do you have a title?
Last edited:
Uh.... not really...
If it has to have one, I'll think of one...- Thread starter
- #99
Blue Raptor
As Astera Per Aspera
Uh.... not really...
Id love to see the rest of the book !
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