Category Archives: Finish the story

Slip Sliding Away

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15

This post is written for Mondays Finish the Story.

This is a unique flash fiction challenge where we are provided a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. Our challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided which is highlighted below. My story follows the picture prompt.

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© 2015, Barbara W. Beacham

The cemetery spread along the area known as Devils Abode.

The heavy rains that began two days ago resulted in a virtual landslide that covered almost an entire acre below the original site.

The river of mud and debris had now settled into a sea of dirty brown dirt.

The landslide was particular hard on the residents of the cemetery. Some of the underground population had been covered by six feet of earth for up to eighty years. Some had resided beside each other by chance and others because they were family. The long-term residents were hard to tell apart because of the decomposition of their bodies. Some of the “newbies” still were dressed in their formal burial attire. Bones were now in piles on some of the higher ground.

The good souls were now mixed with the bad. Those that had led the good life now felt cheated. The bad boys were still laughing.

Saturday In The Park

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9

This post is written for Mondays Finish the Story.

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This is a unique flash fiction challenge where we are provided  with a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. Our challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided (highlighted below).

“I see absolutely everything.”

“But Grandpa, you’re blind.”

“Technically Nelson, you are correct. I just don’t see with my eyes like you.”

“I don’t understand Grandpa.”

“Take that couple to your right. They are arguing are they not? Sounds like a pretty serious difference of opinion to me. The grass I sit on is green, right? Green grass feels different than dry burnt grass. I guess there are some clouds in the sky as the wind is picking up. Maybe even some dark clouds because of the dampness I feel.”

“The hot dog vendor seems to be doing a great business by all the noise I hear over there. He’s there everyday of the week you know? Even Sundays! I can tell by the popping of balloons that the clown is here today. He only comes on the weekends. More children to entertain I guess.”

“And the water fountain? What’s wrong with it? Do you know? I can tell by the sound that not as much water is flowing as usual.”

“You here that clicking sound? That’s your mother coming to get you. She is the only one that wears high heels on Saturday.”

“So you see Nelson I really do see absolutely everything.”

Welcome Back!

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21

This post is written for Mondays Finish The Story Challenge.

This is a unique flash fiction challenge where we are provided  with a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. The challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words. The provided sentence is in bold below.

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At first, it looked like an ordinary marble, but it was far from it.

“Idiot! Some scientist you are. That spacecraft was to be on Jupiter by now. As you can see, it apparently took a U-turn about 365 million miles after it left this planet and landed about 365 feet from where the damn thing took off.”

“All that talk about the reduced time it takes to get to Jupiter is all scientific trash talk. Yea, the Galileo spacecraft took six years to reach the planet, and then advancement led to the New Horizon vehicle which passed the planet in thirteen months on its way to Pluto.”

“And then you come along with all your talk about the Holman Transfer Orbit* mumbo jumbo and look what happens. Instead of getting the slingshot affect you were after, you got the boomerang affect.”

* Hohmann Transfer Orbit is an elliptical orbit used to transfer between two coplaner, circular orbits.

You Can’t Hide From Me

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This post is written for Mondays Finish the Story where we  are given the  first line and then asked to finish the  story  in 100 – 150 words. My story follows  the picture prompt.  For other stories just click on the blue  frog at  the end of this post.

2015-03-09 - BW Beacham

On March 9th, 2015, three objects were reportedly seen in the skies over the Borracho Todos los Tiempos Vineyards.

Staff Sargent Vince Amotto was rigid at his console at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale Arizona. Sitting beside Vince, were two fellow officers, Sargent Bill Wilson, and Sargent Roger Smith or “Dr. Bob” to his comrades.

All were Predator Drone pilots. The Predator Drone, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), was capable of flying  over six hundred and fifty miles, loitering overhead for fourteen hours and then returning to base. The Predator, flying at 25,000 feet, was invisible from below.

Sitting at his desk Vince was capable of identifying a standing human being at night as likely armed or not. The  local wine growers were at war with the government over the production quota imposed upon them.

Tonight their mission  was to seek and destroy a major wine-producing company and its current crop of grapes. This mission was a critical part of the current administrations war on wine.

Locking on his target Vince called over  his mike, “No  wine  before  it’s  time,” and released his missile.

 

 

Frog Legs For Dinner?

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13

Written for Mondays Finish the Story. Finish the story begins with: “When it came to a challenge, Jim Smiley just had to jump right in!“

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When it came to a challenge, Jim Smiley just had to jump right in!

After all he came from a very competitive family. He always wanted to be the Top Frog and his family provided him his greatest rivals.

There was his cousin Kenneth. He claimed to be at one time a human being. He was a loud mouth and a grumble but he was a wiz at the shot put.

Then there was his older brother Big Ed. Big Ed was the BFOC (Big Frog On Campus) and was a ladies man but still could possibly win the high dive competition.

His younger brother, Little Hypertoad, was the odd duck in the family. He was a great sprinter but he kept jumping the gun and on the restarts he appeared to be hypnotized and would set frozen on his hind legs for days.

And then there was his sister Looney Lucy. She was like Nadia Comaneci with bulging eyes. She approached the parallel bars wearing a top hot, carrying a cane, and singing pop music, ragtime, and Tin Pan Alley hits. She got disqualified a lot.

With all his practice time behind him Jim headed toward Calaveras County and his much-anticipated contest with old Dan’l Webster.

Jim realized that if he did not win the jumping contest he would be dinner for someone.

 

Still Fishing After All These Years

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16

This post is written in response  to Mondays Finish the Story challenge.

Finish the story begins with:  “Dropping her line into Fool’s Lake, she patiently waited for something to bite.”

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Dropping her line into Fool’s Lake, she patiently waited for something to bite.

After all she had described herself perfectly. Young, attractive, PhD. in Clinical Psychology, and most importantly, single. Well almost she admitted.

She considered thirty-five to be young. You are always young she thought. Anyone older was a fossil. What was age but a number she thought. To someone fifty I am young her thought process continued.

Attractive? Well just who determines that she said to the bathroom mirror? I considered  myself attractive and that is all that really matters. Her mother considered her attractive didn’t she? And her girlfriend Kelly thought so but  then Kelly was really almost ugly. But hey, that still counts.

The PhD degree was a bit of a stretch she had to admit to herself. But she knew enough Psychology to answer any question posed to her with another question. Always put the ball in your opponents  court  was her philosophy.

It has been a week since she posted her profile on the social site  and still no hits. Maybe it was the picture she used. It did look a lot like Lady Gaga. But still…….

The Collector

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16

This post is written for Mondays Finish the Story challenge. This is a flash fiction challenge where we are provided with a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. Our challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided. The sentence provided is underlined in my story. For other interesting stories click on the little blue fellow at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

2015-02-02 - BW Beacham

Diamond Jack had his hideout next to the Rattle Snake River. 

After his parents’ death in 1995 he had lived alone in this out-of-the-way shack three miles from the nearest road. He installed booby traps in corridors and doorways to ensnare  intruders.

He  began venturing out of the house only after midnight and would walk miles all over the city to get food, sometimes going as far as Bridgeport to buy as little as a loaf of bread. He would also pick food out of the garbage and collect food that was going to be thrown out by grocers and butchers to bring back. He also collected countless pieces of abandoned items and trash that aroused his interest.

They found Diamond Jack’s body last week in the midst of 130 tons of books, furniture, musical instruments and other items. Among the items found were his unpaid electricity, water, and gas bills which he had  failed to pay. Those services  were turned off in 1997.

 

 

 

 

Close Encounters Of the 4th Kind

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Written for Mondays Finish the Story Challenge. This is a flash fiction challenge where we are provided with a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story.Your challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided. For other interesting takes on this challenge just click on the blue frog at the end of this post.

Finish the story begins with: “They finally made their escape.”

 

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They finally made their escape. 

They had stalked their prey for the last 4 hours. Their targets were doing everything possible to make their mission a success. They were cooking fish for starters. The other food containers were all uncovered. They were cooking in a camouflaged area. All the better to sneak up on them and attack.

They attacked in unison. Two of their targets, the older ones, started to run. Stupid idea. Didn’t they understand that you simple can’t outrun a bear. The other two, who were but small children, stood their ground.

Eating until they were full the bears they decided to have some more fun. Their victims had left their car behind. Both John and Linda, the two older bears decided to go for a little joy ride.

As they left, Wanda and William, their two cubs, waved goodbye.

 

 

 

Stick to Books

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13

Written for Mondays Finish The Story. This is a flash fiction challenge where we are provided with a new photo each week, and the first sentence of a story. Our challenge is to finish the story using 100-150 words, not including the sentence provided. 

Finish the story begins with:  “Racing down into the atmosphere, the unidentified object crashed, leaving behind one heck of a huge crater and a plume of smoke that could be seen from miles around.”

My story follows the photo;  for other stories click on the blue frog at the end of this post.

 

2015-01-12 - BW Beacham

Racing down into the atmosphere, the unidentified object crashed, leaving behind one heck of a huge crater and a plume of smoke that could be seen from miles around.

“Damn, and after all the research!”

“I told you it wouldn’t work Jeff.”

“I know people said it was noisy and an invasion of privacy, but still. I mean it’s not like I loaded a gun on the thing. It was just a package for God’s sake. I know, I know,  five pounds was to be the maximum but it still should have been able to deliver its payload. The software was ten years in development. Ten years Ralph. Ten frigging years of my life to get that bugger to fly and look at what happened. I think the software was hacked. I bet it was the North Koreans. They brought down Sony and now they want to take down my company.”

“Jeff, Jeff,  just let it go. Focus on your core business. Remember books Jeff?”

American Flag Ranch

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Written for Mondays Finish The Story. My story begins after the photo. For other stories just click on the blue froggie at the end of this post.

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Finish the story begins with: “The house of Don Francisco sat in a remote part of the desert.”

The house of Don Francisco sat in a remote part of the desert. The original building had been built around 1880. In the crazy days of the mining boom it was built as a ranch for those prospectors that could afford to spend their money while trying to make even more. Legend has it that Buffalo Bill Cody once stayed there for a whole month.

Don Francisco thought he had found his own gold mine. He embellished the image to prospective renters by calling it the “American Flag Ranch.”

The gold rush busted and so was Don Francisco. In desperation for a buyer he sold the property to the U.S. Government which turned it into what is now the oldest territorial post office in the U.S. The original Post  Master was Benjamin Worthy who earned an annual salary of $3.77.

Today old Mr. Worthy would have to work for over eleven years to purchase one first class stamp.