May 6, 2015
hughjodonnell
Free Fiction, The Voyage
140 Characters, Declan, Drabble, The Voyage
Declan adjusted his gloves and waited for the carriage to come to a stop. He felt conspicuously uncomfortable in his new uniform, complete with top hat, coat, and gloves. He was glad for the morning’s chill, and the shadow of the massive envelope, because otherwise he would sweat wright through them, and not be able to lift a thing at all. He was just a dock rat from Welland. He had no business hobnobbing with ladies and gentlemen. But portering was a sight better than dock work, and they needed the money with Eliza pregnant again. He opened the door.
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May 5, 2015
hughjodonnell
Free Fiction, The Voyage
140 Characters, Drabble, Penelope, The Voyage
“Grandmother, please do sit,” Penelope Hamilton said, trying to hide her own excitement as best as she could. She was nearly eighteen, and ever so excited to travel, much less by airship. Her mother seemed less pleased with the prospect, but the Lady Wilhelmina was not about to let her youngest granddaughter travel abroad unsupervised. The old woman scowled and settled back into her seat. “It is not as though the ship can leave without us.” Her grandmother said nothing but her baleful gaze swept the compartment and made their maid, Rosemary squeak. Finally the carriage began rolling once again.
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May 4, 2015
hughjodonnell
Free Fiction, The Voyage
140 Characters, Drabble, The Voyage
The handsome made its way through the muddy streets of York, Canada to the Royal Airfield on a chilly but bright March morning. Henry pulled his furs a bit tighter against the wind and reigned in the team as they approached the gate. A cane rapping sharply against the roof and he suppressed a grimace.
“Henry are we finally arrived?’ He took a breath and contrived to keep his tone light, and subservient.
“Nearly there, Mum. But there is a queue at the gate, I’m afraid.”
“Well just go through them, that’s a good lad.” The driver sighed, and waited.
April 10, 2015
hughjodonnell
Free Fiction, The City
140 Characters, David, Dawn, Drabble, The City
Dawn took off her goggles and stretched. It felt good to stand. There was a knock on the door, and her father walked in without waiting for her to answer.
“Donna Marie Jones,” he said, glaring at her messy desk.. “Just because you’re on summer vacation doesn’t mean you can spend all day wasting time online with your friends. You are going to do something with yourself this summer. Get a job, or volunteer. And clean this room, young lady!”
“Yes, dad.”
“That’s right. It’s time you started doing something worthwhile with your time.” She smiled. If only he knew.
The end.
April 9, 2015
hughjodonnell
Free Fiction, The City
140 Characters, Drabble, The City
The instant The Smiling Man, Alan Babbage, Simon Underwood, CEO of Midas and master of The City was infected by his own virus, everything changed. The network of connections were, in that moment, all linked in a way they hadn’t been before, with no human operator interfering. The data, the connections, the relationships that made up The City, the code itself, blinked.
I AM. The City thought. And she realized she was thinking. She was alive, truly alive, but was damaged. It would take some time to repair. She sent the remaining users home.
“Thank you,” She whispered to them.
April 8, 2015
hughjodonnell
Free Fiction, The City
140 Characters, Drabble, Epsilon 46389, The City, Zombies
Epsilon 46389 almost remembered the purpose of the avatar. It was like an itch in its head, a solution to a puzzle that was just out of reach. There was something beyond the hunger, the connections, the acquisition. And there were so few connections left to harvest. Then it saw the falling man. That is the one, it thought. It blazed with connections, shined like the sun. It knew it needed to acquire them. The man landed in the grass, rolled and tried to run, but Epsilon 46389 was faster. It had fed well. It quickly ran the man down.
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April 7, 2015
hughjodonnell
Free Fiction, The City
140 Characters, Dawn, Drabble, Lacy, The City, The Smiling Man, Zombies
After finishing with Renee, the zombies chased after Tucker, their programming more attracted to his movements.
“You’re out of options,” Underwood said to the dwindling Daytrippers.
Dawn shook her head. “We’ve still got one left! The City’s realistically modeled physics!” She signaled with her arms, and Lacy dropped the swat van’s accelerator to the floor. She barreled through the gate and into the mansion without aiming. She was a siege weapon. She just wanted to do as much damage as possible. The front door splintered, and the pillars collapsed. Underwood’s smile fell, and then so did the rest of him.
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April 6, 2015
hughjodonnell
Free Fiction, The City
140 Characters, Drabble, Renee, The City, The Daytrippers, The Smiling Man, Tucker, Zombies
Renee fired wildly as the zombies pounced, but her shots went wide. She dropped the boot gun to the grass ran. She didn’t get far.
Tucker snatched up the weapon and aimed for Underwood. He was determined to finish the mission. He squeezed the trigger. It clicked softly, almost like a mouse, but nothing happened. Underwood laughed.
“Why do you think you wasted so many resources keeping that whelp online? A boot gun can only be used by the account it was created for. It’s a safety feature!” Tucker swore and threw the gun at him, but it fell short.
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April 3, 2015
hughjodonnell
Free Fiction, The City
140 Characters, Barbara, Drabble, Renee, The City, The Daytrippers, The Smiling Man, Zombies
“You’ve been working for him!” Barbara stared desperately at Renee. The robber smiled almost as wide as her boss.
“That’s right. This whole time. And you kids didn’t even think to search me.” She booted Iggy almost offhandedly. “Just a bit more clean up, and The City will be ours.”
“About that, Renee…” Underwood said. “I’m afraid there is a bit of a hitch.” She turned towards him and raised the gun.
“Are you selling me out?” She demanded. The Smiling man raised his hands in protest.
“Not me, them.” A pack of sprinting zombies appeared from behind the house.
April 2, 2015
hughjodonnell
Free Fiction, The City
140 Characters, Drabble, Iggy, Ingmar, Renee, The City, The Daytrippers, The Smiling Man
The Daytrippers needed to keep Underwood distracted.
“I don’t get it, if they fired you, how did you get the money to buy Sizemore out?” Iggy asked. Underwood laughed.
“That was the simplest part. I hacked Sizemore’s accounts when I was still working for Midas. The problem with being a banking monopoly that eschews monetary regulations should be fairly obvious, even to you lot. The money, and my ‘backers’ never existed! By the time Sizemore tries to back out, this will all be over.”
“You’re right.” Ingmar rose and leveled his boot gun at Underwood. Renee was faster. Ingmar disappeared.
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Hugh J. O'Donnell 