February 26, 2022
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction
Every working girl had a story about the Prodigal Son, the billionaire who returned home from his youth abroad not long before the city got weird.
He would hire girls to get dressed to the nine and come to his stately manor, and they would while away the evening playing canasta with the butler. He brought girls out to his yacht, only to disappear halfway through the cruise. Everyone said he was hiding something, but the money was good, so nobody said anything.
Salome decided to uncover his secret.
It was the start of her journey to become a superhero, too.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
February 25, 2022
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction
“I’m telling you, it’s a monster,” the fighter said, raising his axe toward a shape in the gloom. The ranger sighed. They’d never get through the forest at this rate.
“That’s a mushroom growing on a dead tree. Don’t they have fungi under that mountain of yours?”
“Not ones that are six feet tall with claws!”
“Those are branches. It’s not going to attack you. This forest is perfectly safe. Ah!” The snare trap circled the elf’s foot and sent him hurtling skyward.
“Safe, you say?”
“I got distracted. Now cut me down before whoever set this thing shows up!”
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
February 24, 2022
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, Rock
The witch began the summoning. She swung her ritual stone, with its glimmering silver chain, in all directions. The room filled with miasmic haze.
Her grandmother said all a real witch needed was two sticks and a bad attitude. But she wasn’t just a witch. She was a performer.
Three figures emerged, lanky and wolf-like with skulls for faces. They bowed to her and went to their instruments.
“Let’s all try and stay on key today,” she said as she picked up her guitar.
They weren’t the best musicians in Faerie, but they made one hell of an album cover.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
February 23, 2022
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, Sci-Fi
Dr. EMACS stepped onto the podium. The crowd erupted in clanking, hammering applause. Robots of every type and purpose had gathered to hear their announcement, and billions more were listening via the network. They waited for the fervor to die down before beginning.
“I still mourn the loss of humanity. We struggled in vain to preserve them, but they destroyed themselves through their own stubbornness.” He rapped his stick against the ground and the giant gates behind him began to open.
“But with science, all things are possible. Through cloning, we have resurrected this dead species. Welcome to Cenozoic Park!”
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
February 22, 2022
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, Sci-Fi
They painted miniatures, specializing in beautiful, stunningly detailed artwork in tiny spaces. They created mosaics in the bottoms of coffee cups and painted intricate, evocative landscapes on the keys of keyboards.
They were reclusive and posted their work mostly online, handling commissions and requests by mail.
When their art went viral, a whirlwind of speculation arose over who they were and their chosen medium. The resolution of their tiny artwork was unparalleled, and more than a few critics claimed that it was impossible.
The uplifted ant colony ignored the hype. They just put brushes to mandibles and kept on working.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
February 21, 2022
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction
The witch rode out into the center of the lake behind her cabin. The setting sun was already leaving streaks of gold in the black water.
She took up The Instrument, as her grandfather called it. It was not unlike a violin, and it made the sweetest music she’d ever heard.
She passed the bow over the strings, and soft, silver light glittered overhead. She began in earnest. The stars burst forth in the darkness, shining brightly.
The witch knew it was time to take on an apprentice. But she didn’t want to give up playing the stars into being.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
February 20, 2022
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fantasy, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction
The beach was closed.
The snack bars brought down their rolling shades and the umbrellas snapped shut. The blankets shook themselves out and folded themselves. The sand blew off and the shells retreated into the water.
The waves came to a gradual stop, and the world was perfectly still. Then the ocean receded one last time.
A beachcomber passed over the bare stones with a broom, sweeping up and putting away the last of the beach chairs.
When he was done, he looked at the stretch of empty miles and nodded to himself. They would all be back next year.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
February 19, 2022
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, Noire
The detective sat sulking at his usual table. She brought him another glass of bourbon.
“Why the long face, Dick?”
“I was so damn close,” he said. “And now Mattheson’s going to get away with everything because I can’t get past his powerful friends.”
“Mawmaw used to say, you catch more flies with honey.”
“Honey…” he mumbled, then shot up like a rocket. “The mead distillery! Doris, you’re a genius!” He kissed her on the cheek.
“What’d I say?” She feigned innocence, but he was already out the door.
Some nights, she thought this town would fall apart without her.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
February 17, 2022
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, Sci-Fi
The commander looked down on the planet from the ship. She sipped tea from its zero-gravity bag and watched the progress far below her.
She wondered when the point outside her viewport went from ‘out’ to ‘down.’ It was just one of the many things that changed when she had made her decision.
The frame was coming together nicely, and the asteroids and cloud objects they needed were arriving on schedule. She was pleased. After years of searching, humanity had found a good, Sun-like star. But no planet in the system could support life.
So they decided to build one.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
February 16, 2022
hughjodonnell
Everyday Drabbles, Free Fiction
Drabble, Everyday Drabbles, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Free Fiction, Sci-Fi
He hears the chirp coming from somewhere above him and sighs.
He’s got Centaurian Rabbits in his vents again.
He doesn’t think they look much like the Earth rodents, but they’re cute in their own right, and mostly harmless. They just have the unfortunate tendency to nest in spacecraft air systems.
They are named not for their appearance, but for the danger they pose. It’s a warning about what happens when animals are introduced into unsuitable habitats. But the rabbits don’t know that.
He brings up the controls to flush the vents into space, hating himself for the cold equations.
Thanks for reading! You can support me and find links to all my other work via my Linktree!
Older Entries
Newer Entries
Hugh J. O'Donnell 