The Acersecomic

Her hair had never been cut. In a way that was totally dissimilar to Rapunzel, she was a prisoner, trapped by whatever strange mixture of fate and circumstance that determined what we are to become in this life.

If she had been born a Buddha, perhaps she'd have lived many lives and enjoyed all manner of fashionable hairstyles. Instead, she was stillborn with a full head of hair. She was buried with that same tussock, tied together with a bright pink ribbon her mother had tried to purchase from the local notions shop only to find her money was refused.

No One Else To Blame

She stared out the window every day, waiting for her husband to return from sea. Whether she wanted him to return or not was an open question in her heart and mind, but it was her duty to wait so wait she did.

The war had ended years ago. The other husbands had either returned or been confirmed dead. Only hers was still unaccounted for.

She was Queen in his absence. The power was nice and she bowed to no man, but sometimes it would have been nice to have someone to blame for the rotten economy besides the Gods.

Honors Bestowed

When the bandit chief Harper Caine invaded the capital, he was met with the torrential might of the King's Watch. After he quickly dispatched the watchmen, the King's ministers unanimously called for negotiation.

It was decided they would offer Harper Caine lordship over the King's peach orchards.

"Why would I agree to such a settlement?" asked Harper Caine.

"Because tending to the King's peaches is considered the greatest honor in all the lands and comes with a salary of 1,000 gold bars."

"I agree to those terms."

It was many years before Harper Caine realized the King cared nothing for peaches.

God Save The Stars And Stripes

These are patriotic times and they call for patriotic men and women.

The Vexillologists always were zealous in their dogma and it should have come as little surprise when they assumed power. Most people celebrated, but the purge was necessary to weed out those who only publicly welcomed the new regime. There were still leftists and homosexuals who favored the old system, the weaker version of our constitution that had been perverted by judicial neglect. The Flagbearers would except nothing less than original intent.

Some say we are a diminished nation. Those people deserve the torture that is awaiting them.

Starburst

I remember being hurriedly pushed toward the flying ship by panicked voices howling peril. They spoke of a great heat inside me.

What was happening—?

Somehow, it was too late.

Now, all around me is twisted metal, smoking wreckage. My body throbs. Soot covers my hands and feet. Away from me, the skyscrapers appear spotted and streaked, but near there is only ruination. Debris like leaves. Great buildings that stood here only moments ago are gone. Here I am in the midst of it all.

I’m alone and lost and scared.

And, all the blast lines point to me.

From Guest Contributor Matthew Wells

The Plague

No one noticed as the epidemic became incipient. Even as people started dying from the new strain of bacteria, the entire society was oblivious.

I was the only one who could see what was happening and nobody would listen to me.

You might think I'm crazy and when the story ends it will turn out I'm inside the locked cell of an insane asylum. I wish that were the case.

Instead, I'm the last man on Earth.

I did some research after the plague. The most aggressive characteristic of the disease is that it shuts down a person's mind so they are unaware of being sick. I was the only person to have an immunity.

Unfortunately for the bacteria, it evolved too well and now there are no more hosts for it. It's as extinct as the human race will be after my death.

This is no solace for me.

Today's story deviates in that it is exactly 150 words instead of 100. It's something of an epic.

The Chthonic States

I'm thinking I might quit my job.

I'm so old, I remember when we only had 51 states. But after the war, the Chthonic States moved underground. That's where we got the 63 we have today. It feels like a separate country if you ever visit, though not many people do.

I only go there hunting bounties. The laws are different down there and you're allowed to carry weapons still. Packing heat doesn't make you feel safer. The government leaves you alone but you've got to worry about angry citizens.

It's good money, but it's no longer worth my life.

The Warlock's Apprentice

Ralph couldn't stand the tenebrous gloom that hung over the hovel and did everything he could to bring a bit of life to the place. Once, he tied ribbons around the frog legs, but they caused the spell to misfire. Instead of being cursed with thirteen years of bad luck, the enemy king found himself with a penchant for curly hair. Another time, he ruined a batch of poison apples by adding cinnamon. His master was constantly berating Ralph's predilection for bright-colored robes.

It was never easy being gay, but it was especially difficult as a warlock's apprentice.

Emergency Rations

After the shuttle crashed, the landing crew was forced to bivouac on the planet's surface. Their first task was to search the hostile environment of this lifeless planet for any sort of organic material. Otherwise, they would be living off of emergency rations until they were rescued.

Emergency rations were the worst. None of the marines had ever tasted them, but they knew the stories. They all knew a guy who knew a guy who had eaten them once in academy.

Everyone understood that the emergency rations were made of people, their fellow crew members to be exact.

To Curtsy Properly

She was forced to curtsy from a young age. The Queen required the girl to bow with the proper technique, and when she failed, the punishments were severe. The monks were called upon to drill her at all hours, contorting her body with their chaste hands until the proper form was hammered into her forever.

For her part, she deserved all the harsh treatment as she was particularly recalcitrant. She denied the Queen's authority and would have gladly ripped out the queen's eyes or stabbed her with the crown. She would never forgive the Queen for murdering her father.