The Polish-Russian Frontier

Eurasian red squirrels live on the border of Poland and Russia. During severe winter storms they shelter inside their nests lined snuggly with twigs and moss. Ralph and Rayette were two Eurasian squirrels. After a fierce four-day blizzard, Ralph poked his snout out. It was 15 below…

“Look at the snow drifts, Rayette.”

She knew that when she’d seen one drift she’d seen them all.

“Hey, I forget, do we live in Russia now?”

“No, Ralph… The Russian frontier's 20 yards that way.”

“Well, that's a relief.”

“Huh?”

“I don't think I could survive any of those brutal Russian winters.”

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

Frank's Permission

Frank Grumley was old school. So, Ralph, who wanted to marry Claudette, spoke to her old man...

“It's right to ask for my consent, Ralph, because marriage is a frontier, and I want to protect my daughter. But about your work…”

“You mean, quantum electrodynamics? It's at the frontier of quantum mechanics.”

“Whatever.”

“I’ve been studying high intensity fields... You know -- where empty space itself becomes radically active.”

“Huh?”

“But I'm giving it up. I have an opportunity to go into my Uncle Harry's cement business.”

“Ralph, have you seen our driveway?... You're sounding more and more like a son-in-law.”

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

For the prompt Frontier

Devonian

Someone had to do it. There had to be a first fish that struggled onto land roughly 380 million years ago in the Devonian period. It so happened to be Mel. Ed and Gosnold were two Devonian fish who waited in the shallow water for Mel to return.

He was almost completely out of breath.

“So?”

“What’d you mean, Ed?”

“So, what was it like?”

“Oh, yeah, dry land… Well, it was dry. And it was sandy.”

“Do you think there's a future on dry land, Mel?”

“Could it be the next frontier, Mel?”

“Nah, Gosnold… It's just dry sand…”

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

David is a physician who writes fiction in and out of the EHR (Electronic Health Record).

For the prompt Frontier

Sawdust

In 1870, no town in the Wild West was as dangerous or dusty as Sawdust, Nevada. Public drunkenness, gunfights in the main street, and rotting buildings - that was Sawdust.

For every drunken gunfighter there were several termites. Moe, Curly, and Mel were three of them. Al was the termite boss.

Termites build multi-tiered mounds.

“Moe, you're working on the back tier… Curly, you're in the middle…”

Al twisted his antennae.

“Mel, you're on the front tier.”

“Please, not the Frontier.”

“I said the front tier… But wait a minute…”

He knew Mel. Maybe he should send Mel into downtown Sawdust…

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

For the prompt Frontier

Daredevil

The first time Ben died in his dream was liberating. He'd always been told that if you got killed while you were sleeping, you'd never wake up again, but it turns out that's just a myth.

Now Ben is a complete daredevil when he's dreaming. Right before he falls asleep, as he's just about to cross into the unknown frontier of the night, he visualizes all the ways he will flirt with danger, whether it's jumping off a cliff in order to fly or walking into a burning building to save some puppies.

If only real life worked that way.

For the prompt Frontier

9 Months

For 9 months things had been great. But now Mel was in the birth canal. He faced the Delivery Room, Dr. Fromberg, the obstetrician, and then the whole extra-uterine frontier. He didn't like it. He dug in his heels and tried to crawl back.

But Dr. Fromberg didn't care. He’d dealt with problems like Mel before. When it came to pulling neonates into their so-called lives, he was prepared to do so. After all, he'd been yanked into his life 53 years before.

Yes, the first thing Mel did in this new frontier was cry… And could anyone blame him?

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

Frontier

The steep hills and rugged terrain bordered the frontier. Untamed wildlife lay ahead as I stepped into the wilderness on my hunt for food. I promised my wife we’d make a good home. It’s difficult at times, but we managed.

I heard an ominous sound nearby; crunching branches. I turned and pointed my rifle. Before me stood a grizzly bear at least ten feet tall. He growled and started toward me. I pulled the trigger and he fell into a heap. He let out his last breath and stilled.

He was protecting his home; I couldn’t fault him for that.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

For the prompt Frontier

Intergalactic

Edna and Ed Grumley had no idea they were at the very frontier of intergalactic space exploration that Saturday. Edna was on a double chaise lounge next to Ed in his Hawaiian Gonzo shirt. In the sky above...

Yes, a UFO from the Andromeda Galaxy hovered over Edna, Ed, and their above-ground pool.

“No. 385, this’s too much. Look at those two.”

“Look at that pool, No. 4078A.”

In all of Andromeda, they’d experienced nothing like Edna, Ed, or the dead flies and moths floating in the pool.

“You know, No. 385... You can push a frontier just so far…”

From Guest Contributor David Sydney

For the prompt Frontier

Alaskan Adventures

Hey everyone,

Sorry this message was late in coming but I’m out of town for ten days in Alaska. I meant to let people know there wouldn’t be any new stories before I left and just ran out of time. Posting will resume at the end of this week.

In the meantime, in celebration of my trip, the next themed prompt will be Frontier. Interpret it as you will, but stories should have something to do with the edge of civilization, wilderness, or being out of bounds.

I’m excited to see your stories. Submissions for this theme will be open until the end of August and I’ll be posting them in September.

Assuming I make it back at all! So far I’ve been face to face with a black bear and a moose (not at the same time) with more adventures still to come.

That is all.