Month: March 2023

The Old Miner, by Bruce Arbuckle

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The old miner sits next to me. He smiles in the near darkness, his face translucent in the fading torchlight. I try to ignore him. He’s not part of my time. He’s not real.

“They’re coming back for me,” I say.

The old miner smiles and nods. He’s heard it all before. He probably even said it once.

My shattered legs don’t hurt. Is that a good sign? Pain is a part of life.

Waiting to be rescued, at the bottom of the shaft, dust and chunks of crumbling rock spill onto my face.

The old miner holds my hand.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “miner”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Homeless, by Bruce Arbuckle

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He lost the castle in a card game. It wasn’t the first time: gambling became a problem two centuries ago. He attempted to get it back the way he always did, but before he died the human confessed he’d already sold it on to a corporate entity. They’re going to give it a makeover, brighten the place up. His beloved home was to become a Wellness Spa Hotel. For a while he hung about in the crypt but the new owners threw all the coffins in a skip and converted it into a gym. The vampire was forced to relocate.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “castle”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Egg, by Bruce Arbuckle

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…

Brian wouldn’t say where he’d found it but Paula suspected he’d been in the old house with the collapsing roof surrounded by “Danger! Keep Out!” signs.

“It doesn’t look much like an egg, ” she said poking the grey square thing with her finger. It felt warm and squidgy.

Brian slapped her hand.

“Stop that,” he said. “You’ll upset her.”

“Her?”

Ignoring Paula, he wrapped it in a blanket and placed it in the wardrobe next to his sneaker collection.

That night, Paula’s sleep was shattered by Brian’s scream.

Whatever was inside had broken loose, eaten all his shoes and disappeared.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “egg”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Tram, by Bruce Arbuckle

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Before they ripped the metal from the road Bert’s father was a conductor on the tramway. Sometimes, Bert rode the rails with him. His dad’s hat swallowing his head he would collect money from smiling passengers in exchange for tickets spat out from the machine around his father’s neck. It broke the old man’s heart when they steamrollered the thick black tarmacadam over the best part of his working life. Now, more than seventy years later trams are returning. Watching them lay the track along the sea front, Bert hopes he’ll live long enough to ride it one last time.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “conductor”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Integrated, by Bruce Arbuckle

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…

At first it was a thrill to be Integrated, linked to so many Minds, both human and artificial. The capacity to process and understand information made his heart thump. For the first time in his life he felt a part of something important. The tingling, where the chip burried deep beneath his skin connected to his brain stem, reminded him of the fluttering excitement in his stomach when riding a roller coaster. But then it started to feel like burning. Panicking, he attempted to disconnect but was unable to do. Something had taken control of the chip and his brain.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “integrated”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Wink! by Bruce Arbuckle

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…

It’s a bold little blighter. And clever too. The supposedly squirrel proof bird feeder had been installed less than ten minutes before the creature had managed to  liberate its hoard of nuts and seeds. She raps on the window attempting to shoo the creature away. It looks at straight at her and winks.

“Will you stop banging on the bloody window!” her husband grumps from behind his newspaper. “You’ll break it.”

“That rodent just winked at me,” she says.

“Hmmmm.”

Helen tries to remember the last time they had a proper conversation. She has a better relationship with the squirrel.


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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “bold”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Army, by Bruce Arbuckle

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In order to take over the world Heather needs a secret base to organise her troops. An island in the middle of the ocean, perhaps.

Giles says his dad has a shed at the bottom of the garden. Would that do? They’ll need to clear out the junk and evict the spiders.

Amy suggests they keep them: create an army of arachnids. Heather likes the sound of that but Giles says it won’t work. They don’t work well in teams, he says.

Heather’s mum calls her in for tea. She’s hungry, so world domination will have to wait another day.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “base”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Fogged, by Bruce Arbuckle

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The mist swirling around her feet begins to brown and thicken. Better get home before it gets too sticky. 

Her neighbour had been glued to his lawn the week before last when he went to fetch the newspaper. He had been stuck there for hours, poor soul. When he was eventually released his mind had been completely Fogged. His wife couldn’t cope with him at home. The grey collection van had come for him yesterday. 

No one knew what caused the syrupy brume to appear. Or perhaps they did. Easy access to information died with the internet, television and radio.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “mist”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Lose, by Bruce Arbuckle

BruceLeave a comment

“You can’t lose!” the leaflet said, promising health wealth and happiness within 30 days, “Or your money back!”

Brian had fallen for get rich quick schemes before. He’d promised Alice he wouldn’t sign anything before speaking to her after he spent a small fortune on a course promising to teach him to be less gullible.

“It’s not a pyramid scheme,” Dave said, tapping the leaflet. “It’s all 100% legit. But in order to qualify for the discount you need to sign up now.”

It would be a shame to miss out, Brian thought, handing Dave the money. Alice will understand.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “lose”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)

Kill In Time, by Bruce Arbuckle

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Even as a child there is something presidential about Billy White.

Through the scope she watches the other children gather round the small boy, listening attentively, as he doles out instructions.

She can see in the way he stands, the way he gestures, the man he will become.

There is none of the cruelty, the ruthless viciousness. If she fails, that will come later.

She waits for the other children to move away, before she fires the first shot, then a second and a third.

She’s saved the world from an evil dictator. But she knows she’ll never be thanked.

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A 100 word story written by Bruce Arbuckle, inspired by the random word prompt “presidential”

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Find me (as HumpbuckleTales) on Mastodon

My drabbles (100-word stories) are always published first on Hive: https://peakd.com/@drabble.club

Read my daily 50 word stories in Humpbuckle Tales or on Hive or on Facebook

Find my 100 word tales right here

Keep on drabblin’!

Bruce Arbuckle (felt.buzz)