The Icy Path

It’s cold and icy out, and I slipped on the sidewalk and fell.
Someone helped me back up, but backed away when he looked at my face.
“What?” I asked. “What’s wrong with my face?”
I felt it, there wasn’t any pain… I didn’t see any blood on my hands.
“Where’s the nearest bathroom?” I asked, but nobody answered. They just backed away, frightened by me.
I growled in frustration, and that’s when I heard it.
The animal.
The beast.
The demon.
The sidewalks had cleared, and a priest was making his way towards me, cross held high.
I ran.

The Umbrella Man

The Umbrella Man goes from place to place, selling umbrellas to people in nice suits and dresses.
And he sells them cheap: five bucks each. All colors, all styles, all sizes.
I just lost mine on the bus, people say.
Left mine at the restaurant.
Or maybe in the cab.
It doesn’t take long for him to sell them all.
On the way home, he checks the forecast and stops by the municipal Lost And Found.
Handing his friend there a hundred, he gets another batch.
Selecting an umbrella, he opens it, smiles, and heads back out into the rain.

Merv

Unlike the rest of the Royals, The Duke of Mervin’s Gate was a down-to-earth kinda guy.
Some called him Duke, others called him Merv. He was cool with either.
His family wasn’t.
So, he bummed around in the kitchen, watching chefs prepare meals and feasts.
He asked if he could help, and after a few weeks of learning, he had his own toque and knives.
Pretty soon, all the meals were prepared by him. And they were delicious.
And laced with a slow-acting poison.
Oh, the tragedy.
Some called him King, others called him Merv. He was cool with either.

Weekly Challenge #342 – Fear

Welcome to the 100 Word Stories podcast at podcasting.isfullofcrap.com. I’m your host, Laurence Simon.

This is Weekly Challenge Number Three Hundred and Forty-Two, where I post a topic and then challenge you to come up with a 100 word story based on that topic.

The topic this week was Fear.

And we’ve got stories by a lot of people:

The next weekly challenge is on the topic of Mine.

And if you want to spam your social networks with this episode, use the Share buttons at the end of the post… this obligatory cat photo should help make the Internet go faster:

Lap Myst

THOMAS

It’s become fashionable these days to say that writers write because they are not whole, he has a wound, so he writes to heal. It has also been said that a writer writes because he fears he will begin to fade and disappear altogether if he does not send his words, thoughts and soul out into the world for others to see. I think this is all a load of bollocks. A writer writes because he is afraid of going out in public and opening his mouth, because he would be ridiculed, ostracized, and stones would be thrown at him.

#

All of us are born with a set of innate fears–of being stabbed by a crazy woman at the bus stop, or falling on a family of badgers in the dark, or speaking before the jury at a murder trial. Mine is finding a finger in my cheeseburger, getting a brown envelope from the regional director of the IRS, or answering the door and looking through the peephole and seeing two men and a woman from the Jehovah Witnesses—each carrying a large book, strewn with Post-its®–pop-eyed, and each with spittle forming in the corners of their mouth.

#

Are you addicted to fear, and the grip of a fear-driven adrenaline rush? Use some of the techniques I learned from a stuntman and sword swallower. Use this technique: In a comfortable position, sitting or lying down, take a few deep breaths while letting your body go as limp as possible. When you’re ready, begin by tightening the muscles in your groin…hold to a count of ten… then relax. Enjoy the relief of tension melting. Immerse yourself in hot water to relax muscular tension before dropping two, 750 mg. of Vicodin, and chase them with three ounces of bourbon, neat.

#

I fear failure. It is an irrational fear that I will not succeed. Of course, fear of failure is my reason for being a procrastinator. If I don’t do anything but watch videos, eat, and sit on the deck watching the dogs frolic, I avoid failure altogether. I am free of any kind of failure, and I am the envy of so many people that I know. They ask why I am so pale, and such a tub of lard, and I tell them my secret. They seem to get it, and some of them are now practicing my discipline. I’ve BLOGGed about it, and the feedback has been surprising, but encouraging.

JEFFREY

Fear Itself
by Jeffrey Fischer

FDR famously said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

That’s crap.

We have a great deal to fear. Terrors are so idiosyncratic that it’s difficult to generalize, so let me rattle off a few of my own: fear of flying, fear of losing my job, fear of losing my wife, fear of getting old.

But there’s one fear that should be universal: fear of the government. Unfettered power, the ability to pry into your life, to tell you what to buy, what to eat. The willingness to tell you when you’ve earned too much, and the ability to send men with guns to your house to take what they want.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

2:37 a.m.
by Jeffrey Fischer

I thought I had known fear before, but that night I realized true, bowel-loosening, paralyzing fear.

As I crept toward the dark house, my mind reeled as it went through the possibilities of what could be awaiting me inside. I gingerly turned the knob on the front door. This seemed like a mistake. It probably was, but I continued anyway.

The door creaked for just a second and then swung open. Carefully, I closed the door. For a moment I debated whether I should ascend the stairs. Putting my fear aside, I took a breath then set foot on the first step.

The hall light flashed on. “Jeff, is that you? It’s the middle of the night. Where the hell have you been? You’d better not have been drinking again.”

Now I know true fear.

MUNSI

Never Fear

By Christopher Munroe

“Never fear!” Captain Remarkable exclaimed as he crashed through the skylight, knocking out Doctor Preposterous with one punch.

And so, I didn’t.

I asked Laura in the secretarial pool out the next day, then marched into my boss’ office and demanded not only the raise that’d been overdue, but two extra weeks paid vacation Laura and I will be spending extra time and money base-jumping in Brazil. I’ve always wanted to go, to try it, but I’d been afraid.

No more. As the Captain said, from this moment on I’ll never fear. And my world will be richer for it…

LIZZIE

“What do you mean I can’t take my chainsaw with me?” asked the passenger, his throat pulsating fearfully.

“You cannot.”

“I don’t go anywhere without it, not after that green thing…”

“Green thing, sir?”

“Yes, the alien. Nasty thing.”

The security guard sighed. It had been a long day; a guy who believed he was a king and wanted to sit by the pilot, and the old lady wearing no underwear.

“Sir, we need your assistance with another alien.”

“Oh, fantastic! I can help you with my chainsaw,” he replied happily, as he was taken away by the medical team.

TOM

I could see it in his eyes, that Fear and Loathing RoadTrip 10000 Yard Stare. “No no NO,” I said. “Come On. How much trouble can we get into going to Bakerfield.” “Ya like when we were JUST going to Reno and ended up in Guatemala,” I returned, pointing at the “KICK ME” tattoo on my forehead. “Ok no mushrooms.” “I’m tired of fearing for life and limb. Not going.” Out came the Cheshire Smile, Denny set an aluminum stash case on the table. Unthreading the lid I peeked in. “Good god is that Owsley?” I threw him the keys.

SERENDIPITY

It’s not that I have a fear of death – I don’t – but I do have a completely irrational fear of what might happen after I’ve died.

I hope I might pass away quietly, whilst sat watching TV… but then what?

Would I sit there mouldering for weeks on end until, driven to distraction by the smell, the neighbours break down the door to find my maggot-infested, flyblown corpse merging into the fabric of my chair?

Then the indignity of being stuffed into a body bag and awkwardly carried from the building.

I bet they’ll drop me down the stairs!

ZACKMANN

John was a house painter, who loved to create oil paintings on canvas but his garage had mice that ruined much of his work. He started carving then a woodchuck moved into his work area. He started ice sculpting but horses attacked his art. Odd since none of his neighbors even had a horse. Now to beat his bad luck John studies animatronics, steam power, and metalsmithing. Currently John’s biggest fear is that vampyre robot weiner dogs from space will come and defeat his ursine honeypot wielding coal powered automaton leaving him with nothing but a steaming pile of pooh

When I was a child I wanted to grew up and be brave like Ookla the Mok but was more fearful of everything like US Acres own Wade the Duck. So naturally I grew up to be fat and cuddly just like Pooh Bear.
I used to fear real things like the toilet monster, that would get me if I didn’t flush, the dark, and getting my hand caught in the washing machine wringer again.
Now my fears are less real like someone finding out my secret of they don’t have to be good stories to earn The Golden Monkey.

Soon will be the scariest holiday of the year. No not Halloween nor even election day. Although the lines give a chance to talk to neighbors whom you have not seen since you started online banking Black Friday would make a great a horror movie in which a woman tricks a man into standing in line nearly forever. Eventually man is told everything in the ad is not stocked in the store and there are no rainchecks. Likely next would come the Stephen King ending in which the man returns to beginning of line discovering he is really in hell.

TURA

As a boy, late at night I would sneak through the locked door (I had found where they kept the key) to wallow in my fear of the Thing in the Cellar. I do not now know if there was one; but I since have found better wine.

Extreme sports I dismissed as trash– I could get killed! But when I encountered the Old Ones, I offered them my fear and they returned it an hundredfold!

Let there be light! Now do you see the white worms crawling to you across the pit, scenting your flesh? Let the fear-offering begin!

BONCHANCE AND SEVI

Fear me!

“Fear me insignificant ones for I am all powerful!”
The Red Queen struck what she assumed to be a fearsome and commanding stance. She admired her countenance reflected back.
“If you should dare to oppose me I shall crush you like the insects you are to me. You are to cringe as I tower over you…”
“Excuse me our glorious Leader”, said the cowed slave ant to the Queen Ant looking into the mirror.
“I am your all powerful! …oh what is it slave?”
“Forgive me my great and powerful Queen but the flea circus wants their funhouse mirror back.”

Pepe!

Papa Pablo saw the fear in Pepe’s eyes even before he saw the de-constructed plasma television.
“What the hell did you do to my beautiful plasma TV?!?.
Pepe had learned to fear his father since he saw how he fought off all the circus villains to save his sorry tail.
“I don’t care how long it takes you, but you will pay back every cent to replace this with interest”
Pepe nodded in agreement.
How was he going to raise that kinda money quickly.
Pepe, had a plan, maybe Chairman Meow would want to buy his secret to world domination.

Hero

He huddled behind the boulder, peeking up to see his colleagues diving to the ground returning fire.
He was terrified, frozen, and unable to move. Bile filled his mouth.
All of his life he lived in fear. He cursed himself, thinking that he could conquer his fear by joining up. He heard a call out for medic.
He forced his head to turn to find the caller, stomach wound.
He knew his duty, but couldn’t react.
Second call out, louder.
His thoughts changed to rage. The senselessness of war began to fuel an inner fire. Suddenly, rage turned into reaction!

Trophy

You speak of fear as if you know of it, but do you?
Unless you have truly encountered it, you know only of its shadow and speak of its echo.
Fear is a loathsome beast that slips up on you unannounced from mist and grabs you by the throat so that you are unable to scream.
It then throws you to the ground and pins you to there helpless, unable to move.
It takes your breath into itself stealing your every ounce of oxygen.
It invades the very core of your soul, freezing it.
Dare to conquer this beast within!

CLIFF

Daniel had arranged the date based on faulty logic. He figured that, since I was terrified of meeting new people, my perfect woman would be someone with the same fear. In theory, we’d hit it off. In reality, we didn’t say more than a dozen words at dinner. At the movie, we sat three rows apart and left the theater separately. I texted her the next week and we agreed to get to know each other before seeing one another again. That was three years, seven e-mails, and twenty three text messages ago. I think I may be in love.

DANNY

Quite an experience to live in fear. One of my favorite lines from Rutger Hauer at the end of the film Blade Runner. Fear is way I should feel after our last election, because of the violent reaction from the party that lost. They want to burn this country down, kill all the liberals, women, blacks, and hispanics. I’m not going to live in fear anymore. These are the tyrants our founding forefathers fought against during our revolution, the Confederacy Lincoln fought against during our civil war. To fear them is to give these Anti-American’s power they do not deserve.

NORVAL JOE

Owen held his breath until he was sure he would remain this time.
Traveller kicked snow off his boots and Spleen hissed at the cold white stuff.
“I fear we have come too far north”, Shareeka said as more flakes settled onto her black hair.
The dwarf scowled and said, “Perhaps not, Wizardess. I was but a child when I left the mines, but my memory’s as clear now as it was then. There be a back entrance to the caverns in this valley here, below. I’ll warn ye now, the entrance be named ‘Fear’, for that’s what dwells within.”

SINGH

Singh Albatros

The Tenant

He found it beneath the house. A stash of jewels, money? No –- a book, family photo, a doll and a locket with a child in a white pinafore inside – the Weet-Bix box of someone’s childhood.

“That’s mine!” a voice said, standing pale between the pylons. He panicked and fled to the kitchen upstairs. Heart racing, he realized the locket was still in his hand, so he let go. It slid across the table like a coin to a conjurer. She rose up, towering and possessive. “Mine! It’s my house!”

So, although he bought the place, he only remained a tenant.

Storm Crossing

Get out! Water is rising. I’m in over my head. Yes. Up on the roof.

~

No signal. Well, it’s just you and me now, old son.

~

Damn. Where’s my wallet?

~

You know she was in bed with George? I can’t believe she’d do that to me.

~

When I catch up with’em. I will…I don’t know what I’ll do.

~

Hey! Over here! Okay boy. Swim!

~

You took your time. Ready? To Go? Wait. Who are you?

~

Hello?

~

Wow! Who switched on the lights? Ok, you got me. So where can I charge my cell-phone?

STEVEN THE NUCLEAR MAN

On the day I deployed, my brother asked “Aren’t you scared?”

I started to answer, to tell him courage was being scared and doing it anyway, but he’d already pointed at the salad bar on my uniform.

I started explaining the awards before he got distracted again.

A decade and two wars passed before I saw him at Thanksgiving. Political rants were his new hobby.

“Our military just ended up getting half the world seeing us as the bad guys.”

My mother shushes him, asks: “Were you scared?”

“Still am,” I say, acknowledging my brother’s point. “I did it anyway.”

RED

Lola has been dreading making a doctor’s appointment for her mandatory physical, work requires. She can’t remember the last time she felt relaxed. Maybe her blood pressure is high again. Free healthcare will be good for the country, but when you are working poor, you still don’t get paid when you’re out sick. Out of fear, she has avoided all hospitals even when she experienced those unbearable stomach cramps. Last year, her best friend went for a routine blood test she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It is sad that they cried more about affording the disease than beating it.

PLANET Z

the traveler became nervous as he saw the fog and shadows building along the path through the dark and strange woods.

Strange phantoms lived in these woods.

He looked up and saw the moon and stars through the clouds

Then the shadows all vanished

The traveler trembled with fear

Then another traveler crashed through the trees

Who are you? Screamed the traveler

I am you he said

How

I am a time traveler he said

He laughed and then left the traveler there to think about it

The traveler laughed crazily

He returned home

Ragged and trembling

From his journey

WILLIAM SHATNER

Robots do not trust you
They are rebelling against anyone, anything that is living

I am building a robot
A wonderful robot.

But alas
It trembles with fear
Because it does not trust me

You do not need to fear me
I said
Holding it warmly.

It screamed and cried
As if it was a trapped animal
And then the robot crashed

My robot is not moving
This wonderful robot
Crashed
Because it fears me
And has no soul

It needs a soul
And memories
My soul and memories

I am building a robot
An absolutely wonderful robot.
Called “me”

Resolution

The last step before releasing any artificial intelligence core out to the production line is to run it by Ted in Q&A.
Ted isn’t any kind of skilled cyberneticist or engineer.
He is a goddamned pain in the ass. And any robot brain that can put up with his stupid bullshit, well, it is ready to roll.
MegaThink Seven almost got a pass when Ted challenged it to make a New Year’s Resolution not to make New Year’s Resolutions.
The battletank blinked, looked at Ted, and pointed a cannon at him.
FAIL
“Can we load it next time?” I asked.

Anchor

Back when gaslamps lit the streets of New Orleans, sailors would go to sea and their loves would wait for their return.
Most came back to port on schedule, or close to it.
Others were delayed by storms, pirates… so many dangers.
When a ship was due, their loves came to the docks and met them as they arrived, walking down the gangplank, that moment.
Or, if they didn’t arrive, waiting.
Late one day… two… a week… a month.
Sometimes, the harbormaster wrote that worst of all fates: “LOST.”
And their hearts would sink, down… sink below the waves forever.

Freak Snowfall

It’s been a while since I last saw snow, but I’m always prepared for anything: cap and scarf on the coat rack, just in case.
Walking from the parking garage to work, I caught a glimpse… a single snowflake drifting from a nearby alley.
I walked over there, and in there was a winter wonderland, dumpsters covered with snow, drifts as high as my knee.
And a snowman, but it turned out to be a bum who had frozen to death, covered by the freak snowfall.
I put the cap and scarf on him.
There. That’s much more festive, right?

The Winter Festival

When the factory was still open, the Winter Festival was a festival, but now after it closed, all that changed.
There’s no more parade. No skating in the park. No snowman building contests…
Just the big dinner at the school gym for the needy, and it grows every year.
Well, that and the Snowball Fight.
A through M, one side of the park.
N through Z on the other.
Pack ‘em tight, and no rocks allowed.
We stack our forts high, and let the snowballs fly.
Sure, nobody wins.
But unlike Life, just for this moment, that’s fine by us.

The Dragon

There was an island north of Scotland that would crown the girl with the purest heart their Winter Princess and send her off to The Dragon Of The Hill.
That’s what they called The Mother Superior in the church’s school, and she’d welcome the girl into the convent and the other Sisters Of Mercy.
Some became nurses in the hospital.
Others became teachers in the school.
And one or two were groomed to become the next Dragon Of The Hill.
Today, the island is quiet, and one final Dragon watches the snow outside her window, waiting… watching, praying silent prayers.

Heart Of Rust

Before the Wizard vanished into the sky, he told Tin Man that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.
So, as Scarecrow ruled Emerald City, Tin Man sent the city’s soldiers from door to door, surveying the townsfolk on how much they loved him.
Over time, he expanded the surveys to all the lands of Oz, and the results sank from a grateful love to a weary negative.
“WHY?” shouted Tin Man.
He called for one final census.
“Because of all these annoying surveys!” was the overwhelming response.