Weekly Challenge #237 – Penguins

Welcome to the Weekly Challenge Number Two Hundred and Thirty-Seven, 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… was…. um…
It’s Penguins!
VOTING

Which were the best stories this week?
Tom
AM Earley
Steven
Katwood
Zackmann
Danny
Ted
Mrs. Abe
TJ
Norval Joe
Planet Z
  
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Go ahead and listen to them and then vote for your favorites (multiple selections are allowed):


Tom

His black coat glisten in the sun. Black pear eyes glared at the Anaheim studio. As he dropped the violin case it rotated and he flipped the clasps. Out popped the min Uzi “Say hello to my little friend” yell the penguin. A hail of bullets dropped a dozen Disney execs. They crumple like autumn leaves in a Osterizer. From under a desk someone cried “Why?”
“You stole my life story so dance bastard” He peppered the floor will bullets. Up popped the CEO in the middle of a buck and wing the penguin dropped him
Happy feet my ass

AM Earley

My home has become a black, white, and pink warzone. I’m outnumbered six to one, even the dogs are females. If I am not going to loose my home when puberty comes around I need to make allies – quick.
Fortunately, my three daughters are obsessed with only penguins and princesses. Movies, Plushies, toys, everything.
So I gave my oldest all my old Batman comics, starting with the ones featuring Penguin.
I made my middle one is a sports nut. Guess which hockey team is her favorite?
The last one is the challenge. How do I connect with a toddler convinced penguins are perfect ballerinas?
Earley Midnight Production & Design
Life is our Art
Searching for a Medium

Steven

?She doesn’t know what to make of me. “You’re a long way from home.”
I waddle closer. The male with her frowns. “Don’t polar bears eat
them things?”
She leans over and smiles at me. “They live by the South Pole.
Didn’t you pay any attention to the movie?”
He grunts and tries to kick me. I waddle to the side and peck her
ankle. She screams as I dive into the bushes.
Next month, in the full moon’s light, I will meet my werepenguin
bride. We will hunt the man.
And he will feed our chicks all winter long.

Katwood

There comes a time in every young penguin’s life when they must venture out from the colony and see the world. For Pengy, this time had come. After packing his things and saying good bye to his friends and family, he left for his travels. During his adventures, he encounters numerous strange and interesting creatures, many of which become his lifelong friends and allies, and…
“No,” the boss said, “Why bother even trying to write for a kids’ game? Go get the license to something that’s currently popular and use one of the templates instead. Those brats’ll still buy it.”

Zackmann

Isn’t it weird how those animal rights activists “rescued” us from that horrible place that we had
trained the people to feed us?
Although I enjoyed being waited on hand and foot by those zoo keepers, all safe from hunters
and predators, this adventure has been fun. I have never been on a ship before since I was
born in the zoo.
Does it snow in the Galapagos Islands where the zoo keepers said we came form? All this cold
and snow I don’t think we can survive here. Some penguins don’t belong near the South Pole.

Danny

After the loud explosion, the two Penguins spent what seemed like months stuck in the same cage. Luckily, the food and water was plentiful, no need to eat each other. Fortunately one day, without warning, the door to the cage opened, and the penguins emerged from their prison, breathing the fresh air of freedom for the first time. The air smelled strange, like death. The buildings were destroyed, the streets were in decay. Humanity had finally destroyed itself. Then, one penquin turned to the other, and asked, “What’s the point of this?”

Ted

It’s our fault Antarctica University closed down.
Some of us kappas got drunk and decided to eat a giant penguin.
A terrible scandal ensued. The President apologized to the U.N., called us barbarians.
The papers asked how it tasted. We told them the truth: the outside was tough, fibrous, hard to cut through, but inside, my God, the flesh was so tender and succulent, though the meat and organs were surprisingly small for such a large animal.
“It doesn’t make any sense,” Brian added, “we don’t even have any sports teams! What was Dean Wilson doing in a mascot costume?”

Mrs. Abe

The penguins huddle together, soaked with sweat and urine, smothered under the dark musty blanket.
Suddenly they are seized, plunged into freezing water, and beaten savagely over and over again. Red liquid fills the chamber.
Eventually the beating stops, but they are soon shoved into the hotbox. Scorching blasts of air singe them as they tumble against each other, groggy from the heat and queasy from the motion.
Finally, barbarically, they are turned inside out and left to hang outside–wet and swaying gently in the winter breeze.
Yep, it ain’t easy being penguins on a kid’s red flannel pajamas.

TJ

When zoos invented warm-water penguins so people in the rest of the
world could enjoy them, they flourished in the temperate climates and
lack of natural enemies. They quickly became too numerous and the zoos
made them available for pets. This was awesome. I got one of the first
penguins. I named her Penny. She waddles around and floops into the tub
when she needs a swim. She can get into the tub just fine on the ramp I
made her but she’s sort of … penguin-shaped, so she needs, like, a
boost to get out again. Penguins are AWESOME!

Norval Joe

“How can someone be claustrophobic and aggorophobic at the same time,” Oswaldo asked.
“I don’t know,” Bertram said, “but just look at him. He’s a quivering mass of black and white feathers. One moment he’s hot and bothered because everyone’s standing too close around him. So we all move away to give him space and he’s flapping about and squaking like he’s about to lay an egg.”
“Do you think that’s how he stays so slim?” Oswaldo asked, “all that nervous energy?”
“No,” Bertram fluffed his feathers and said, “he just doesn’t eat much. They says he’s hydrophobic as well.”

Planet Z

The phone won’t stop ringing.
I don’t want to answer it.
I can’t answer it.
I don’t have caller ID, but I know who it is.
Or… what it is.
It’s that damned penguin.
I was at the zoo, I was watching the penguins swim around in the tank.
I was using my cell phone to record a movie of them.
That’s when someone bumped me from behind.
And I dropped my cell phone into the tank.
They must have dried it out or something.
What? It’s someone from the zoo calling?
No. It’s those penguins.
I’m sure of it.

Unfair

It’s interesting to see people adjusting to ever-advancing technology.
From chalk and slate to Microsoft MindLink, teachers preparing kids for yesterday’s challenges, kids distracted by the newest gadgets.
Susie has a dataport on her arm, and she covers it with a long sleeve.
MindLink still has brainwipe issues, her parents say. A class in Chicago got zombied last week.
She pouts, runs to her room, crying.
Plugging in, she updates her journal, tagging it with all the unfairness, all the envy of her friends who got their way.
Just like her daughter will do.
(With the next generation of technology.)

Bed

I lift the covers and slide back into bed.
It still smells of you. I imagine that it’s still warm with you.
I turn off the light, letting my eyes adjust to the dark.
The room hasn’t changed much. A few familiar things gone, a few new things on the dresser and nightstand.
People change. Even you.
That’s when I hear your key in the lock downstairs.
I get out of bed, pull on my clothes, and crawl back out the window.
As I watch you sleep, I wonder if you can feel my warmth, smell my skin.
Sleep well.

A Unfortunate Truth

The grayback move carefully to the edge of ridge. The valley was shrouded in mist that curl about the cliff and the true height of the plateau was hidden . The grayback feel the ground slide, tiny stones rolled forward. He reach out but grabbed only wisps of mist. Down into the valley he tumbled
3.5 million years later a team of Stanford students discover the fossils remains of the oldest know ancestor of modern man. The team carefully loads the plane with the fossils unfortunately a mist shrouded the valley and plane, team and fossil crash into the cliff.

The Creepy Silence

When you live in a world of light, the darkness is what you fear.
And when you live in a world of darkness, you grow to fear the light.
Creeping into the cave, the human bumps his head on a stalactite. “Damn it!”
Waiting for him is a dark elf, watching quietly.
The human hands over a sleeping baby, and the elf hands back a satchel full of gems.
“Princess Garamond wants to talk about alimony and visitation,” says the human.
The dark elf nods. “Less often and for longer, I hope.”
They both chuckle and return to their worlds.

Potion of Sleep

You’ve got troubles, I’ve got troubles, we’ve all got troubles.
Tell me your troubles, and I’ll make you a potion for them.
Got a cut? Got a scrape?
Pour this on it.
Losing your hair?
Rub a little of this one on your head. (And be sure to wear gloves. Trust me on this.)
Love? Pain? Joy?
This one’s special: sleep and death.
Just depends how much you take.
Careful, kid.
I got ’em all in these bottles, every color, every flavor.
Sip this, rub that, some drops in your eyes.
Give me your arm, this won’t hurt a bit.

Handy Man

I didn’t think it was humanly possible to step into a Slim Jim. Its pretty much a glorified strip of metal. But Nelman Freder was not your average soul. He had spent so much time in the ER they had reserved a seat with his name on it. They still tell the tale on the floor about the Gerbil and flashlight extraction. Doctor Dan wasn’t surprise to see Nelman hobble on to the floor with a Slim Jim wobbling to and fro embedded in the middle of his foot, a screwdriver in his thigh and door handle in his nose.

The Hate Of Cake

I take the cake out to the grocery store parking lot, remove the lid, and start punching it.
Frosting splatters all over the ground and my clothes as my fists pummel the cake into a mushy pulp.
Then, I lick my fists and go back into the grocery store.
“I’d like another cake,” I say.
“You’ve bought four today,” says the manager. “And you’re covered with cake. What are you doing with them?”
“Punching them,” I say. “It’s cathartic.”
The manager looks around, sees his employees goofing off, and picks up 2 cakes.
“Mind if I join you?” he says.

Waiting

Bruwyn didn’t come home last night.
Usually, he’s the first to come home, but Myst came home first.
Finding a black cat at night is impossible, of course, but you can’t just sit down and wait.
Walking around, I hear what I think is his collar, but it’s just crickets and frogs.
So, I come back home, Myst and Nardo wait up with me.
If he can’t come home for whatever reason, I hope he knows he’s loved and missed.
And if he doesn’t want to come home, well, cats are cats, and I hope he’s happy wherever he is.

Weekly Challenge #236 – Halloween

Welcome to the Weekly Challenge Number Two Hundred and Thirty-Six, 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… was…. um…
It’s Halloween!


Remember to post Rossotron as a separate story
ANONYMOUS
Always the same, black and orange. Always that nasty color combination
for Halloween. I presume it is a mixture of the traditional vampire
colors of black and red and the fall color of orange pumpkins. The
witches so often portrayed are black magic witches, so I guess that
makes sense; and black cats wouldn’t be the same as ginger
tabbies. But why must everything else be black and orange? When does
violet get its turn? What about all this ‘go green’ we
hear about? Wouldn’t purple witches and green pumpkins be
grand? Or is that just the Irish in me?
NORVAL JOE
Groups of kids rushed up the walkway to the door and hurried off to
the next house as two costumned boys lurched from the street to the
porch. “Trickertreet,” the taller of the two said as a woman opened
the door. “My,” the woman exclaimed cheerfully, “Who do we have here?”
The taller spoke again as he held out a plastic pumpkin, “I’m Igor,
Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant. My brother is Super Man, but he can’t
talk. He has cerebral palsy.” He helped his brother hold his bag out
to the woman. “Thank you,” he said as the two lurched away.
STEVEN
Sit down. I don’t care if you have fangs, or claws, or fur where you
shouldn’t. Sit down. Have some milk. I imagine this isn’t the response
you expected. Cookie? Sorry, I don’t have any raw childflesh. Would it
make you feel better if I screamed? I’m not going to. You don’t scare
me, Mister Monster-Man. There’s this girl, Sally. I like her, but
she’s way cooler than me. So I sent her a card saying how I feel. I
got a letter back. I haven’t opened it. I’m more scared of what’s
inside than I am of you.
TOM
Lenny what do you want to be for Halloween?” asked Mother. “A ghost,”
smiled Lenny. Mom got out her pinking shears and carefully cut two eye
sized holes in a old pillow case and gently dropped the costume over
Lenny’s head. “Time to go,” said Georgia. “Trick or Treat,”
cried Lenny. Mrs. Specter put a candy bunny in his plastic pumpkin. He
trotted back to show her. Lenny had been a ghost since he was six, saw
no need in changing now. Mom had saved each pillow case in the attic.
There were 57. “Tell me about the rabbits mom.”
KATWOOD
The zombie invasion started on Halloween, but nobody noticed for a
week. Everyone just thought it was a well co-ordinated prank,
especially the news. However, anyone who ran into these
�pranksters� quickly learned otherwise. It wasn�t
until the 4th that people realized that there were too many
�pranksters� for this to be a joke. I�m a little
paranoid, and so was wary of all this from the start. That�s
why I�m still alive. But this virus is too perfect, too
consistently fatal and too quick to appear to be natural. So, who
knows? Maybe it was a prank after all.
ZACKMANN
Yes grandma, I did have to bring the children in their costumes. After
what the wife and I sent on the materials for those they will wear
them all day and to a local Con. No grandma Anime cartoon convention.
I stopped buying anything from Guido years ago. No grandma the this
cake is not a lie and glad you are enjoying the Xbox. My wife thought
you would never use it. Happy Halloween. Happy birthday. I know you
never liked the coincidence but at least the children will remember
your birthday. It could be worse it could be Christmas.
EARLEY
Little Mario skipped past the Haunted Mansion, Hall of Presidents, and
the Liberty Bell. At the boat dock is a barrel of candy and a cast
member with a smile. After the candy is in his bag, she ask Mario,
�Where are your parents?� The three year old plumber
spins around and begins sobbing in the cast member�s colonial
dress. Thankfully she can see above the crowds. Princess Peach sighs,
adjusting Yoshi on her hip. Luigi makes eye contact with the cast
member and presses a finger to his lips. What is Halloween without a
�little� scare? Maybe Mario won�t leave
Luigi�s side again.
TED
They conquered Earth three years ago. The aliens demand revenge, but
how could we have known? The first December, they somehow learned
about Christmas. They made us stand in their living rooms for days on
end; presents at our feet for their conical green children. Those who
collapsed were executed. Last March they glued our hands to their
windows while they held a parade and drank green beer from cups held
in their clover-shaped appendages. Most of us survived. But now
we�re terrified. It�s early October and we see them
huddling their orange, pumpkin-shaped heads together and sharpening
their knives.
MRS. ABE
They boiled him. They sliced him. They chopped him into little pieces.
They grated his skin and rubbed salt into his wounds: pickling him in
his own juices. They kept his head in the freezer. They locked him in
the cellar and ate him piece by piece. They stir-fried him. They baked
him. They roasted him. And when they were done, the monsters threw his
decomposing corpse in the garbage like common trash. But one day a
year, just one, at the end of October, when he saw what happened to
the pumpkins, Sylvester was happy to be a cabbage.
ROSSOTRON
George loathed Halloween. He planned to lay low while the neighborhood
kids made their rounds, begging treats from strange adults. “WAAAAH!”
he screamed, spying the man in the corner. Floating. Above the ground.
“Friendly neighborhood poltergeist here,” the apparition moaned. “I’m
supposed to give you a heads’ up about the new Participation Law. Any
folks that don’t hand out candy get haunted until next Halloween.” As
George shuffled down the candy aisle, a young man caught his eye.
“It’s gotta be a trick, right?” George shrugged, and sighed. He was
NOT looking forward to the Easter Bunny’s visit next spring.
TJ
There�s a reason we don�t hold Election Day on
Halloween. We could send the candidates around trick or treating and
the ones with the most candy could be declared the winner. But the
fact that they could cheat and sneak entire bags of Mounds bars into
their treat bags suggests we ought to maintain the current system
� you know, terrifying political ads, mobs of angry voters,
mysterious ballot boxes that disappear into the night, letting the
dead come back to life to vote, the scary candidates themselves
� come to think of it, maybe we should hold elections on
Halloween.
PLANET Z
It’s Halloween, sitting with a bowl of candy on my doorstep. I
remember when I was a kid, dressed up, begging for candy. What
happened? When did childhood end? When I first got laid? When I got
out of school? When I got a job? No. None of those. My parole officer
said: You ain’t an adult until you go to trial as one. I cross my
legs, try to hide the ankle monitor. More kids walk by, see the sign
on the window, and keep walking. Oh well. More candy for me. And the
three kids in my basement.