Adgitize Press

Staying Dry

By: Ken Brown
Published: 6/22/2019

A Trip in the Storm Sewers

Bob and his middle school best friend, Joe, wanted some jelly beans and headed out of Joe’s home to the local Seven Eleven only five blocks away.

About a block from their house the rain started and Joe said, "We should get out of this rain."

Bob listened to the rain drops pitter patter on the summer leaves still protecting them from getting wet as they walked on the neighborhood sidewalk. He turned to go back to the house as drops of rain became bigger and more numerous.

"Wait, where are you going?" Joe grabbed Bob's arm.

"I thought you wanted to go back to the house before we get wet. We're only a block away, we might be able to out run it." Bob knew he would get wetter than athletic, Joe. Bob's large frame and too many hamburgers, cookies, ice cream and fries didn't lend itself to running fast. He pushed his glasses up his nose.

Joe pointed to the street and said, "There's another way. We can go underground and the rain won't touch us."

The Abandoned Car

By: Ken Brown
Published: 8/13/2018

The Noise in the Basement

Forty-six year-old Vince Butler walked out to the end of his driveway Saturday morning a few minutes past eight to retrieve his newspaper. The time was an hour later than normal for Vince because it rained all night and into the morning and he didn’t feel like getting the paper in the rain.

Right away, he noticed the parked car in the street at the curb in front of his house. Somebody must have left it there this morning because the car’s back lift gate was raised and a small spare tire lay on the lawn next to the curb.

Dark clouds hung low, still prophesizing rain as Vince retrieved the newspaper. As he shook the plastic covered newsprint, droplets of water splashed on his red, plaid, pajama pants. He thought, someone should be at the car since the lift gate is open. The next rain shower will leave the car trunk filled with water like a kiddie pool.

Lightning flashed in the distance followed by thunder. Vince glanced at the empty car and hurried to the house.

The Pills

By: Ken Brown
Published: 5/21/2018

Cheryl

The pills called to Cheryl as she stared at the medicine bottle on the table. Would tonight bring the relief she craved?

Her husband, Bill, was out late again at work. A lie he maintained even though she knew he spent time with a female lawyer from the office downstairs.

Cheryl was tired of the lies, the promises to be home on time, the apologies and the heartache. The kids were grown and long gone from the home she had built. Bill convinced her they should move to New York for his career. She never liked the big city, she was a small town person, comfortable with a tight group of three friends. New York overwhelmed her and she hadn't found close friends in this uncaring metropolis.

She imagined what Bill's first words would be when he found her lifeless body, "Finally, the witch is dead."

Starman

By: Ken Brown
Published: 3/31/2018

Car in Space

Zach Hammer laughed as he overheard his co-worker, Paul, talk about the twenty-fifth anniversary of some billionaire inventor sending a car into space driven by a dummy known as Starman. Zach didn't have time to hear the rest of the story about how the car revolved around the sun in an orbit between the asteroid belt and Earth.

He left work to pick up his daughter and hopped in his Tesla self-driving car and set up the work bench to finish the reports his boss wanted completed by nine tonight.

Zach missed the part of Paul's story where the space car hit an asteroid ten years ago.

He reached home in time to pick up his daughter, Lynn, to take her to piano practice. He flirted with the piano teacher, Ms Morris, each session and hoped to ask her for a date soon.

Cryogenics

By: Ken Brown
Published: 3/20/2018

Stew

Dabney Wilson woke in darkness. He felt cold to his bones, his fingers so cold he couldn't feel them. Where was he? Why is it so dark? He reached out with frozen fingers on his right hand and felt a wall. Doing the same thing with his left hand another wall. He brought his hand to his mouth and blew on his fingers trying to warm them.

He couldn't remember how he arrived in this situation. He lay on his back in the cramped quarters with no room to move or change positions. Three days ago he remembered meeting two men at a cancer clinic. They were strange men, but they were going to help him? How?

Did he have cancer? Yes, that's right, he was at the clinic to have his cancer removed. But, these men weren't doctors. They had funny accents and said they could help him with his cancer, but how? Claustrophobic in the little box that felt very much like Dabney thought a coffin might feel. Did the men kill him or think they killed him and buried him still alive?

Dabney pounded on the box lid and yelled. "Help me, I'm trapped, help!"

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