Menu

Subscribe

Instant Story

Flash fiction fresh from my fingers to your mind!

Challenge #04197-K179: Caveat Emptor Abundant

The ship was up for sale, cheap. I went aboard and was rather shocked it had a gravy drive, though it looked old. I spoke to a close friend of mine who is Nae'hyn to help restore it. It actually had been given a voice! Sorta. Either way, it didn't take long before we became best friends. At least my travels won't be lonely anymore. -- The New Guy

This was a rare find in more ways than one. I know. The usual caution is caveat emptor when getting cheap deals in the Edge Territories. The only warning I got on the sale was, and I quote, "The previous owner said the ship hated him. It's haunted or something."

It was cheap and salvage is a lucrative business. Flipping ships can be a worthy pursuit when it's done right.

In this case... it was a rescue mission. I don't know what happened to its former family, but the Gravy Drive was alone and... howling. Poor thing.

Support me on Patreon / Buy me a Ko-fi

Continue Reading

Prompts remaining: 68 Submit a Prompt!
Ask a question

Challenge #04196-K178: Contractually Obligated Self-Maintenance

You asked for the harshest training I can give you so you can grow stronger? Are you sure about this? I would say it'll be hell, but I'd be lying. You'll have to look UP if you want to see hell. -- Anon Guest

Part One: Sleep Schedule.

Up at four in the morning no matter the season. Bullied into bathroom, bathing, and breakfast in that order. Then off to a brisk run over a set obstacle course as fast as possible.

Read more »

Challenge #04195-K177: Perilous Choices

Bolvoth decides to teach the young woman the lessons she seems to be refusing to learn. Lest she be the one he is called against to truly harm one day.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04102-k084-truth-hurts -- Anon Guest

Love is very many things, none of them logical. So too is the determination of a rebellious teenager. When those combine, someone is going to come to some very bad damage. Whether or not there was a 'splash zone' involved was generally a

Read more »

Challenge #04194-K176: The Lost Legend of Thebysthenes

We watch as the city burn, as demons from beyond the star descend onto our land. They carve our flesh, devour our young, and dance on our graves. We cried to heavens to bring us salvation. We call upon Zeus to smite the dark ones, we call upon Poseidon to wash away the flames, we call upon Athena for the wisdom to push the hoard back into the sky. All fell on deaf ears.

Except one, Ares. -- Anon Guest

Fire. Sing,

Read more »

Challenge #04193-K175: Pride in Presentation

A toy maker goes to a cavern where a large nest of dragon eggs are about to hatch. The entire village were giving the dragon congratulations gifts, and this person made effigies of knights holding flowers and fireproof, claw-resistant, stuffies. -- Anon Guest

[AN: Considering the semi-feral nature of infant Dragons, they're better off with chew toys]

Legend tells that the world was made for Dragons. They were very upset when other species turned up and made it less for Dragons than

Read more »

Challenge #04192-K174: Downtime Invention

A: Happy Family!

B: Royal Straight Flush!

C: UNO!

D: COME FORTH BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON!

E: I activate my credit card. -- Anon Guest

[AN: Changed one part of the prompt to be a completely different game. Pretty sure Nonny gave me two poker wins]

Boredom and captivity does strange things to Humans. As evidenced by Silly Season outbreaks. When it's a salvage vessel crewed by Humans, beset by twists of luck, it can get even stranger.

None on board had

Read more »

Challenge #04191-K173: One Good Turn...

They helped the poor farmer who, after a time, made a mostly full recovery. In addition to giving them the rock that nearly killed him, he made very sure everyone knew these two were life-savers. He might be poor, but he was well liked by those around that area.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04081-k063-willowfine-poppy-and-a-sharp-knife -- The New Guy

The operation took most of a day, careful work, and specialised tools to extract the starmetal fragments from Farmer Ansley's head, and all

Read more »

Challenge #04190-K172: Balanced Out

A person with a really strong good luck gene keeps asking questions like "How bad could it possibly be?". And saying things like "Things could never get any worse" just to try to tempt fate. -- Fighting Fit

There is balance in the universe. For every death, there is life. For every darkness, there is a light. For every fortune, there is poverty. And for every good, there is something bad.

The forces of nature are said to dislike certain things, like

Read more »

Challenge #04189-K171: To Fight Another Day

A special class was being held for those who are unwanted. Not just combat with hands and feet, but also exercising the tails, making them dexterous and nimble. For those with wings, using the wings like bludgeons in combat, using horns. Using weapons.. people never figured could actually be used as weapons. Expect the unexpected. -- Anon Guest

"I cannot teach you all the same," said the teacher. Battle-scarred and bent with age, they could nevertheless still hold their own in a

Read more »

Challenge #04188-K170: Kill List

The lucker who was a killer meets again with their allies, Sunshine and Jay. The two invited the individual because they did need a third pair of hands. This case was going to take a while.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03986-j334-outsourcing-horror -- Anon Guest

Poetry. Art. Culture. Always held away from the more common throng. Always used as a means by which to point and laugh at those artificially held apart from the more valued media. Ridiculous, considering how often those

Read more »

Challenge #04187-K169: A Destination of Inspiration

May we see the fairgrounds, say, a couple years out after Wraithvine and friends visited to safety-test?

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-03749-j096-safety-inspection -- Anon Guest

Fairs like this tend to travel. Staying in one place tends to make them boring for the locals, and travel is never casual when the journey takes days at best. It was a slow carnival, so the places it visited had up to a week of anticipation before they could attend.

Wraithvine had tested all of

Read more »

Challenge #04186-K168: Calculated Risk

They warn knomiras time and again not to touch the pretty plants. And, yet again, they get to deal with complaining and screaming while treating injured hands. -- Anon Guest

Some exhibits are a nightmare. The slow-moving cruise vessels housing them are literally made for the exhibits. Kept in excellent condition by the crew and staff. It's not the exhibits that are the problem. It's the people who pay to share the experience presented.

"I paid to see these plants," insisted the

Read more »

Challenge #04185-K167: The All-Purpose Animal

Humans bring to multiple Thranityr worlds the farming of goats and cattle. How to properly raise them, how to milk them, and how to make cheeses and butter. Along with other human foodstuffs they've not grown or raised yet. -- Anon Guest

There exists a perfect machine for turning cellulose-based life into protein. It's versatile, self-powered, self-replicating, and capable of adapting to most terrains. It can flourish in deserts. The byproducts of its processes are excellent for fertilising crops. It's even autonomous.

Read more »

Challenge #04184-K166: Isekai'd

[Notification: Demon Lord have been slayed]

[Notification: you have died]

[Congraula-] [WARNING UNKNOW ENTITY IN SYSTEM]

[Executing Purge] [Titles have been revoked] [Skills have been revoked] [passives have been revoked] [Title: Hero, sustained]

[All Bookmarks have been deleted] -- Anon Guest

[AN: This prompt has been altered for brevity]

Waking up in the starter zone felt... different. G'ni reached up and felt hir cheek instead of the soft plastic seal of the virtuality goggles. The smell of the sea air, burned flesh,

Read more »

Challenge #04183-K165: Out of Frame

They call me a Hero, but all I did was use my magic to create water channels and canals, along with spells of purification so the water is always completely clean and created special sewer systems so waste water will flow away from this town, through marshes with powerful purifying spells and tons of plans to clean away and waste so that the water is cleaned before it goes to the river.

I'm not a hero. Please stop calling me one. --

Read more »