Sci-Fi – Hugh's Views & News

Flash Fiction Friday – Buttercup

Published on May 20, 2022June 10, 2022 by Hugh W. Roberts26 Comments

May 16, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about when a newly released prisoner meets the disabled veteran who adopted the puppy the prisoner trained behind bars. The prompt is based on the short story I wrote for Marsha Ingrao’s Story Chat. Yes, rewrite my story in your words, 99, no more, no less. Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.

Buttercup – by Hugh W. Roberts

“Good to see you back, James.”

“Have I missed much?”

“Nothing, apart from the 100-year war. We’d have lost if it were not for the secret weapon you trained while away.”

“I thought I recognised her.”

“Why did you name it Buttercup?”

“The prisoner I shared a cell with had a pet by the same name. I thought it suited her.”

“As you can see, I lost an arm and leg, but not in the war. I volunteered to be Buttercup’s victim. Now, tell us the secrets you learned of the human race while in one of their prisons.

***

Image of a dog in a wheat field — Image Credit: Charli Mills

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.

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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’

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32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.

More Glimpses

Available on Amazon

Paperback – £4.99

Kindle – £0.99

Follow Hugh on his social media platforms by clicking the buttons below.

Flash Fiction Friday – A Matter Of Life

Published on May 13, 2022June 10, 2022 by Hugh W. Roberts36 Comments

May 9, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a mom selfie — a story that creates an image of a mom. No one mom looks alike or fits a maternal mould. Who is she? Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.

A Matter Of Life – by Hugh W. Roberts

It was a matter of life or death. But if only she had known that she wasn’t the only one racing toward her child as he sunk toward the bottom of the ocean floor.

***

As the creature snatched at the sinking, lifeless object, it used its other tentacle to grab the prey that pursued it and squeezed the life out of it. Now it could feed the offspring it had given birth to, which would otherwise have died on this strange, watery planet.

A mother had to do everything in her power to ensure the survival of her children.

***

Image of a woman holding a camera — Image Credit: Charli Mills

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.

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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’

***

32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.

More Glimpses

Available on Amazon

Paperback – £4.99

Kindle – £0.99

Follow Hugh on his social media platforms by clicking the buttons below.

Flash Fiction Friday – Eyes Of The Waterfall

Published on April 15, 2022June 10, 2022 by Hugh W. Roberts22 Comments

April 11, 2022, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story using the phrase, water falls. Where is the water coming from? How does it shape a story? Who does it involve? Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.

Eyes Of The Waterfall – by Hugh W. Roberts

Water flowed from the bottom to the top, yet everybody else told Miranda it flowed from top to bottom.

“Not true,” Miranda shouted as she snatched her hand away from her mother’s grip and strode across the shallow pool through the crystal-clear waterfall.

“Miranda! “Come back now!” screamed her mother while watching her daughter get soaked.

Looking through the waterfall at her mother, Miranda noticed it flowed from top to bottom, but the strange, terrifying creatures looking back at her from the other side of the waterfall petrified her more.

Only when the waterfall stopped did Miranda’s nightmares begin.

***

Image of water falling into a pond. — Image Credit: Charli Mills

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.

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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love Glimpses

Glimpses

28 short stories and pieces of flash fiction take the reader on a rollercoaster of twists and turns.

Available on Amazon

Paperback – £4.99

Kindle – £0.99

***

Follow Hugh on his social media platforms by clicking the buttons below.

The Collector

Published on August 24, 2021August 24, 2021 by Hugh W. Roberts19 Comments

August 19, 2021, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story using the phrase, “stars in the sand.” Your story can be any genre (or poem) and can use realism or fantasy. It’s a dreamy prompt. Go where the it leads!

The Collector – by Hugh W. Roberts

One hundred and twenty million years had passed since its last visit.

It didn’t like the feel of the granular material, but the stars that had fallen into what humans named ‘sand’ needed replenishing to keep the planet alive.

Picking up an item the waves washed ashore, the Collector studied it. It smelt and tasted good. For every one of these items it took away, it left a star.

As beaches around the planet shone, humans wondered where all the plastic in the seas had gone.

It would only be another twenty years before the Collector returned.

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Image of a starry sky above a beach. — Image Credit: Charli Mills

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch. Click here to join in.

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Nightmare In Spring #flashfiction

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When Death Comes Quickly #flashfiction

The residents’ of Annabelle’s hometown were not as safe as they thought they were.

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What If? #flashfiction

What if what was on the other side of the open door wasn’t what he was expecting?

by Hugh W. Roberts August 10, 2021August 10, 2021

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Diversity with a Twist Banner showing some coloured straight lines and pens on a white background

Click the ‘Diversity with a Twist’ image to check out my latest post on my column at the Carrot Ranch.

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How To Save The Earth #flashfiction

Published on April 26, 2021April 26, 2021 by Hugh W. Roberts30 Comments

April 22, 2021, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story about earthing. Put a character’s hands, feet or body and soul into the earth. Who needs recharging? What happens between the interaction? Go where the prompt leads!

How To Save The Earth – by Hugh W. Roberts

It’s an attack I’ll never forget.

Why us? Why did they have to come here and try and destroy the safe community we live in? We weren’t hurting anyone. All we wanted was to help them. Don’t they know what they’re doing when attacking the innocent? It’s first-degree murder.

“Earthing,” announced Father Brier. “Earthing is the answer. The next time they come back, we must send them back from where they once came.”

Now the soil is full of human remains. Instead of attacking us, they feed us and help us plant life survive. Earthing is saving the Earth.

***

Image of a cupped hand shaped in a heart that is full of soil. — Image credit: Charli Mills

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch. Click here to join in.

Click on the image to check out my first post, How Blogging and Rod Serling Helped Me Conquer Dyslexia, on my new column at the Carrot Ranch.

Pilgrims #flashfiction

Published on April 19, 2021April 19, 2021 by Hugh W. Roberts35 Comments

April 15, 2021, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that seeds generosity. Who is generous and why? Think of generosity as planting a future outcome. Go where the prompt leads!

Pilgrims – by Hugh W. Roberts

Making footprints in the dusty soil of the piece of land the Mayflower had brought her to, Margery’s ears picked up the sounds of the waves crashing against her ship.

She signalled to her crew to begin unloading the cargo and help bring this land alive.

As the pilgrims left the ship two by two, they each, in turn, thanked Margery for the kindness she’d shown them by setting them free again.

As the Mayflower took off into the sky, the pilgrims named the new world New Plymouth and set about thanking their god, Generosity, for bringing them here.

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#flashfiction #fiction #writingprompt — Image credit: Charli Mills

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch. Click here to join in.

Click on the image to check out my first post, How Blogging and Rod Serling Helped Me Conquer Dyslexia, on my new column at the Carrot Ranch.

New Home #flashfiction

Published on March 1, 2021March 25, 2021 by Hugh W. Roberts31 Comments

February 25 2021, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story using the word frozen. It can be descriptive, character focused, action driven. Go out onto the ice and find a frozen story. Go where the prompt leads!

New Home – by Hugh W. Roberts

The frozen wastes of space were no place anymore for the light pink sphere.

It had travelled for thousands of years, but the icy blue planet ahead looked the only hope it had of survival.

The glowing rays of a young star rising in the east sent the alien into a potential thaw and deep sleep on this new world.

Millions of years later, it awoke to find new owners’ of the planet had built a city on top of where it had rested.

“Welcome to Wuhan’, it recorded, as it began the fightback to reclaim its new home.

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Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch. Click here to join in.

Safe New World #flashfiction

Published on January 12, 2021January 12, 2021 by Hugh W. Roberts37 Comments

January 7, 2021 prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story using the contrasting prompts butterfly and stones. The two can be used in any way in your story. Go where the prompt leads!

Safe New World – by Hugh W. Roberts

“Look at all these small, round stones, Alan. Is that some writing on them? It looks like some foreign language. And aren’t the rainbow colours on all of them stunning? It’s like they’ve been hand-painted.”

“Hand-painted by who or what?” asked Alan as he picked up a stone.

They both gasped with astonishment as a rainbow-coloured butterfly fluttered up from under the stone.

“Are there more of them under the other stones?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Within minutes of the last overturned stone releasing its prey, all human life ceased to exist on the safe, new world.

Image of a butterfly on top of a pile of stones — Image credit: Charli Mills

Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch. Click here to join in.

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Gold Dust #flashfiction

He’d been promised gold, but all he found was a dusty trail. But where did it lead?

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An Advent Tradition #flashfiction

What family, festive traditions do you and your neighbours carry out every year?

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Mind Your Head #flashfiction #3LineTales

Published on June 25, 2020June 10, 2022 by Hugh W. Roberts32 Comments

Mind Your Head – by Hugh W. Roberts

Michelle loved ‘Caution – Mind Your Head’, the only place where nobody had to queue.

After removing her head, she made her way to the oiling room; the place where creaks and squeaks were made obsolete.

In thirty minutes, Michelle would once again be reunited with her head, now free of any nasty viruses.

Can you write a three-line tale using the above image?

Written in response to the Three Line Tale challenge hosted by Sonya at Only 100 Words.

Killer Eve #writephoto #flashfiction

Published on April 28, 2020April 28, 2020 by Hugh W. Roberts39 Comments

Use the image below as inspiration to create a post on your own blog… poetry, prose, humour… light or dark, whatever you choose, as long as it is fairly family-friendly.

Writephoto challenge dated April 23rd 2020 — **Image credit: Sue Vincent**

Eve was her name. A woman one man feared: that man, me.

She wanted humanity to worship her. She made those that were left celebrate her life by giving her a day when they celebrated the beauty that only came to Eve when it was dark.

During the darkness, bonfires lit up the skies so all could see what fate awaited them.

Nobody knew where Eve came from. At first, nobody seemed to care about it. Nobody asked questions until it was too late.

Everyone would welcome Eve into their lives. Everyone would welcome her into their homes. Eve asked for nothing in return. Well, I say nothing. The only thing Eve wanted was to be noticed.

Eve touched the lives of everyone. She made people laugh; she made people cry. She made people strong; she made them weak. Humankind trusted her. That was how it always looked to Eve. She was like anything else that lived on planet Earth.

Humanity thought they were the most potent form of life. After all, humankind had made the Earth its own. Anything that wanted to share the Earth had to abide by the rules of man. How sinful humanity was.

For a while, Eve followed the rules of humanity. But then she grabbed an opportunity to break the rules.

The day Eve escaped was the turning point.

Eve wanted all of humanity to witness the beauty that only came to her when the lights went out. Eve wanted all of humanity to notice her. Now was her chance to do just that.

As Eve made her way onto the city streets and into the communities, a new future dawned.

The rest is an unfolding story that will never end.

Eve believes there’s no such thing as an ending. It’s just the point at which you decide to leave her story.

Written in response to the ‘writephoto’ challenge hosted by Sue Vincent at the Daily Echo. Click here for more details.

Doug, Sophie and Mike have taken a break this week. They’ll be back next week.

H2O #flashfiction

Published on January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 by Hugh W. Roberts46 Comments

“They’re just stones.”

“I know, but I’m sure one of them has moved.”

“But stones can’t move on their own. Something or someone must have moved it? The instruments onboard the ship did pick up a small tremor last night.”

Moving towards the nearest stone, Miles bent down while pointing towards the ground to the right of the first stone.

“Looks like something either pushed or pulled this stone. If the ship’s camera had been working, I’d have the proof that this stone is nearer the ship than it was yesterday. Mission-control is taking too long figuring out what’s caused the camera to fail.

Shaking her head, Hilary bent down besides Miles and examined the ground.

“It must be alive,” cautioned Miles. These marks in the ground clearly show it has moved. Yet there’s no evidence to say that someone or something has moved it. I thought you said there was no evidence of life on this planet, Hilary. Without any signs of H2O, you said nothing could survive here.”

Consisting of at least 50% of water, the human visitors had no chance when the stone struck. Not even their spacesuits helped protect them.

As the other stones slid slowly towards the bodies to feast on the liquid nectar they needed to survive, the dusty, dry planet started to become alive again.

While decomposing flesh helped plant life grow instantly, the sound of a ‘click’ from the ship’s now repaired camera sent back the first image of a beautiful, welcoming, new world.

Written in response to the #writephoto challenge hosted by Sue Vincent at Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo. Click here to participate.

The Global Warming Effect #flashfiction

Published on June 3, 2019June 4, 2019 by Hugh W. Roberts39 Comments

Strawberries and mint! She’d forgotten to order them.

The local shop was too far away to go and get any before her first guests arrived.

A few years ago, she would have gone out into her garden and picked both. How sad that the return of global warming had since not only turned her green garden into a dusty, bone-dry desert but had also robbed her of her love for gardening.

Looking out of her kitchen window, onto the vast martian landscape, she asked herself again if the human race would ever learn the lessons of their past mistakes.

Written in response to the 99-word flash fiction challenge with the theme of ‘strawberries and mint’, hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.