BULWER - LYTTON FICTION CONTEST - 2023

"Wherefore art thou?" she whines, like she don't know wherefore I art, when I damned sure told her like 50 times the old man makes me work the bar every Saturday night, like the Montague Lounge can't survive without me!

John Hardi, Falls Church, VA

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Having attended Oktoberfest, taken in the beautiful foliage of New England, gone apple-picking, roamed through a corn maze, and visited a pumpkin patch, one thing was certain - Humpty Dumpty had a great Fall.

Mark Meiches, Dallas, TX

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He wasn't superficial; in fact, he couldn't even swim.

Josh Boyd, Seattle, WA

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"Brawl, grapple, battle, spar, roughhouse, clash, combat, altercation, dust up," the drunken cowpoke grunted at the lawman, a wobbly hand dangling above his pistol like a spider waiting to descend upon a helpless fly, but Sheriff Thesaurus only stared him down coldly and responded through gritted teeth: "Mister, them's fightin' words." 

Donald J. Hicks, Manchester, NJ