West Coast Gold
A Competitive Piece
A/N: This is a story I entered a few weeks back for writingbattle.com. The challenge was to use the prompts pictures above and write a story in 250 words or less. Enjoy, and please consider entering yourself for their next battle!
Terex ran a claw along the ray gun’s barrel and wondered if he’d made a mistake. Nobody beat the Cephs in a gunfight. They could read minds and had four extra arms. But Terex would rather die than let some weird stranger bully him.
This Ceph was naked save for a pair of dusty boots and a creepy translucent bowl circulating slimy grey liquid over its bulbous head. Its bulging black eyes reflected death and golden sand in the sunlight.
“You found something important buried near your well,” the Ceph sent. “You have one more chance to give it over.”
“Once again, fuck you,” Terex replied.
“Then die,” the Ceph stated coldly.
Terex had one gun — one chance to make a clean shot, while the Ceph had six. He swallowed, drew, and shot, then yelped and dove to the side when the beam ricocheted off the Ceph’s helmet toward him.
The Ceph trapped him under a booted tentacle. “Foolish lizard,” It said and drew six guns.
In desperation, Terex whipped his tail around in a horizontal arc. It caught one of the black boots, tripping the Ceph and causing it to fall with a crash. Its helmet cracked and split open. Grey liquid gushed onto the sand. The Ceph struggled futilely to scoop it back into the broken shell. Within minutes, it lay unmoving on the sand.
Terex shook his head and limped away. All this for the tiny, calcified remains of a long-extinct human skull.
About the Creator
Kenny Penn
Thanks for reading! I enjoy writing in various genres, my favorites being horror/thriller and dark/epic fantasies. I'll also occasionally drop a poem or two.
More at: www.kennypenn.com
My Top Stories: https://www.kennypenn.com/vocalmedia/
Reader insights
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Top insights
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
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Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
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Secrets and Betrayals
Bryan loved to run almost as much as he hated arguments. Naturally, the former often followed the latter. A casual jog through the county park, a set of headphones, and some rock and roll tunes usually worked to drown out the constant clamor that bounced around the ol’ cerebrum whenever Dena chose to serve up one of her lectures.
By Kenny Pennabout a year ago in Fiction
Comments (24)
I like this. The writing is very engaging!
Wow!! 🤯 🤯 So imaginative and vividly painted, I'm jealous 😁
That packed a punch for so few words. Congratulations on your Top Story.
Well done. I can see why this placed! Good work.
Awesome work, my friend. Loved your entry and nice to know that someone I know made it to that tier. I joined the battle for the first time this for the summer nanofiction. I was in the Jailbreak genre and wish I had done several things differently. But it was a cool experience. I think my biggest issue was referring to a word as a verb when the way it was used in the sentence was clearly a noun 🤣. There is no quick edit, and several people called me out on it. Still, I had fun. Not sure if I'm going to share the story here... yet, lol.
Ooh that was good, congratulations On both TS and writing battle
Yay for T.S. Kenny P!
Congrats on being the top story! Mr Kenny Penn: That's awesome!"
Great writing Ken as usual! Congratulations on your TS!💃❤️
Back to say congratulations on your Top Story! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
YES, the M Knight Shyamalan twist at the end. Almost essential if you want to end on a resounding note with so few words. I'm a green recruit when it comes to these Writing Wars, so remind me: did you have the exact same prompt as Fromm? Or do they vary? I certainly see Sci-Fi Western in both. Mysterious Stranger, too. I just don't recall a skull featuring in his story.
Enjoyed giving this a second read here on Vocal! Congrats on Top Story and Sensational 64 finish!!
Wow, Kenny. That is some powerful writing! Fan-freaking-tastic! Congrats on your achievements. Well deserved!
Congrats on the TS.
Back to say congrats on TS!!
This has all the makings of a perfect sci fi novel great story
Great story, Kenny! I really enjoyed the mix of sci-fi and western elements. You managed to build a lot of tension in such a short space. Congrats on placing in the competition!
Excellent writing as per usual, Kenny. Congratulations in placing in the National 64. Great job!
Whoaaaa, this was freaking amazing! You nailed it! Congratulations! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊 Also, this is the first time I'm hearing of sci-fi western
Congratulations!
This was a great thrill!! Congrats on your battling success :) Sounds pretty cool!
Congrats on besting me sir! Great entry
This was great. Congrats 👏
Congratulations, Kenny! I've yet to pull the trigger on entering any battles.