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101 Word Short Stories

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Nocturnal Skulking

May 30, 2025 13 Comments

By Joel Bryant

The foxes are bad tonight. Horrendous screeching howls sound like human screams. Unable to sleep, she stumbles out of bed and peers out the window.

“There’s a gang of them out there,” she grumbles.

“It’s called a skulk,” he mutters, half asleep.

“Well, professor, the skulk is trashing your garden.”

“Probably after that squirrel I buried.”

She says nothing but stares at him expectantly.

“I’ll sort it, shall I?” he asks.

Outside, he urgently digs. The squirrel’s in the trash bin. What the foxes have found is much bigger and needs burying much deeper. He’ll remember that for the next time.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sharon Murphy says

    May 30, 2025 at 6:04 am

    Ohh love this sinister twist at the end. Well done.

    Reply
    • Joel Bryant says

      May 30, 2025 at 8:24 am

      Thank you Sharon. Your wonderfully poignant story is better than mine.

      Reply
      • Sharon Murphy says

        June 4, 2025 at 12:31 pm

        Thanks Joel

        Reply
  2. Michelle Mellon says

    May 30, 2025 at 7:42 am

    Love this! Well done.

    Reply
    • Joel Bryant says

      May 30, 2025 at 8:26 am

      Cheers Michelle, glad you liked it.

      Reply
  3. Stella says

    May 30, 2025 at 8:25 am

    Excellent read! Love it

    Reply
    • Joel Bryant says

      May 30, 2025 at 8:30 am

      You’re too kind Stella, thank you.

      Reply
  4. Mary says

    May 30, 2025 at 8:27 am

    Great story love the verbal interchange between the prof and his partner.

    Reply
    • Joel Bryant says

      May 30, 2025 at 8:34 am

      Thank you Mary, I appreciate your kind words.

      Reply
  5. Kathy Carroll says

    May 30, 2025 at 1:15 pm

    Fantastic twist! What a wonderfully conceived surprising story!

    Reply
    • Joel Bryant says

      June 2, 2025 at 6:22 am

      Thank you Kathy, glad you liked the twist 🙂

      Reply
  6. ELIZABETH says

    May 30, 2025 at 1:35 pm

    Yes, they do sound human, don’t they?
    Loved this. Thanks for the laugh!

    Reply
    • Joel Bryant says

      June 2, 2025 at 6:23 am

      I’m often kept awake by our resident foxes. Loved that you found this funny.

      Reply

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