Challenge 1126

Buddies Big and Small

1. In Amita Basu‘s Shrimps and Gunpowder:

   1. In some versions of English, wildlife such as shellfish are referred to with collective nouns, e.g. “shrimp.” Might the plural form, e.g. “shrimps,” have a particular meaning?
   2. Does any particular event or does a combination of events seem to bring about a change in the narrator’s point of view concerning herself?

2. In Charles C. Cole’s The Buddy System: How large would the wildlife have to be before it ceased to be a “buddy” for the narrator in his “alone time”?

3. In Norm Cowie’s Falling to Pieces: Are any of the zombies seriously or fatally injured in pursuing Brian? If so, are they repaired upon being dezombified?

4. In Fatin Zaklouta’s Emergency Contact:

   1. Some employees’ job descriptions are mentioned; why isn’t Claire’s?
   2. Could Claire’s employers have simply ignored and accepted her informal role as an employee counselor?

5. In Michael T. Schaper’s A Stray’s Tale: Is there any point in the story where readers might begin to anticipate the punchline of the joke?

6. In Andrew Brenza’s The Meadow Spring:

   1. Is there a main verb in the second stanza?
   2. In the third stanza, how can anything be “no less than nothing”?

Responses welcome!

Copyright © February 9, 2026 by Bewildering Stories
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