C. L. Nichols
Bio
C. L. Nichols retired from a Programmer/Analyst career. A lifelong musician, he writes mostly speculative fiction.
clnichols.medium.com
specstories.substack.com
Stories (23/0)
Jump! — a short story
Stinging rain pelted Tanner Sage and streamed down his vinyl raincoat, falling thirty feet to the ground below. The two-by-three bucket he clung to swayed on its long metal arm in the gusting wind. Lightning arced across the sky then thunder shook the night.
By C. L. Nichols29 days ago in Fiction
Two-Lane Blacktop
Rain had let up. Patrick twisted the turn lever, setting the wipers to intermittent. A few drops gathered on the windshield before the blades stuttered across, flicked them away. In the pickup’s low beams, slashes of white glinted sharply on the blacktopped rural road but the edges faded to shadowy murk. He focused on the headlights’ reach, squinted as he passed an abandoned car on the shoulder.
By C. L. Nicholsabout a month ago in Fiction
- Top Story - April 2024
OrbTop Story - April 2024
Alone and abandoned. Again. Johanna Underwood lay on her back in the center of the queen-sized bed she’d shared with her husband, Guy. One hand rested in the dip her slight body had formed while the other petted the deeper hollow her husband had left behind.
By C. L. Nicholsabout a month ago in Fiction
Adventures at the Town Dump
Every few years, the small Texas town was overrun by small creatures as spring became summer. In some years, it was locusts. Perhaps in another, it would be crickets. Benjamin well remembered walking downtown streets, shoes crunching the insect skeletons that covered the sidewalks two inches thick.
By C. L. Nicholsabout a month ago in Fiction
The Silent Chatter
John woke one rainy morning and discovered the writing in the floor. When his bare feet touched the cold concrete, he looked down to locate his slippers and saw the scribbles. They weren’t written on the floor but just below the surface, which was somehow part of the concrete. In sloppy cursive, they spread across the room then faded at the lamplight’s perimeter.
By C. L. Nicholsabout a month ago in Fiction
Nostalgia: The Psychology Behind Our Fond Memories and Their Effect on Our Well-being
Nostalgia, a bittersweet longing for the past, is a universal human experience. It is a complex emotion that can transport us back to cherished moments in our lives, evoking feelings of joy, sadness, and even regret.
By C. L. Nicholsabout a month ago in Humans