Zachary T Agman
Bio
Stories (32/0)
The Funhouse
1 – When things got weird The mirror showed a reflection that wasn’t my own. Not to say it didn’t look familiar, but the image was wrong. It certainly wasn’t reflecting the truth of my world. The doppelganger standing in front of me looked pale as death; perhaps he was dead. Thin red streaks of blood traveled down his cheeks, pooling in the corners of his insane smile. The walls behind the thing masquerading as me were moving, crawling to be more precise. With what I did not know. My skin crawled at the thought of what could be moving in the shadows. The doppelganger, for that is all I could think of calling the figure in the mirror, watched me with his eyes. It moved as I did but with slower, jerky movements that gave me goosebumps. This had to be a trick, an illusion to frighten my mind. That’s what these carnival funhouses are for, right? Putting one on edge, tricking them, confusing their senses. Well, it was certainly working on me. I tried to find my way out, but every turn was just another mirror. One mirror depicting me as skinny and tall, the next mirror, short and fat. Those were the things one, me included, expected to see here. But then I would pass a mirror that showed nothing but my shadow, and then, once again, my evil doppelganger would appear with that smile. I was starting to panic at the thought of being trapped in this funhouse. If a place was ever ill named, this was it. When did things get so weird? That seemed like an easy enough question, but when I thought back on everything that had happened since I had arrived at the carnival, I wasn’t so sure. I couldn’t say when things turned, it didn’t matter now. It was too late by my reckoning, too fucking late.
By Zachary T Agmanabout a year ago in Horror
The New King
The fire cracked and spit forth sparks as the dry piece of wood released the last of its air. The sparks sailed up before falling back to earth, the bright embers fading as their heat died away. Now, it was just ash that would soon mix with the dirt and be forgotten. Those gathered around the fire did not particularly like the wild and jumping tendrils of death that whirled about in front of them. But it was part of the ceremony for choosing a new leader, a ritual that births a new king of the forest. Buffalo watched the flames dance, losing himself in the fond memories of his life. His time was passing and soon, he would be with his ancestors. Before that, however, a new leader must be chosen. It was an important position, not envious but necessary for the way of the woods and prairie to continue. Sitting in a semi-circle facing buffalo were a group of other animals, six to be exact. Three who wished to be the next king and three who were chosen to assist them.
By Zachary T Agmanabout a year ago in Fiction
The Night Heron
Every night at midnight, the purple clouds came out to dance with the blushing sky. Moriyama Akio knelt silently amongst the trees and watched the sky change with every blink of his eyes. This was his favorite time, the only time he could truly think, the only time he could truly reflect. The samurai closed his eyes and began to meditate on the past and the future. Soon, he came back to the present and stood with his katana in front of him. The sword hissed as Moriyama pulled it from its scabbard. As the clouds danced above, the samurai began his own dance below, the dance of death. Water dripped from the leaves of maple and fir trees. A stream gurgled in the distance; a night heron called out repeatedly, and the samurai danced. He moved silently, swinging the deadly blade with precise ferocity. One could almost see reality being cut as the sword hissed through the air. The samurai was a blur, he moved endlessly, never seeming to get tired. He was more demon than man as his movements became inhuman, bending and jumping in ways that no ordinary person could accomplish. His performance was awesome in every sense of the word. Awesome and frightening. Was it a blessing or a curse that his blood was bound to a Kami? Was it a curse or a blessing if you were among the unchosen, grasping the familial blade and waiting for the surge of energy, only for nothing to happen? Disappointment or glee that you are free to live a normal life? It began to rain. The samurai continued his deadly dance, ferociously attacking invisible foes. His breath was steady as he danced between trees and kicked up patches of earth. He needed to be ready for what was to come. The sun began to peak over the horizon, beams of light started to appear within the trees. The light grew and shrunk as the sun crawled slowly higher, the trees cutting short the long beams of light. Finally, the samurai stopped, he sheathed his sword and resumed a position on the ground. He began to meditate once again, listening to the sound of the wind whispering through the trees. He could hear the whispers and he was prepared. The wind continued to whisper, and the whisper was of death.
By Zachary T Agmanabout a year ago in Fiction
Chipmunk and Gruff
Chapter 1 – A Fine Day They had been at sea for only two weeks on their voyage of discovery and trade. The Ursala had left Port Nova with all the pomp and celebration expected of a growing city with growing wealth. They were ready to show the world that the city of Constellation was soon to be one of the most important capitals in the known world. The city was perfectly situated to become a prime trading hub with their overland routes leading to the north and the sea opening vast areas to the south and east. The Ursala’s job was to map out the fastest and safest trading routes as well as discovering any new markets. But the Ursala was not the only ship on the water and the Constellation was not the only city growing in both population and wealth. This is why the Ursala carried a battery of cannon, ten 12-pounders with a long nine stern chaser. This was no warship, but they were more than capable of defending themselves.
By Zachary T Agmanabout a year ago in Fiction
The Shoe Shiner
1 –An Introduction to Shining Shoes Frank started out on the busiest corner he could think find. It was downtown of course. It was less about the cars going by and more about the foot traffic. The shopping district was of course the most logical choice. Halloween was approaching and then the holiday season would be in full swing. More shoppers, more good cheers, more giving. And for Frank, that meant more money. It therefore behooved the young man of thirteen years old to set his plan in motion as soon as he could. It seemed like a good opportunity and a young man always needed more money. He would soon find something much more valuable, however. But that comes later.
By Zachary T Agmanabout a year ago in Fiction
Worlds that End
Part 1 – The window to the end of the world The outside world was unknown to her, but she could see a glimpse of it through the window in his room. Today, it was stormy, it had been for the past few days. The wind was breaking dead trees and the rain was whipping at the window with impotent fury. No matter how bad it looked outside, one would only know it if they looked through the window. From anywhere else in the house, you could be blissfully ignorant of the chaos outside. Most nights, only the crackling of the fire and the mice could be heard. The girl liked the mice, she would often talk to them about the things they have seen. Interesting stories to be sure, but the girl considered them to be just that, stories. Only through the window could one see outside, and only through the door could one go outside. But the door never opened, not ever. The mice were great liars.
By Zachary T Agmanabout a year ago in Fiction
Blatherskite
1 - A quiet wait We drove up the snowy, winding road towards the cozy A-frame cabin. There was only two of us occupying the four-wheel drive monster that was chosen for this mission. Lolli was driving while I consulted the map; it was not hard to find the cabin, now we just needed to wait. When we pulled up to the cabin, I got out and assessed our situation. There was only the one road, no back way out, that was good. I double checked to make sure our tracks had been properly concealed, they were. I also made a mental note to let Sax know that the vehicle, her new invention, worked like a charm. We found a good place to conceal our conveyance and then we entered the cabin.
By Zachary T Agmanabout a year ago in Fiction
Twin Box
From the Personal Journal and Factual Record of Events of and involving Stanly H. McGee Jr. 1 – Too Late The doorbell rang but I did not hear it. I was too busy trying to find my keys. I was late. Not just a little late, but truly and terribly late. It was my first day at a new job and I was going to late. I felt like this was one of those things that happened in story, maybe some sort of sitcom, except this was not funny, not funny at all. If this were a sitcom, then some hilarious hijinks would ensue but, in the end, it would all work out. I would even walk away with a new love interest, a friendship that would be cultivated into something deeper over an excruciatingly long time. Like two or three seasons at least.
By Zachary T Agmanabout a year ago in Fiction
Ben
Meet Ben The little girl watched with deep interest as the fish swam from one end of the tank to the other. She followed the fish back and forth, both enjoying themselves immensely. The fish stopped and so did the girl, they were staring at each other through the glass when bubbles spilled from the fish’s mouth. The girl laughed, clapped her hands enthusiastically, and cheered. The fish was quite pleased with himself and began swimming in a figure eight pattern. The girl cheered some more.
By Zachary T Agmanabout a year ago in Fiction