Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Fiction.
Of Transformation & Chaos
“Stay here my love, they won’t find you as long as you stick to the shadows and make it to Aradia,” my mother whispered to me as I watch a fleet of fear flash through her eyes, before she puts on a brave face for me.
Little Comforts
As I lay in my bunk in the low dim light of my withering candle, I can't help but risk taking a look at my precious treasure. The contours, the way it catches the light, the interesting shape...I always trace it with my fingers and it sparks something within me I can not quite place, something I've perhaps never known, something stored within the primitive recesses of my psyche. Hope in this God-forsaken place. If I were caught I'd be brutally reprimanded, killed even, for coveting a treasure such as this. But what it brings to me in this dying place of tortured souls is worth the risk.
Fireproof
The Scarcity War and the Fires indelibly changed what had once been the United States. Fires set by both factions had left scarcely a family whole, scarcely a building untouched.
TJ KlapprodtPublished 3 years ago in FictionInvestigative Duo
The half-empty glass of whiskey sitting on the large oak desk had become lukewarm. A ring formed below the crystal-like glass where it sat day after day on the smooth surface. It had become a new tradition every night for the last two weeks. A caramel apple soy candle flickered in the now darkened office, the saccharine scent enveloping the entire room. Justine's head rested on her arm as she slept over an open case file.
Margaret ToddPublished 3 years ago in FictionHeart-Shaped Breasts
Even before everybody started dying from the new flu, the number of medical professionals dwindled. It was the way of formerly lucrative careers with large buy-ins. By 17, so many kids had found their millionaire status niche online, replete with earbud and automatic car sponsorships. Pursuing anything else seemed frankly foolish. Profiting parents, easily placated by their children with the promise of no student loan debt, found futher schooling unnecessary. It was a win-win for everyone but the dying and diseased.
Cali LoriaPublished 3 years ago in FictionThe End of the World or A New Beginning
Hello NASA, is anyone there? This is Apollo 20, returning from our extended stay on the moon. Is anyone there? Come in NASA… No response. What is going on Captain? It is more of our same experience from the moon, and we thought it had to be our communication devices. We made the decision to complete our required duties on the moon and then to return to earth as scheduled because we thought it was just our communication pieces. Now, it is more of the same, with the devices that are on the shuttle. The same no response, like it was on the moon. In the space shuttle, no response, and now it is time to worry. What happened to earth? To the people? No news. No communication now and it has probably been a couple months from our last message.
Denise E LindquistPublished 3 years ago in FictionDriven
Driven- Outta Focus I thumb the little heart locket that I’ve got tucked in my pocket; and ask myself these questions that keep haunting me;
Caroline StevensPublished 3 years ago in FictionA light in the dark
Twilight sets in as the sun has just gone down. Night is taking its full form. My eyes slowly open, and all I can see are lights flickering far in the distance. How did I get here? I ask myself. What’s happened? And then, I hear a faint voice coming from the north of where I had been.
Tiffany VegasPublished 3 years ago in FictionThe Reversal
Mary Lynfield held onto her cue cards tightly. There was a lump in her throat that wouldn’t go away. Even after being in this business for 12 years, she always got nervous before a show. Millions of viewers across the country had no idea that she actually hated what she did for a living. She was an introvert with a penchant for perfectionism and a bad tendency to self-deprecate. None of her staff knew that she’d rewatch old clips at home, just to focus on all the ways she could have done better.
Mawia KhogaliPublished 3 years ago in FictionSocial shock
I am a glow stick in a world filled with lamps and flashlights. I was never created to fit in. I didn’t come into the world with a matching set of parents like everybody else. I came into the world with the absence of my father and years later my mother also decided to leave. I was alone in a world that wasn’t created to understand me. For example, everyone saw the sadness in the world. I never could see the sadness. Even in a world filled with darkness, I always saw the light. Maybe it was because I was built differently. I was not your usual yellow light. I didn’t come with a bulb and I didn’t break easily when you dropped me. I wasn’t like everyone else. Everyone else ran on batteries. A lot of times their batteries would die quickly and they would lose their light. I was different, I was a glow stick. I loved who I was but sometimes I just wanted to be like everyone else. Sometimes I just wanted to fit in. At one point I was trying everything. I tried to hangout with others who didn’t really care about me, but then I would care too much because they were all I had. I just wanted to feel like I belonged. I tried dating different guys and trying different hobbies so I wouldn’t feel alone. I didn’t mind being by myself, but I didn't like to be left alone with my thoughts. It just never felt like there was a place just for me. I thought maybe I wasn’t meant to be a glow stick, so I tried to learn Morse code and tape batteries on me. However, I just could never be like everyone else and they always reminded me with their consistent mockery. They would mock me because I wasn’t always chosen first. They would mock me because I looked different than them. They even mocked me for always smiling. I began to question who I was and started asking myself, “ Why don’t they pick me? Why do I look like this? Stop smiling! Why am I even here?”
Keke’s KonnectsPublished 3 years ago in FictionFragility
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been on foot, but he knew it wasn’t long enough to be safe. Each day and night, he moved and hid like the roaches he was terrified of. Who knew what was safe anymore? What seemed like months was only days. In the span of a week, his life had become more of a priority than it ever was.
Bianca HubbardPublished 3 years ago in FictionOur Light
Robert breathed out steadily, filling the air with swirling mist. The wrinkles around his eyes settled into a familiar pattern as he smiled contentedly; the crisp morning was filled with promise. They were perched on a worn bench atop a grassy bluff. Far below and away, the sea met the sky in a reflective mirror of orange and pink. Still morning air smoothed the waves. Breathing in once more, his nose was filled with the scents of eucalyptus and salt, with an undercurrent of morning glory. They’d been coming up here since she was so young that he had to carry her. He never minded though- she was his light in the darkness.
Mikayla BabinPublished 3 years ago in Fiction