Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Fiction.
Akiko And The Kasa-Obake
Akiko was seven years old when his Ojiisan and Obaasan (grandfather and grandmother) came from Tokyo to live with him and his parents in San Fransisco. Akiko was a rather shy child and had never met his grandparents before, so having these foreign strangers suddenly living in his home was rather difficult from the start.
By Juliette McCoy Riitters3 years ago in Fiction
Whatever Tomorrow Brings
It was half past 4, with little time left before daybreak. Alone, hungry, and exhausted, Laurel was driven to keep going. The sun would rise in a few hours, and she would be unable to complete the task her grandfather had started years before.
By Kelli Sheckler-Amsden3 years ago in Fiction
Time to Leave
"Please put that down, I don't want to die because you don't know how to handle dad's old hunting knife." James looked over his shoulder, scolding his younger sister. Jenni carefully set the knife on the beat up wooden table and tried to hide her shame.
By Ember Gray3 years ago in Fiction
Creatures with Wings
The world had truly become a dangerous place. A wise individual would know never to travel through the increasingly scarce lands and seas alone. Even a child foolish enough to set out on their own would be left for dead by their own mother if she herself were wise. However, if someone had the chance to travel by flight, the chances of harm coming to them might as well be null. The skies above the clouds were normally quiet and serene, and a beast daemn like Phoel knew this well.
By Quincy Kirkpatrick3 years ago in Fiction
What they came for
“It’s almost dawn we have to go” she said as the sun began to leak thru the dust scattered across the mountain tops of what used to be London, Ky. That was before “They” came and life as we know it changed forever. I can still remember the smell of the weapon they used to level the entire eastern part of the United States. It burns in my nose from time to time like an erie reminder of the fate I barley escaped. If Uncle Tom hadn’t pushed me and Carla into the underground cellar just before the explosion I’m not sure we would have made it. I’m not sure how many others made it, but we heard a signal on an old battery powered radio Uncle Tom kept down in the cellar telling any survivors to meet down in what used to be Knoxville, Tennesse so that’s where we are going. We had to move during the day and hide at night. That’s when “They” were active. We haven’t seen them yet but we can definitely hear them at night flying around. You could feel an electric vibration in the air whenever they are near. We guess they sleep during the day like some form of vampirism alien species but that’s just speculation. This is all too new to really have any answers it’s only been a week since the explosion an only the second time we was brave enough to leave the cellar. “Are you ready” Carla asked. You could see it in her eyes she was afraid but she was too stubborn to let me know that. We couldn’t stay in the cellar any longer we had run out of supplies so we had no other choice but to find somewhere to go. We walked for miles it seemed without saying a word. I think we was both just determined to get as far as we could before nightfall started to set in. Finally in the distance I seen the place where the sign used to be to mark the Tennessee border. “We have to find a place to stay now” she demanded and I knew she was right. Neither of us could fathom the idea of being without shelter. “Just a little farther” I said hoping she would agree. “ No we don’t have time “ she said with a growl in her voice and I knew it wasn’t a good idea to challenge her. As much as I hated to admit it my sister always tried to look out for me. “I think I see a cabin up ahead in the woods, let’s see if we can stay there.” She said so I began to follow her up the side of the mountain. We knocked on the door and looked in the windows but no one appeared to be inside so I picked the lock and we finally opened the door of the cabin. “This looks like it will work for the night” Carla said “Try and get some sleep we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow “ so I unrolled my sleeping bag and laid it on the old dusty floor of the rustic cabin and laid down to try and rest. The silence filled the room and all you could hear is the click of the Heart shaped locket opening and closing that Carla kept around her neck. Daddy gave it to her the day he died and she has kept it firmly wrapped around her neck since that day. I was too young to remember him but she was very close to him and would often tell me stories about the adventures they had when she was my age. She was 8 years older than me and I was only a year when he passed. “You miss him don’t you?” I asked and she paused for a long time before she answerd. She took a deep breath and said “ more and more each day, if daddy was here he would know what to do.” She said as her voice began to crack and I could tell the question was hard to answer. “What is inside the locket? I asked but her tone immediately changed and she almost seemed mad I even asked. “None of your business!” She said as she rolled over to face the cabin wall. “Now go to sleep” so I just laid there and stared at the ceiling until I drifted into a dream.
By Justin wills3 years ago in Fiction
Mounds
The horizon is dark. Clouds are gathering, pulsing with flashes of lightning. She tucks a strand of long dark hair behind her ear and jabs her trowel into the caked soil. She breaks the largest clods with her hands and mounds it up, patting it tight around a cluster of seeds. Zucchini. She scoots over, jabs, mounds, pats. She repeats the motions over and over. Her thighs and lower back ache. She surveys the rows of mounds that contain corn, squash, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and thinks standing up might be worse. At the far edge of the garden is a dividing line of green between the bare soil and the dry grasses, shrubs and trees beyond. Garlic planted last fall.
By Adelheid West 3 years ago in Fiction
(Dys)Utopian Eulogy
If you are reading this, then I guess, I am at long last dead. If you are a part of the dominion’s acolytes, guck yourself. But if you are among the living with a selfish thought in your noggin, consider me lucky, because you are still breathing air in what I can only assume is a state of direction versus independent thought. It was not always so.
By j.d. davis3 years ago in Fiction
The Scream
It startled me awake. My hands automatically gripped the beam beneath me, even though I could not remember where I was. How had I allowed myself to close my eyes? Thankfully, some part of me had remembered. It would have been ridiculous to have survived so long, only to have met my end so carelessly. What would it have all been for?
By Whitney Theresa June3 years ago in Fiction