Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Fiction.
The Poor Man's Apocalypse
The apocalypse was not as expected. Our fall from civilisation was neither quick, nor fast, nor exciting. It began in much the same way as any political change. A new rule here, a new tax there, inflation, unliveable wages, the lot. The well to-do middle class soon sank down to our lowly ranks; neighbourhoods slipped from homely to unkempt. Concrete began to crack, unemployment began to rise, and soon a slum lay upon every door step.
By Jade Hadfield3 years ago in Fiction
Pandora's Boon
He was standing next to the rusting pumps when he saw the figure shimmering like a mirage in the distance across the ash belt. The pumps hadn’t pumped in years. Not since his grandfather’s time, or so he had been told. He never knew his grandfather. He only vaguely remembered his father. His mother had lived longer, but then the toxicity of ‘The Fission’ had taken her too. He watched the flesh melt from her bones and, when she passed, she felt like a feather in his arms as he laid her in the dusty grave next to the man she had loved.
By Al Campbell3 years ago in Fiction
Tales of Bette: Robert & Ami - Matchmakers
Bette On It: Weird Adolescence. Senior Year 2003-2004. Excerpt... January 2004 In the week leading up to the dance, Mark told Robert that Bette had asked him to the Darling Dance and Robert invited them to join him, Hank, and their dates Ami and Sonja at dinner at The Lodge. Bette was happy to go with a group outside her usual group of friends. She still drove her dad's truck and picked Mark up.
By Tinka Boudit She/Her3 years ago in Fiction
Serialized Storytelling
I have always loved reading. From a young age, I would spend countless hours buried underneath a blanket with some sort of novel in my hand. From fantasy to nonfiction, I fell in love with each one. One of the genres that I was not much of a fan of growing up was comic books. Though I loved drawing, comics seemed like a cop-out to me. Rather than allowing your imagination to run wild, I felt constricted by the artist's interpretations of the characters I knew and loved so much. But, as people grow, so does their understanding of the world, and it was in the smallest moment that I fell in love with comic books.
By Robin Laurinec3 years ago in Fiction
THE JOURNAL
Many years had gone by since the world went completely sideways and did two or three summersaults in the process. All the signs of impending doom had been blatantly right in everyone’s faces, no exceptions, but like everything else, unless the big-ugly comes knocking at your door, no one does anything about the problem. And that’s what eventually happened, the big-ugly came knocking at everyone’s door at exactly the same moment, and when they opened their doors, all hell broke loose. Civilization should have paid more attention to irreversible climate changes due to mass deforestation, uncontrolled industrial growth and nonrestrictive mining and fracking procedures. Since the air was polluted, the soil and water poisoned and the massive accumulated ice at the North and South Poles was rapidly melting at an unprecedented pace, the oceans swallowing up entire cities; water, food and land becoming scarcer and a premium commodity, nuclear warfare erupted on a global scale.
By Len Sherman3 years ago in Fiction
JACK OF DIAMONDS
ii Reggie entered The Arrogant Frog, a small pub on the corner of Greek Street and Romily he knew as Charlie Sabini’s haunt of old, hoping he’d find him at his usual table. Sunlight slipped in through the drawn venetian blinds, where it scattered across a parquet floor through upturned chairs resting on tabletops. He could see dust motes floating in the bars of light as a barmaid swept the floor. The girl looked up briefly, hesitating at her chore, the broom almost stuttering before she turned, looking at the barman standing behind the counter who nodded briefly. The bottles and glasses lining the wall caught the light coming in through the blinds, reflecting diamonds of light that danced across the room. A lazy fan with one broken fin slowly spun in the shadowy depths of the timbered ceiling, a trail of cobwebs caught in its orbit as if part of the tail of a distant comet.
By ben woestenburg3 years ago in Fiction
Frith
Dystopian adjective : relating to or denoting an imagined state or society where there is great suffering or injustice. "the dystopian future of a society bereft of reason" noun : a person who imagines or foresees a state or society where there is great suffering or injustice. "a lot of things those dystopians feared did not come true" -Dictionary Definition
By Leah Harris3 years ago in Fiction