Short Story
Peep . Honorable Mention in Through the Keyhole Challenge.
The problem with integrated, online security systems these days, Ava thought, was the fact that they weren't very secure... not if you had any real technological skills or knowledge. With so many cracks, crevices, and peep holes to exploit, it was no wonder that peoples homes were less safe than they had ever been... Of course, it was a blessing for her; being paid to shore up faulty defence systems paid well. More importantly, it scratched that itch she could never tell anyone about; she always left a little peep hole of sorts in her solutions. A space she could slide into to watch her previous clients as they went about their daily lives.
By S. A. Crawford11 months ago in Fiction
Laid To Rest. Runner-Up in Through the Keyhole Challenge. Top Story - November 2025.
His blood pulsed in his ears. The treasure of a lifetime might have been right before him, right beyond this final barrier. In a vain attempt to steady his sweaty, shaking palms, he wiped them against his field khakis before making the tiniest of incisions in the door’s upper-left-hand corner with his small hand-drill. It was warm, so very warm, and things were so very delicate, more than he ever imagined possible. With a small match, he tested the incision for noxious gases before peering through the peephole.
By Matthew J. Fromm11 months ago in Fiction
Unnatural Predators. Runner-Up in Through the Keyhole Challenge. Content Warning.
The keyhole was almost comically large, something out of a lamplight noir mystery. I thought of the night before when I had peeked through to see her at the vending machine, feeding it coins and pressing the esoteric combinations that would spit out our makeshift dinner.
By Douglas Romoser11 months ago in Fiction
Doxxing Shayna. Content Warning.
"Man, what's taking so long?!" "I just need a few more seconds," Pete grumbled, "this is an art, Davey, not a science!" Davey groaned in exasperation and flopped onto Pete's bed, not that Pete paid him an ounce of attention. One hundred percent of his brainpower was laser focused on his computer screen, and his task at hand. His fingers flew across they keyboard at Mach 5, weaving a tapestry of ones and zeroes so beautiful that it would make the old Dutch masters weep. Or, at the very least, his computer science teacher.
By Natalie Gray11 months ago in Fiction
A Long way back
It started through the woven metal screen. The front door was open halfway, which wasn’t normal. You don’t leave your doors open around here. Or your windows, for that matter. Every crack, every crevice is a chance for something to creep in. The hot sand is teeming with life, and your house is a shady refuge better left vacant of the tenants that crawl.
By Thomas Speer11 months ago in Fiction
The Unwitting Witness
The noise rattled me awake as I ran to my panel. I could just turn on the camera and press record. The men in the fine suits had dragged my neighbor out of his home, bound. I could just watch as they beat him as he struggled. His bloody face was smashed against the cold street in the early hours. His groans could be heard as the men in suits and masks said nothing. They stood around him as he struggled in his restraints. Then a black van came down the road, and he was thrown in the back. It sped off as fast as it came, with blacked-out plates. I could only watch as nothing stopped the whole incident. My doorbell camera was the only witness to the event, but what if the same men came after me? I turned off the camera just as the man's wife came screaming out of her house. Her face was beaten too, and her hands had been tied. She fell onto the pavement as the other neighbors went to check out the scene. Mr. Ben Oxley's blood was on the street, and so was his wife's. The whole place was starting to be surrounded by police lights. An ambulance was dispatched to send Mrs. Ruth Oxley to the hospital. The entire place was alive as every neighbor left their houses in disbelief.
By Sarah Danaher11 months ago in Fiction
The Unwilling Resistance. Honorable Mention in Through the Keyhole Challenge. Top Story - November 2025.
I fell to my knees as if revisiting the pews from my Catholic childhood and closed my left eye in order to gaze through the ancient keyhole of a door that separated me from certain doom and uncertain, possible doom. Astigmatism be damned; I’d have rather risked losing an eye than spend another second in that god forsaken place. I had enough experience genuflecting in my youth to afford me kneecaps of steel—and for good reason too—because I couldn’t tell if I was perched on top of shrapnel or shards of bone. The warzone expanded westward and while none of us expected it, we also couldn’t hold a candle to any false promises that came from the militant leaders. And how could we? They sat cozy and confined in their well-lit fortresses and I—along with a few hundred poor bastards—sat without so much as a glimmer of light, or hope.
By Kaitlin Oster11 months ago in Fiction
Halloween House Party (2). Content Warning.
Chapter 2: “What the fuck do you mean by that?” “You know exactly what I mean” I hear the sinful way his lips turn up in a devilish smile. The same that drew me to him in the first place; I drank poison and asked for more, slowly dying from the inside but refused to stop and save myself because he made it taste so damn good.
By 𝓗. 𝓒. 𝓡𝓾𝓫𝔂11 months ago in Fiction
Tommy the Tomato & Peter the Potato: A Friendship That Couldn’t Be Broken
The Oddest Pair in the Vegetable Market In a bustling little vegetable market, two very different vegetables shared a basket. Tommy the Tomato was bright red, shiny, and full of energy, while Peter the Potato was brown, plump, and calm, content to sit quietly in the corner.
By hamad khan11 months ago in Fiction
The Sand Clock That Stopped On Thursday. AI-Generated.
"First, let's agree on one rule: there is no time. What you are reading now might have happened yesterday, or will happen tomorrow, or perhaps it is happening the moment you close your eyes. The story does not follow a straight path; rather, it breathes and twists like blue smoke."
By elhacene benmami11 months ago in Fiction
