Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Fiction.
The Rabbit Moon
I love astronomy, the beauty and mystery of space. I am mesmerized by the night sky and can stargaze for hours. That love blossomed as a child when I received my first pair of glasses. The optometrist knew I wasn’t looking forward to the new nickname of “four eyes”, so he asked me to find one good thing about wearing glasses. He told me go outside after dark and look up at the night sky, promising I would be amazed. He was right. There were so many twinkling stars, and they were no longer a blur. And the moon was bigger, brighter, and more detailed than I had imagined. I was hooked. It was then that I heard my favorite story, The Rabbit Moon.
By Ann C.K. Nickell5 years ago in Fiction
Long Way Home
Ironic. It’s funny how the little things seem to have the largest effect on me. What began as a warm evening stroll would turn into time of reflection. I was walking down an old block that I lived on in a suburb outside of New York City. As I was meandering down to small hill at the beginning of the street, my mind was flooded. Memories began to swell in my mind, and I became flustered to say the least.
By Max Avellaneda5 years ago in Fiction
2746
In the end nothing matters, nothing ever mattered. The journey was pointless but he somehow it mattered to him. 2746 opened the locket , time had changed a lot of things but it was still heart shaped , taking him back to a time when things were different , a different life . When he had a name and wasn’t just a number , he even forgot his name at times , preferring the number , anything to forget who he was. A rustle in the background happened , scavengers he wondered ? Or worse ? He contemplated giving in . Does it even matter any way ? No but I have to , everything outside was likely just as due to die as he was eventually. He checked his gun to see how many bullets he had , still full plus the extra round if came to that. The rustling stopped , probably nothing. the road while different was familiar , he knew it all too well , from another life , when the weather wasn’t so extreme and harsh , when humanity still had a future , when the outbreaks hadn’t decimated all of life , and when he had a family. He hadn’t reminisced like this in forever , he preferred to forget, first the stations and electricity stopped and suddenly no transportation, then the riots , then the shortages , then the outbreaks. The safe zones were little corners of heaven that were designed to keep people safe and they did, but to make it there , 2746 gave up a lot , too much even . He’d been on the road for ages . He looks to his pendant again , dusty but still inside a picture of him and his brother. He needed to see what home was like , he wasn’t sure if he deserved to think of his brother. He had no choice , he convinced himself but was it really right , the world was over and he made a choice. “ I didn’t kill him” but he could have, “ arghhhhhhhhh “ he ripped of the pendant and threw it . “ Its not my damn fault okay , I couldn’t take care of both of us , I barely made it to safe zone , I tried okay , I tried, you were gonna die , I had to Survive okay” . Tears stream down his face again , he was better off as a number , 2746 , he wasn’t Dave anymore. “ I’m sorry Caleb” he whispers softly , and he truly was. He keeps walking , trying to ignore his thoughts again , he sees the pendant up ahead , picks it up . He could still turn back , the safe zone was still there .
By Bolu Ayeye5 years ago in Fiction
Pooh Sticks
The Sojourner could feel it: the end was near. Always it was near, yet never near enough for him to be ready. How long had it been? Ten years? Longer perhaps, but only ten in which he had known about the Flaw in the System. Ten since he had begun taking responsibility and admitted the ultimate truth of it all:
By Ethan J Bearden5 years ago in Fiction
Lorna
I ran from room as the roof began to collapse under the weight of the fire. My body exhausted from the sheer amount of surviving I had been doing that week. Running through a maze of hallways as I tried to find any exit, I had not noticed that my coat had caught a light and my arm was engulfed in flames. I spotted the red exit sign and blew through the door. I dodged the fireball’s raining from the sky as I reached the other side of the street. Turning back just in time to watch the building collapse into a pile of rubble. Standing there watching the carnage I notice the flames coming from side, I quickly ripped off my first few layers of clothing and flung them to the ground. “Damn it” I said to myself as I patted out the new forming embers on my sweatshirt. Feeling the cold start to reach my skin, I instantly searched for a new place to take shelter. Spotting a burned out, yet still standing structure up the road, I once again took off through the streets towards the door.
By Amanda Hoffman5 years ago in Fiction
Left Behind With a Mustard Seed
She never wore a cross. Instead, Faith wore a golden heart-shaped locket, with a single mustard seed inside. It was a gift from her grandmother, who always loved the parable of the mustard seed. When her grandmother died, Faith had carefully opened the locket and added a tiny, curled up lock of her grandmother's hair.
By Jeanette Watts 5 years ago in Fiction
Seeds of Hope, Seeds of Healing
"Do you even know how to grow a garden anyway? Do you even know how to grow a garden anyway?" The words echoed in my mind, sweeping over me again and again like ice-cold ocean waves. I moaned, but couldn't escape the taunting echo that grew louder each time instead of softer. Then the sound of gunshots ricocheted across my memory and I woke.
By TheaMarie Burns5 years ago in Fiction
The Journey
Jack woke in the dark to a faint green glow and muffled white lights. He turned and felt the ground until his hand clutched a flashlight and after a quick stroke across the stone room it landed on a backpack near his feet. “Check the bag” he thought. The bag contained basic supplies for a hike including canned food, energy bars, water, extra clothes and a duffel bag. He stood, shoes already on and tied, shouldered the backpack and went to the other side of the room where his parents lay asleep. “I’m leaving” he whispered. There was no reply. He turned and exited the small room into the corridors of a cavern. He made his way through the corridors passing by a small stream of water falling from the rocks. He placed a cup from his backpack under the stream and while waiting for the cup to fill ran his hand along the wall. He licked his hand attempting to find a taste or something appealing to the green fungi that grew on the rocks. There was little taste to the fungi, but the water was refreshing. He continued through the corridors to the cavern entrance where a group of people were taking roll call. “Jack Sullivan” … “Here”. After roll call the group began taking down the barrier to the entrance and exited to the outside.
By david romine5 years ago in Fiction
The Backpack
Cody Stevens had on his favorite dinosaur backpack as he waited for the bus on the first day of kindergarten, but he would never see his family again. Despite barely sleeping the night before the red-headed lad was bubbling with excitement as he raced in circles around his mother and the other parents at the school bus stop. His best friends Thad and Danny were also buzzing around like little bees with nowhere to land. They were identical twins and more than a handful for the entire neighborhood.
By Karen Bouknight5 years ago in Fiction
