Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Fiction.
Antihuman
I ate Venkh’s nerve cluster as he watched. It didn’t matter, he had several of them. But still, it was a blow to his pride. Inevitable, however, for hunting so freely in my territory. The ecstatic feeling of his computational lattice assimilating into my system was enough to keep me from shredding him into his base components. Feeling generous, I let him limp away. The loss of a core would be punishment enough, his growth had been stalled for perhaps a year. If a rival of his stature were to surpass him as he was, the balance of power would no doubt change.
By Donovan Bottini5 years ago in Fiction
Mountain Pass Pines Asylum
When I come to, all I can feel is pain radiating from the base of my skull. I reach my hand back and inspect it. Touching a knot of hair and dried blood, my eyes flutter as a new wave of anguish spreads through my head and down my spine.
By S. M. Risdon5 years ago in Fiction
Doggone
Entry 1 A dog barked. I crossed the rooftop in its direction, stepping over detritus that stirred lightly in the breeze and walking in a diagonal so I could look down different streets until I found the animal among the piles of refuse and corpses that lined the street. The bullets in my pocket clinked against each other as I lifted the sniper rifle, keeping my head as low as I could, and peered through the scope.
By Sarah Shea5 years ago in Fiction
New Beginnings
Looking down at the almost pristine cityscape. To him, the view evoked both triumph and despair, the first because of what was and the second for what was no longer. If you squinted, it was like it had never happened. All the lines were crisp and the missing windows. Well, they were just the clever design of architects putting personality into their creation.
By Alex Kozlowski5 years ago in Fiction
The Train to Freedom
Standing at the ocean’s edge felt like standing at the edge of the world. Hanna imagined the high density buildings and city lights falling behind her, with the moonlit ocean becoming her only reality. The onshore wind kissed her face. Only four spins of the lighthouse’s beacon, then I am free, she thought to herself. Hanna instinctively reached for the letter in her pocket, unfolding the crinkled paper. She brushed her finger across ink to see if she could feel Mia’s voice in the smudged letters.
By Mary Hampton5 years ago in Fiction
The Pact
I saw my first dragon when I was fifteen. Thomas stopped at the memory and allowed himself a second of joy. The great serpent perched on the Sears Tower like some wayward parade float. He laughed at the recollection before shaking it away and turning back to the page before him, his fingers gripping the pen tighter.
By Frank Geier5 years ago in Fiction
Dymphna
Dymphna always knew that this day would come. Mam had prepared her for it as long as she could remember. One day, the soldiers would come and Mam would be taken away. Dymphna had now lived ten winters. Ten years of hiding. Ten years of sleeping in the same bed as Mam so that a warm bed would not give her away. Ten years of eating from the same plate lest the soldiers come and find two dirty plates.
By margie dahl5 years ago in Fiction
Hypocalypse
The bell’s tolling was supposed to usher in the apocalypse. At least, that’s what they’d decided. The statue at the top of the hill loomed high over the ground, in clear sight for miles. It did nothing but watch over the land, but many thought it to bring prosperity to the world. The soil all over was rich and crops grew in abundance. Water was plentiful and lush green covered everything in grass and forests.
By Bree Frankel5 years ago in Fiction
The Queen of Constellations
One of my favorite creative escapes from reality is playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends. A commonplace necessity for building a character is to give them some interesting or tragic backstory that you can grow from and for the DM (Dungeon Master: individual who guides the game) to pull from and incorporate into their overarching storyline.
By Zoe Bullard5 years ago in Fiction
