Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Fiction.
Holmesburg
"Hey, You dropped this!" Mick yelled out, running toward Persephone with a tiny heart-shaped locket dangling from his hand. "Oh my God!!! I would have never made it back through these walls without my Pop with me.", Persephone said with the biggest smile beaming from her face. Since the day she had broken into the old prison, once she realized what was happening, she swore that the only reason they were all still alive was because of that little locket. Her two boys had given it to her on the first Christmas after she had lost her father. It meant the world to her and she felt it gave her some sort of protection since the day the world seemed to flip upside down. After all, at a time like this, you have to believe in something or you'll never make it.
By Sharon Smith5 years ago in Fiction
Where You Go, I Go
As Temperance walked down the path she kept an eye out for any signs regarding the safety zone. She had been alone for nearly two weeks, making her way through what once was the bustling city of Cleveland, Ohio. Though, buildings remained and remnants of homes still stood, the setting was an eerie silence. She had not seen any other survivors since the last air raid. She grasped the heart shaped locket that hung heavy around her neck.
By Samantha Highben5 years ago in Fiction
Split from Utopia
“No!” Naipotu shrieked in horror as Kashmir’s hands slipped from her grasp and she went hurling into the abyss. “Kashmir! Kashmir!” She yelled frantically but she could no longer see or hear her wife. They shared telepathic energy and were able to sense each other but she could no longer feel her either. Naipotu felt nothing but emptiness. She looked around, her vision still slightly blurry from the debris ridden sky. The sky that was once a vibrant pinkish orange, now appeared to be dark purple.
By Toi McMullen5 years ago in Fiction
The Harvest's Words
Downtowns smelled like a wet dog whenever it rained. And that made the bars smell like kill-shelters. They were the best shopping places for a while, if you could stand the scent. Saturday nights at Bad Dad’s, that was my spot. I’d seen enough TV before the plague to know that I couldn’t shop every week, or even every month. I spaced it out to twelve or thirteen times a year. I made my stores last.
By Matt Keating5 years ago in Fiction
Red Strike
The year is 3020. My name is Zen and I have been living underground for five years. I certainly would be dead if I had not been rescued and dragged to a secret bunker. Walking over one hundred miles through swamps and rocky terrain, my handmade aluminum suit provided me with enough coverage to be completely undetectable by eliminating all revealing signals of my location and vital signs transmitted by a single micro-chip embedded into my brain. After the anti-cell phone movement in 2075, the government needed a reliable tracking system, as many people refused to be connected to a network and went off the grid. The practice of micro chipping at birth was aggressively passed into law, however, this was the least of our worries. There were explosive and volatile riots that took place all over the country and many of us died fighting to stop it. The new order military task force introduced itself by stepping in and used sophisticated and destructive weaponry on us that made every other weapon of existence known to mankind look like child’s play. They were able to overpower us and gain control very easily. Most of my family died in these riots. I lost almost everything.
By Aria Bella5 years ago in Fiction
THE SEA-HEART
From the Diary of Princess Mercia… We are Aquatitans; Aquarius is our home. The land of this Sixth Earth is a scorched plain by a burning sun; or an arctic demise due to a devastating winter. The skies are alight with electricity or smog; and are prone to hunting forces. The sky and land of Sixth Earth have constantly given themselves away to war. None can exist on Sixth Earth by day during ¾ of the year; or night OR day during the Tundra. Land dwellers have been driven underground and only technology, and an insatiable appetite for conquest, can continue to save the dwellers of the sky. Aquarius is our safe harbor and the only haven that Sixth Earth has left. In our strength, we Aquatitans keep it that way; and in our wisdom, we do not use our strength to intercede in affairs beyond our own. Sixth Earth’s demise was due to former generations; and THESE Earth-dwellers would live beneath the ground rather than clean up what is around them. As for the Skylanders, they are bitter, cold, and would not advance a conflict if they were not surrounded in the technology to make it worthwhile. Our place is in the sea; my father has always told me so. To even enter a scorching Earth could lead to great sickness for me; or lead to a misunderstanding that my walking the land would mean that my people have chosen a side. If I had listened with a diplomat’s brain and not my youthful heart, I would not have lost the Aquatitans’ Heart, our greatest treasure; and a presumed token of alliance should it be returned…
By Kent Brindley5 years ago in Fiction
a memory of when
It’s high noon. He awakens in a fit of mucus-filled coughs. Old bones vibrate beneath skin stretched taut as rawhide. A mind weary from two and seventy trips around the sun slowly sputters to life. The air is tart, puckered. Heat peeks through the walls, no structure insufficiently membranous to keep it at bay.
By Alex Bragan5 years ago in Fiction
The Locket and the Revolution
As the rain pounded on the metal roofs of the shacks in the ghetto, Princess Hadria sat alone in her room, which was larger than any house in the worst part of the most decrepit little town. She had been there for months on end, unable to even look out the window without risking her life. The window, which was now covered by thick wood planks, overlooked what used to be a beautiful garden that she and her older sister, Alex, would play in together. Hadria stood up and glanced at a picture of her that rested in a frame on her nightstand. As she saw the locket around her sister’s neck, she fingered it and felt the necklace rub against her skin. The locket was made of 24 karat gold, and was engraved with the initials A.S., the initials of the first child of every Szombathy generation. Inside, two blurred monochrome pictures of the founders of Ambrosia could be seen. Hadria looked in awe as she saw how much her great-great-great grandmother resembled Alex, down to the tiniest of details. That one moment brought her back to a time when everything was different, when hardly even a year ago, Ambrosia was a thriving nation.
By Allison Bockus5 years ago in Fiction
Blight
I've always hated it here. The idea that there was once a lush, beautiful world, now resulted into barren wasteland. Humanity huddled together in domes, like ants hiding from the sun in the desert. My Grandmother told of a time before the domes, before the collapse of mankind. When you were free to travel, free to see what this planet had to offer. Now we all play some part to hold on to Humanity. The Order tells us all our places in these domes, and like ants we follow and obey. Maybe because we trust them or maybe because we fear what happens when we don't. The fear of being exiled into the wasteland, us in the lower levels call it "The Blight," because it seems like a place forsaken by God. God, funny The Order says we are his chosen people, and he saved us. Honestly I never felt that way, even before the factories took my parents' life in what The Order called "an accident." Something never sat right with me on that statement, would it have been an accident if it was The Order who lost their loved ones. My Grandmother took me in, and told me the tales of her childhood before her parents decided to head into The Blight and spread the word of Nirvana. Nirvana a land where there were trees, waterfalls, animals by the flocks, and stars in the sky. To me it always sounded like a fairy tale until The Order sent people to take my grandmother away for telling the people of the lower level of Nirvana and exiled her. I've haven't seen her since. She didn't fight back, she just smiled and said, "My life has been long and beautiful, for you to fear the truth is a mistake that the world will forgive one day. All I can say is Azo my love, do not seek vengeance, they know not what they do, seek love and forgiveness." Those were her last words as she was drugged out of our home. This was 1 month ago give or take, the nights run together, I've lost track. The sky over these lands are always filled with smoke and smog, it's hard to tell the difference between day and night. Nana said Nirvana is still there waiting for us and gave me her heart shaped locket. She said if anything happened to her it would be the key to our home. Home, that word makes me sick, sick of trying to find peace in this life. Those words still echo in my dreams, "Seek love and Forgiveness." Why would she say that, they took her from me? Why should I forgive them for taking away my home? Why should I care what happens to this cesspool? Those words echo every time I'm upset. July 11th, 2115. I woke today to the same sounds of the machines we in the lower level are told to maintain. I haven't been to work since they took her, the people here blame her teachings for the harsher work. Everyone, but Niko, she's been my friend since birth. She lost her parents in the accident too, so she stayed with us and truly believed in Nirvana. My Grandmother loved her too and told me never to leave her side and I quote, "In life the divine put a person on earth for all of us and our souls were destined to be one." Look I don't know about that but I swore before they took my Grandmother I'd protect Niko with my last breath. That's my oath and I will keep it if it's the last thing I do on this forsaken planet. Since my grandmother was taken I couldn't shake the feeling The Order was trying to cover something up. They hide behind masks and only speak through enforced laws and public announcements, so why would they go out of their way for my Grandmother. I can't shake the idea that she was onto something. So today I'm gonna tell Niko that I want to investigate and find out what is truly going on in this corrupt place. Why are they so afraid of people knowing of Nirvana if it's just a story? "Hey Niko, can we talk?" I called her from her room down the hall. I had been practicing what I was gonna say all night. Niko came to my room dressed in some of my old clothes, even though I've told her 100 times to stay out of my closet. "What Azo? Do you know how early it is?" Niko questions as she tries to wake up. I tell her, "I've been thinking of Nana's stories, and I remember Ma and Pa telling me how she wasn't from this dome." Niko interrupts, "Well yeah but there's 12 other domes in this sector, The Order called us the 13 Stars of Bethlehem, so she could have come from one of the others." It was a pet peeve of mine to be interrupted while I was in the middle of a thought, and Niko knew that so she laughed as she interrupted me. I said, " Niko, I need you to pay attention and be quiet for 2 minutes so I can explain myself, ok?" She agreed and I continued, "Niko she wasn't born in Babylon, this nation of the last of humanity. She always told us of Nirvana and would describe it the same way she described where she was born. What if it is a real place?" Niko stood in shock as she said, " This is surprising coming from you, I never thought you believed her stories, especially when she spoke of Nirvana." This time all I could say was, "I didn't, until they took her for preaching about it, and then she gave me this locket and told me it was a key to our home." Niko took the locket from me and tried to open it. "Niko I tried but it looks like it needs some sort of liquid to activate it prior to opening it but I tried everything I could get my hands on but no luck." I told her. Niko noticed numbers carved into the back of the locket. She asked, "Hey what are these numbers, they say 27.8297°, 99.7008° and it looks like an N and E." I never noticed until now, let's just say my vision wasn't the best. "Niko, good eye but I'm not really sure but this locket is crazy old so maybe we can find something in the rubble of Nana's room." I say as I grab her hand and we go to search Nana boxes. We searched for hours and couldn't find where the numbers were from. Niko said, "Hey Azo I'm getting hungry and I know you want to search but they took everything but this book about Asia? Whatever that means." Well I didn't know what to do then I remembered that the only person my Nana could truly talk to about the old world was Old Man Eek, he was the owner of the Food and Niknak store up the street from our housing unit. "Hey Niko I think I have an idea to fix both of our issues, let's go visit Old Man Eek." Niko smiled and we headed out to his shop. We ran because we didn't want The Order's Enforcers to question us about where we were heading and why we were heading there. We arrived and knew that he'd be in his office this time of the day so we snuck in through the side door down the alley. By the time we got to his office he was waiting. I asked, "Mr. Eek, how did you know we were coming?" He laughed and said, "Oh young ones, we old people know the will of the youth and I felt you needed me… Haha, just kidding kids, I have cameras all over my building!" Old Man Eek was a peculiar but wise man and Nana trusted him like a brother. "So what can I do for my two favorite kids?" he asked, Niko immediately asked for cereal, while I wanted to prioritize the numbers. "We'll Niko hun you are more than welcome to a bowl of cereal but Azo those numbers should not be said too loudly." Mr. Eek urged. Niko ran to the kitchen and I sat at Mr. Eek's desk. "Now Azo I know you miss your Nana but going around talking about stuff from the Old world is dangerous and you know the Enforcers already have a mark on you from your Nana's preachings." he starts to explain. "Well that's why I wanted to find out what's so bad about some stories being told to us on the lower level, and what does this locket have to do with Nirvana." I ask. Old Man Eek looked at me in confusion and asked, "What locket? Be honest, where did you hear those numbers?" I immediately gave him the locket and showed him the numbers. He looked at it, quietly, for 2 to 3 minutes, then he went into his desk and pulled out a weird gizmo. "Hey, Mr. Eek, what's that thing?" I asked, and just blew off the dust, then started to press the numbered buttons on the device. "Look Azo, these are longitude and latitude numbers. They are directions to a small Asian city that was foretold to be the gateway to a place of life and nature. I believe this is the coordinates to Nirvana. I'm gonna print out a map to it, but you must promise to tell no one. You must leave into The Blight and find this place. Your Grandmother said that the water from the springs could cure The Blight and save the world," Old Man Eek said with a serious look on his face. "Woah, are you telling me those stories were true?" I questioned in disbelief. Honestly that's when everything started making sense, but why would The Order be against that? "Look legend tells that only someone with the blood of some from Nirvana can access and collect from the springs. I believe she gave this locket to you because she knows you can cure this land." Old Man Eek said. "I have 1 question, why would The Order be so against saving the world then?" I ask, he replied, "Young Azo, they don't expand and try to fix things because it's all about control. when you have all of humanity under your thumb, freedom undermines your power." I wasn't confused, I think I always knew they weren't for the betterment of us all, they only cared about themselves, it felt like a sense of vindication. I told him, "Honestly I knew something wasn't right here, I knew they were against us when they took Nana, and it was her will to save this place, I'll do it. Even if it's just to spite those bastards at the top." Niko came back in with a mouth full of cereal and asked, "So where to next Azo?" So care free, it was almost adorable. All of a sudden we hear the announcement siren so we look out the window. An alert sounded for all Enforcers to find me and exile me like Nana. Niko dropped her cereal onto the table and grabbed my hand. She looked at me and said, "We will be together here or in The Blight, no matter what." "Mr. Eek I am sorry to bring this to your home but I need that paper. Also can we have 2 of those nutrient travel bags you have." I asked, he smiled, gave us 2 bags, and he said, "You 2 will save the world, so you can have whatever you can carry. Once you 2 are set, take the cellar door in the back room." I couldn't thank him enough but we ran to The Blight with hope of a better future.
By Azrael Magnus5 years ago in Fiction
Eat, Prey, Love
Today we had to eat Chuck. I’m not bothered by it – he was kind of a rude guy anyway – but it is a bit of a concern. Eating members of your own tribe never sits well, regardless of how much they’re disliked. Unfortunately, when there’s a shortage of food, the menu has to be… extended.
By J. R. Lowe5 years ago in Fiction
