Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Fiction.
The Top Five Reasons Your Date Was A Disaster
1. You That’s right. You. Because you went ahead and joined a dating site for the first time, knowing full well that you’ve spent years telling your friends how much better it is to meet people in person — through work, clubs, classes, bars. But you did it. You did it because you needed to face the fact that this theory has been failing you. Everyone you meet at work or in bars seems to be uninterested or taken. And clubs and classes are just no longer something that is in your life. Maybe you needed a more direct approach.
By Owen Schaefer5 years ago in Fiction
Unfixable
She says, “I’m pregnant.” He had been working in the garage, cleaning the drawers of his toolbox. Wrenches and drill bits and a hammer that had been his uncle’s, given to him on the day his father passed away, lay around him, caked in the dust of the far back corner of the garage where his toolbox has sat, unattended, for months. Maybe years. But yesterday, when the handle of the silverware drawer had become just a little too loose he had decided to fix it, and so found himself faced with the task of finding the appropriate tool within the mess of this box. But, while the drawer handle in the kitchen remained just slightly loose, he had set out on the journey to clean out and reorganize the box. And it is at the point that he has reached the far back corner of the bottom section and rubbed out the last little oily spot that she says, “I’m pregnant”. He pauses, first looking at his warped reflection in the polished chrome handle and then up at her. The glow of the yellow garage light casts pale shadows across her face. He searches her eyes for a clue as to what his reaction is supposed to be and comes up blank.
By Megan Clancy5 years ago in Fiction
Free to Roam
Collin stares out at the sea, transfixed by the transition taking place before him. Half of what he can see is stormy, choppy, and clear of ships, while the other is still bright and various ships crowd the view as they race to shore. Over them, blue skies dotted with wispy clouds beckon safety. One cloud looks like a sailed ship, following the fleet inland. He watches as it passes behind the distant lighthouse, unsurprised as the storm front reaches him with the first wind-born raindrops. His attention turns to the black clouds gathering above him, with lightning flashing miles off and booming thunder drawing near. Beside him, his hosts' horse begins to show signs of distress.
By Megan Baker (Left Vocal in 2023)5 years ago in Fiction
The Waterfall. Runner-Up in Reset Your Password Challenge.
“Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to this week’s broadcast of Keeping the Peas. I’m Paul and this is Phyllis.” “Thanks, Paul,” Phyliss said. They occupied one of the radio studios of CHMR at Memorial University of Newfoundland. “You know, I’m proud of Keeping the Peas. We’re all about voices, both worldwide and right here in Newfoundland and Labrador."
By Matthew Daniels5 years ago in Fiction
JACK OF DIAMONDS
PART TWO THE PROMISE OF A NEW DAY Chap 5 - Pt 1 (BUT IN A PRINCELY HOME THERE SITS...) Marlborough was the smallest of the six Manor houses located in what the locals were now calling Chumley Glen; it boasted eighteen bedrooms. It was what one might label the senior representative of the six; the arbiter of local history. It’s own colourful history went back to 1705, and the house had been through as many renovations as it had owners. Some claimed it was haunted, others that the walls were simply too tight. It hosted all the major celebrities of Europe through its colourful history: Handel, Mendelssohn, Litz; Christopher Wren, Isaac Newton, Edmund Halley; Pope, Defoe, Swift—the anecdotal tales about the house had gone through as many incarnations as it had renovations.
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Fiction
The End Begins At The Edge Of The World
The long daylight hours had slipped away from the world into what Ødger was sure to be a short, cold night. Ødger eyed the Knarr sailing well ahead of his own as the wind rushed into their sails and blew salty air through his thick beard. He gripped his gloved hands tighter on the hilt of his sword, squinting against the sea spray, trying not to lose the dim light of the ship ahead sinking into the darkness.
By Eloise Robertson 5 years ago in Fiction
JACK OF DIAMONDS
Chap4 - Pt2 (ARE SEETHING FOR CONTENTION...) ii The roads were a boggy mess. Niles was grateful to have taken the Triumph rather than using Charlie’s Austin under the circumstances. There were times he’d had to get off the bike and push it out of the mud, reminding himself of his time at the Front serving as a motorcycle courier. It had been much the same as this on a good night, he told himself. He couldn’t imagine what the trip out would’ve been like in the Austin. He hoped the doctor wouldn’t have any troubles. The man was far too old and frail to be pushing his auto out of the mud. Still, the night was clear, and any threat of the rain they’d been having for the past three days was blown out to sea by a calm wind coming up from the south. A waning moon hung above the horizon, lighting his way as if it was a dull street lamp lost in the distance. The soft light enabled him to see and avoid the larger puddles and potholes, and he wondered how long it would take the current government to deliver on their promise of an extensive roadway connecting all of England. It was a project that would literally be years in development, and would cost millions, but a cost well worth it, he thought.
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Fiction
HIGH WATCH
The fighting atop Highcliff was over . The heroes had won a great victory by surprising the Tarnakian Army in their own slave encampment. The prize for victory was more than to win a plot of land for humanity; to ambush the Tarnakian savages at their own camp had liberated the slaves as well.
By Kent Brindley5 years ago in Fiction
Widow's Walk
Holly led me up the stairs to the widow’s walk on top of her house. It was our place to get away… or at least as far away as a pair of ninth graders were going to get. We liked to come up to the little structure built on top of the old house to sit. We would hold hands, sometimes kiss… knowing any moment her father or her mother could climb the steps and see us.
By L. Lane Bailey5 years ago in Fiction
JACK OF DIAMONDS
CHAP 4 - PT 1 (ARE SEETHING FOR CONTENTION...) i Nigel Bannister looked up from the picture he was drawing, watching the hallway closely; he could still hear the echo of the door slamming downstairs. He had the lights dimmed somewhat, thinking there was no need having all the lights on, not with everyone at the fair. It was the major reason he’d volunteered to stay behind and answer whatever calls might come in—knowing there’d be none because of the fair. It gave him a chance to study the police procedurals he’d neglected for far too long. He wasn’t planning on spending the rest of his career in the middle of Devon. He had his mind set on London. The only way he’d be noticed was if he were to make a name for himself, and the only way for him to do that, was to understand the newest breakthroughs in law enforcement. But he was easily distracted and soon found himself drawing another picture--a face in the crowd as he liked to call it.
By ben woestenburg5 years ago in Fiction
What I've Become
Fear is defined as an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that something or someone is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. Courage is acting not in the absence of fear, but in spite of it. So why is it that I can feel so courageous in the face of almost anything, but when it comes to how I’m feeling and thinking, I run away with my tail between my legs?
By Megan Stewart5 years ago in Fiction
