(5 minute read) by Archibald Hobbs (Australia) I ceased mumbling to myself the moment the large, red dog careened down the side street and hurtled across the busy road. I looked for an owner in fevered pursuit – and listened for feverish voices – but neither came. Without debate, I resolved to follow the Labrador …
Tag: story
A Dozen Bastard Voids
(20 minute read) by Max Talley (U.S.A) Alan Pearson surveyed the mist rising off the sea. He scanned the narrow strip of beach that curved around Whale Cove and heard the concussion of waves against monolithic offshore rocks. No sign of the lurking stranger yet. This place had been his dream for years while he …
And in the end…
(9 minute read) by Whitney Reinhart (U.S.A) Russell R. Russell spent his life preparing to survive the apocalypse. Orwell, Huxley, Kirkman and, occasionally, King and Koontz were his prophets. He studied, memorized their works, the way others studied the Bible or the Quran. He daydreamed about surviving the zombie hordes à la Rick Grimes in …
The Smirk
(4 minute read) by Sunil Sharma (India) He remembered the smirk!As he woke up, the first thing that came to mind was the grin seen years ago, in an unlikely place! Waking up, Suresh recalled the beastly encounter. It came suddenly, some dim corner of a mind becoming alert. He went back ten years to …
The Only Language She Didn’t Understand
(12 minute read) by Robert Kibble (U.K) I can still see her eyes. So black. So deep. The bouncer looks at me, seeing my short hair, my pale skin, my tailored suit, and he lets me in. I look the part. I don’t feel the part, though. I have to stop shaking. I feel the …
Jonah Wins the Game
(6 minute read) by Linda McMullen (U.S.A) Jonah – community college dropout and fourth-most-senior associate at the big-box store – slid three quarters into the vending machine. He flashed through several possibilities: He could get George a Coke. Jonah’s derelict better angel supported this option. George operated from a constant caffeine deficit due to his …
Hide and Seek
(5 minute read) by Archibald Hobbs (Australia) “Welcome back to Good Morning Sunshine,” the handsome man intoned, direct to camera. “It’s the top of the hour and we have a very special guest with a story you won’t believe.” “It really is unbelievable!” the female co-host exclaimed. “Truly unbelievable.” “Should we just get into it?” …
The Changelings
(20 minute read) by Hilary Griffin Platts (U.K) Chapter 1 Pandora sat up with a start, her pulse was pounding at a rate of knots and she felt so dizzy that she immediately fell back into a supine position and stared at the familiar mark on the ceiling. She felt absolutely exhausted, despite having slept …
The Children
(15 minute read) by J. Azoulay (U.K) “What?” “Pardon.” “What?” “Pardon.” Tom repeated, smiling briefly. “You’re always telling the children to say ‘pardon’, not ‘what’.” Hester looked at him steadily over the antique table she had rubbed and rubbed until it glowed like a jewel. No-one was allowed to eat off it – they used …
On Barren Sands
(1 minute read) by Lee Wright (U.K) We were in the Coin-Op Launderette, with no change for the dryer. I looked in my pocket, but all I had was an old photograph of me as a boy, riding a donkey on Blackpool beach. I am wearing a He-Man t-shirt and a pudding bowl haircut. My …
