Betty first saw Hell through a car window as they sped down the Interstate. Outside, the trees turned to ashen husks as the cornfields became desolate dustbowls. The sky hollowed out to an empty darkness that swallowed all the twinkling stars whole. She began crying and her mother pushed her[…]
Read moreAuthor: Keith McLachlan
A writer by early morning/later night, and a Fund Manager on the JSE during the day (running the www.smallcaps.co.za blog).
From Whence You Cannot Awake
He could not get comfortable. He wasn’t in pain, just slightly uncomfortable. The cushions were soft and the couch was spacious but he kept shifting his weight, unsuccessfully trying to find a spot where he could relax. His neck hurt and he felt fat. His shoes were too tight but[…]
Read moreAssassins in the Night
She first saw him as a fleeting shadow across the rooftops of her City. Her mark’s body crumpled quietly to the floor beside her. She hesitated ever so slightly and then she leaped lightly up the wall to chase after him, blades disappearing as quickly as they had appeared. Their[…]
Read moreWhen The Noise Fell Silent
When the noise fell silent, ten thousand satellites strained to hear it. When the noise fell silent, ten million eyes strained upwards to find some evidence or indication of hope. When the noise fell silent, ten billion lives on planet Earth looked around for something… Anything. But there was nothing.[…]
Read moreThe Shadow in the Fire
He had always been attracted to fires. It wasn’t the heat or even the flames, it was the sheer destruction that he found cathartic. Fire consumed and destroyed everything, leaving only ash behind. His mother and stepfather had been in his first fire. It was like his birth because he[…]
Read moreOut of Time
“Any last words, Captain Winkle?” his former-First Lieutenant barked as they strapped him into the cryogenic escape-pod, “Sorry, mean just Winkle. I’m the Captain of Catwalk now.” “I-I-you-this will–” he spluttered, fury overriding his fear momentarily until his former-First Lieutenant punched him. A sharp pain shot down his spine and he heard[…]
Read moreUrsla’s Longing
He first heard it when he was a child. A rusty, old tune on his mother’s old radio in their one-bedroom apartment on the fringes of the colorful Latin Quarters in Paris. He had been home alone a lot when he was very young. His mother worked in the nights.[…]
Read moreThe Cost of Immortality
It was the colorful 2050’s when they discovered the Pill and the world embraced it. Contexin Phosphorexia Dichloride Isotype IV or, as it was commonly known, “the Pill” cured everything. Well, it did not actually cure anything, but it did prevent everything. It blocked all viruses known to man, it stopped cancer[…]
Read moreThe Ghost Car
He got out of the car. It softly chimed at him, reminding him to close the door behind him. He did so and barely noticed the empty, self-driving vehicle roll away into the vast city night. “Welcome, welcome,” the man at the front door gushed, a hint of red wine[…]
Read moreBeast of Burden
The back of his throat tasted bitter and his mouth was dry. His head throbbed. He rolled over and grabbed his last cigarette, an empty bottle from last night clinking as it rolled away. The cigarette had been hidden behind his ear and was only slightly bent. Lighting the fragile[…]
Read moreThe Museum of Selfies
“Since the first caveman stuck his finger into coloured mud and smeared a stickman on his cave wall, man has desired to capture himself,” the speaker was a well-dressed gentleman walking in front of a modest crowd, “Think of the painters of yesteryear painting self-portraits as well as the portraits[…]
Read moreManufacturing Stars
There were so many lights flashing that it looked like a cosmic event. Haloes exploded over her as she walked down the red carpet-lined corridor, smiling at the flashing lights and the soft roar of fame. Hers was not a vocal fame and few opinions she shared publicly, so questions[…]
Read moreThe Sister Who Never Existed
My twin was stillborn. It is all I can think of as I hear the footsteps. One by one, they are the patter of little feet; wet on tiles across the kitchen and then slightly softer as they move up the stairs towards the bedroom. There is a soft clanking[…]
Read moreThe Benjamin Tree
“Oh, the tree comes with the apartment,” the Estate Agent mentioned waving at it as they moved through the lounge area, “The previous owner considers it part of 307’s furnishings.” The tree was small–head-height–and had a trunk that was made up of what looked like thick, gray, twirling vines that[…]
Read moreThe Waiting Room
“Does she know where she is? What is she waiting for?” asked one of the men staring intently through the one-sided glass. On the other side of the glass was a single, white room with a single bench and a single girl sitting patiently on it staring at her feet.[…]
Read moreUnintended Consequences
The laboratory was filled with buzzing and the Scientist had to shout to get his message across to the rag-tag collection of journalists, politicians and PR crew trailing behind him. “It is a mechanical, self-replicating bio-equivalent microbot!” he shouted, waving hands in all directions, “It will fill the ecological gap left[…]
Read moreCold Lights
“What gets me about the Lights is how they are silent,” he said, lying back in the snow and sighing at the beauty overhead. Above them, as it had done since the dawn of man, the magical aurora borealis danced through the Finnish night skies. Green and white light flowed[…]
Read moreThe Space Between Ages
I have published a new novel: The Space Between Ages. Find it here:
Read moreWhat You See
“What you see?” the caveman asked the other, who grunted back at him, “Yes, yes, see death. But what you real-real see?” They were standing in the mouth of a large cave down the southern part of what millions of years from now would be called Africa. Through the cavern’s[…]
Read moreFlowers of Oblivion
“I can’t save you if you don’t want to save yourself,” said the voice on the other side of the phone. The line crackled and monotonic voice softly said that there was one minute left before her money ran out. She closed her eyes and sighed. Her lips were dry and the air[…]
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