“Michael, can I have my pen back?” the lady politely asked, her hand outstretched. Her pointed, polished nails blood-red against her pale skin. The room paused. The air-con was cool in here and, if you really listened, you could hear it breathing through the hidden ceiling fans like some ethereal[…]
Read moreCategory: General Fiction
A miscellaneous collection of general writing, stories and flash fiction pieces.
The Passage of Virtue
“Well met, brother,” a dull, blue-eyed man says as he squats down by the fire, a drink in his hand, “What have we learnt?” Barbarians are screaming around them. Somewhere a woman is climaxing loudly, and the fire is chasing its sparks up into the twinkling cosmos, ever-watching and eternal.[…]
Read moreA Sleepless Fog
I wish I could recall the detail. Any detail, really. But, all too soon, the darkness shuffles and I am alone again. I stand up, grab a smoke from next to my bed and light it. The world pauses while I inhale and she leaves. The door clicks as she[…]
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 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 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 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 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 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[…]
Read moreField of Corpses
The air had a honey-glow to it as the dry dirt permeated his nose. In the distance, the Sun was setting as half-pregnant clouds drifted teasingly by him. “We need rain, ” he said, dejectedly chewing the tip of a blade of wheat, “We need rain or we are not[…]
Read moreAnother Name for Life
She raised her eyes to the mirror and saw the mascara running down her cheeks. For some reason, it made her smile. It might have been the wine or the day’s events, but she was done crying and ready to move on. However brief that future may be. She walked[…]
Read moreSilverwood
Silverwood slept peacefully while the countryside burnt. It was not her fire. It was not her countryside either. Anyway, the villagers had always thrown stones at her when they saw her. She slept peacefully and awoke to the sound of the troll groaning. She had forgotten to water him! She[…]
Read moreTim’s Demons & Other Friends
When humans evolved and got superpowers, not everyone got a cool power. Of course, there were the super-strong people, the super-fast, super-tough and those that could fly, teleport or read minds or throw fireballs, or pretty much do anything cool. Then there were the uncool or odd powers. Some people could[…]
Read moreThe Conversation
“How did you think it was going to end?” “I–I don’t know, I thought maybe–” “Well, it ended badly.” A silence hangs between the two for a moment. The first speaker is dressed in black with few other details that stick in your mind. Even your eyes tend to wander[…]
Read moreThe Barrenness of Parties
“Isn’t this wild?” “I’m well, and you? You want a drink?” “Great, yes, why don’t we have a shooter as well?” “Great idea! I’m dying–” “Hey! Hey, sorry, dude, can we get a round of tequila? Yes, yes. Yes. Thanks!” “Uh, yes, isn’t this wild?” *** “No. No, I can’t[…]
Read moreMixed Signals
He smiled at her and she smiled back, but then the tide of students between classes carried her away. He would spend the whole of the next couple periods before close daydreaming about her. They were in different grades and shared no classes, so she may as well have been[…]
Read moreThe Mouth in the Wall
“Psst! Hey! Sweet, little child, if you give me that loaf of bread you’re holding, then I’ll give you a chocolate cake,” a small voice suddenly whispered into his ear. He jumped up from where he had been crouching. Turning around, he saw a small mouth in the wall he[…]
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