Latest Stories

Rebellious_Soul

Divine Descent Ch 3

If life is a game, it's obvious I'm losing.

Fatima pov Fatima it seemed had no choice in the matter as she was carried out of the trail. Why isn't she fighting back, why not scream and thrash and see if anyone would come. Except no one would come, people would rather avoid conflict and pretend it doesn't exist right in front of their faces rather than intervene. Plus four to one was certainly not a fair ratio and seeing where this...Read On

Added: 13 Nov 2019 | Category: Fantasy | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 2,033 | Tags: home  roommates  alone  

bigfishybob

Musical Differences

The Bee Flats. They'd come up with the name in Paul's dingy basement flat, which always smelled dank and foisty no matter how many Glade Plug-ins Paul threw at it. Jacko always felt a little ill the day after he'd spent time at Paul's, the damp air permeating his already overworked alveoli. The copious amount of weed they smoked obviously didn't help matters. They were proud of the name as...Read On

Added: 13 Nov 2019 | Category: Flash Fiction | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 325 | Tags: whatever  challenge  flash  

Sherzahd

Scattering Apart

Jin looked out over the city from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings in Seoul, it was a breath-taking sight. And he hated it. He hated the crowds. He hated the busyness. He hated the noise. He hated the tall buildings. ‘Skyscraper’, such a simple, yet symbolic word – to scrape the sky. Is that our way of letting God know that we’re here and we’re trying our best to touch Him? Or...Read On

Added: 12 Nov 2019 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 3,191 | Tags: love  life  loss   | 7 Comments

bigfishybob

The Break

They had planned it as the holiday of a lifetime, but Jen had known all along that it was her final attempt to save their marriage. She'd had very little help from Alex, as usual, other than a few affirmative nods and grunts over his evening bottle of Scotch. Now here they were in San Francisco, in a lovely boutique hotel with a balcony and a magnificent view of the bay. It had cost and arm...Read On

Added: 12 Nov 2019 | Category: Thriller | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,321 | Tags: relationships  thriller  

bigfishybob

The Return

It was much more isolated than he'd imagined. He'd pictured the cemetery by a church. Near a town. Near  something . Not this - just a cemetery, in a forest, with nothing - and no-one - around. The darkness didn't help, or the creeping fog. Despite this, and despite the pervasive atmosphere on impeding doom he felt, he quickly found the grave. A shiver ran through him as he read the epitaph....Read On

Added: 11 Nov 2019 | Category: Flash Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 430 | Tags: horror  supernatural  ghost story   | 4 Comments

Survivor

Remembrance Challenge: Camp Funston

They also served

In March 1918, some of the first recorded American cases of what became a worldwide influenza epidemic, also known as "Spanish flu", were reported at Camp Funston. The 1918 influenza pandemic, usually set as January 1918 up to December 1920, was an unusually deadly flu epidemic. It infected 500 million people around the world. Probably 50 million, and possibly as high as 100 million...Read On

Added: 11 Nov 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 805 | Tags: musings  camp funston  fort riley  spanish flu  world war i   | 10 Comments

redwriter

Remembrance Challenge: Lest We Forget

Thoughts at a memorial

On Ploegsteert memorial in Belgium, no faces show. Only names carved on slabs Along curved walls of the imposing colonnade Impressive, the stone lions that guard. Eleven thousand names of the multi-ranked Casualties of war, who share this dubious banner NO KNOWN GRAVE. Consider these lives snatched into oblivion Ripped out of all existence, Yet, three kilometres north lies Ypres ...Read On

Added: 09 Nov 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 98 | Tags: memorial  ypres  grave  remembrance   | 7 Comments

rune

Scorpion Grass

Time may past ...

  His dark sleep-deprived tired eyes were focused looking on a bunch of beautiful blooming little flowers. The flowers are small, measuring 6mm. in width. Each radially symmetrical bloom has a fused corolla that opens into five rounded lobes. The flower is powder-blue with a conspicuous, bright yellow center. Flowers are arranged in tightly coiled, rounded clusters that unfurl as the...Read On

Added: 08 Nov 2019 | Category: Flash Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 356 | Tags: thinking  rune  zhelourielle   | 4 Comments

gypsy

Remembrance Challenge - Remembrance is a Living Thing

Souviens-Toi/Remember

Added: 08 Nov 2019 | Category: Memoirs | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 831 | Tags: remembrance   | 6 Comments

Ping

Remembrance Challenge: World At Peace

The fight for peace is refreshed with every new life...

“It reminds me of triage.” “This is much better.” Both waited on the other side as they quietly watched the nurse tend to the swaddled newborns. They both felt it - the calm before the storm. It was coming and there was little left to say. “I haven’t heard that word in years, not since Juno. They couldn't on that exposed beach. It was life or... ” “I’m sorry.” “Don’t apologize, dear....Read On

Added: 06 Nov 2019 | Category: Flash Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 203 | Tags: wwii  juno beach  war widow  peace keeping  life-goes-on   | 5 Comments

redwriter

Wishing for Home Chapter Five Getting There

An unexpected visitor gives Danny new hope

The next morning, over the cold porridge breakfast, no mention was made about the use of the belt. Not expecting any, Danny was subdued but not suppressed. Anger and resentment still burned inside him. He couldn’t bear to look at Albin Flint, half expecting to see a self-satisfied look on that sour face. As he entered the kitchen on his way out to school, Eliza Flint said coolly, “You know...Read On

Added: 06 Nov 2019 | Category: General | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 4,053 | Tags: sobbing  visitor  hope  despairing     | 4 Comments

AnnaMayZing

Remembrance Challenge: Remembrance

No-one noticed the lone, white-haired gentleman sitting on a nearby bench with sadness in his eyes.

Sunday morning, cold, damp and miserable. The dark rain-clouds which had, less than an hour previously, let fall a deluge of freezing rain upon the fields and hills surrounding the small Pennine village, were beginning to break. Their stark edges becoming wisps of pale grey. For the men and women who had gathered around the well-kept war memorial, the weather was a mere inconvenience....Read On

Added: 04 Nov 2019 | Category: Flash Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 985 | Tags: memories  forgiveness   | 10 Comments

Survivor

Never Forget the Good Times

The pup has the memory of an elephant

Ding Dong! The doorbell rings. Opening the door. "Trick or treat!" Out the door goes the pup. Romping about with visitors.   Each one gets the same. Handing out goodies. Asking each one what they are. Really! Oh, perfect! "Get back in, Victor." And they are off on their way. Now he's standing up on his hind feet. What's this! He's trick or treating. Good boy. You get a treat. ...Read On

Added: 04 Nov 2019 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 100 | Tags: micro fiction   | 6 Comments

redwriter

Wishing for Home Chapter Four Rebellion and Result

Danny flaunts the Flint's restrictions

Danny Rogan slumped disconsolately on the edge of his bed. Just one more punishment. And for what? Lingering too long at the farm enjoying the sight of a newborn calf. Things were just getting worse and worse in this awful cottage. Being brave was one thing. No matter what his mother and father expected of him, being home was the only thing. He gazed out of the bay window to where the...Read On

Added: 02 Nov 2019 | Category: General | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 3,715 | Tags: callous  tears  pebbles  forbidden   | 3 Comments

AnnaMayZing

The Long Road Home. Chapter 12

“Il Treno,” she said, using up most of her knowledge of Italian. “Where is it?”

Brenner. December 15 th 1943   For the first time in many months, Katarina and Maria found that they had a little time to relax. The Army began to dismantle the compound, beginning with the damaged huts at the far end. The first two huts remained in use. One for accommodation and storage, the other for minor injuries and ailments. As the time to depart approached, the two...Read On

Added: 30 Oct 2019 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 3,219 | Tags: history  nurses  ww2   | 4 Comments

Rumple_deWriter

Listening In The Rain

The cold winter rain told a sad story, and I was listening.

Listening In The Rain I'm a good listener; always have been. Especially here inside the cemetery—just sitting in my truck, listening to the rain, hearing it tell the story, and waiting for Holly. We don’t have nice winter weather around here, just cold and rainy. The only thing it’s good for is hunting, especially for deer. But I don't hunt—not anymore. Winter became my favorite season...Read On

Added: 30 Oct 2019 | Category: Supernatural | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 820 | Tags: flash  romance  drama  hunting  cemetary   | 11 Comments

The_Count

Crossing Over?

This is a true story.

I cannot recall if I ever related this story on here as I couldn't find it. So with Halloween right around the corner, I feel compelled to tell it. This incident occurred sometime in the late-'70s when haunted houses had become the in thing for many organizations to help fund their other projects, I think that the Jaycees were among the first to discover it. I joined one of the local...Read On

Added: 27 Oct 2019 | Category: Humor | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 746 | Tags: dracula  costume  makeup  appearences  voice  mirror   | 2 Comments

FrustratedSpeaker

Desire of the Samurai Chapter 3

Added: 27 Oct 2019 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 1,397 | Tags: marriage  desire  descendants of samurai  

Adagio

Stained A Little

She was my best friend. As dear to me as a shadow. A shadow named Granny who visited me on occasions, when I was sad and lonely. She was small in stature but big in heart. But often she cried when I was down with the blues. Yet! She was no one's fool. She knew the words she spoke sounded as if she were country folk. But she was humble as pumpkin pie out of season. Raising a family on...Read On

Added: 26 Oct 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 142 | Tags: memories   | 2 Comments

maryruth

Minutes

A few minutes Sixty seconds times three Moments in time  Just for me To feel and believe To know and own Moments in time  Sixty seconds times three To share All my own  All for me...Read On

Added: 26 Oct 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 36 | Tags: minutes time   | 5 Comments

Adagio

Ain't Average

I wasn't average. I was told that I had the intelligence of an eraser. Dale Earnhardt was my hero.  I was born with a deformity that caused my knuckles to drag the ground and I craved bananas. Later on, in life, I had a bit-part in a Tarzan movie that was filmed in Terre Haute, Indiana. Granny wasn't too keen on crossing the Mason and Dixie line to do it.  I won a can of Alpo dog food for...Read On

Added: 24 Oct 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 394 | Tags: mussings   | 1 Comment

Adagio

Dear Grandson

Dear Grandson: While I am here in detox (prison) help your grandpa with the still and don't let him blow things up. If you can, scraped up enough money to get his dentures out of hock. If there is any leftover change, get him a gift card for a new tattoo. Perhaps " the dancing monkeys" like I have on my buttocks.   Just remember that I love you, even though you were dropped from an anvil on...Read On

Added: 22 Oct 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 214 | Tags: humor   | 2 Comments

Survivor

Trick or Treat

Spiders do what they have to do

Nimble digits completed the act. The victim was trundled up and preserved for what was to come. Wrapped up in the webs of woe. For the prey. Not for the spider. This was her life. Her reason to be.  Miss Peckinstaff gazed out her parlor window at the dim courtyard behind her brownstone residence on the Lower Eastside. It was delightful to watch the arachnid complete the chore under the...Read On

Added: 19 Oct 2019 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 100 | Tags: micro fiction  horror  halloween  trick or treat  spiders   | 9 Comments

Wordpusher715

Dating, Daughters, and Dads

Oh, yes. I remember drawing myself up as tall as possible and leaning over slightly to peer into his rebellious, anti-parent smirking eyes. I said, "I need to know the color of your eyes for the police report plus I need your parent's phone number just in case my little girl is different when you bring her home." The boy and I connected, for sure…and I knew my daughter would be safe on...Read On

Added: 19 Oct 2019 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 100 | Tags: teen dating  dads  memories   | 7 Comments

Adagio

Some Kind

I remember the days of September, so many dreams ago. When the winds began to whistle and the leaves turned brown, before touching the ground. Then grandpa making them mulch for the winter garden of some kind of peas.  It was actually a zephyr. But in my mind it was "The Little Engine That Could," steaming down a railroad track, burning wood, as I heard granny in the kitchen boiling...Read On

Added: 18 Oct 2019 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 136 | Tags: musings   | 1 Comment

redwriter

Wishing for Home Chapter Three Troubles grow

Danny sees no way out

For Danny, it seemed that since his mother’s letter about being unable to visit for a while, the Flints’ attitude towards him had hardened. Albin Flint, in particular, became more involved, and not in a good way. Danny was sure that the man had declared his own personal war on him. Threats were constant. Flint was frequently warning Danny about staying away from the woods. Tempting as...Read On

Added: 17 Oct 2019 | Category: General | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,883 | Tags: threats  cupboard  songs  punishment   | 3 Comments

Sherzahd

Harmless Fun

A micro-challenge given to me by a friend...

Added: 17 Oct 2019 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 4.93 | Words: 99 | Tags: haunted   | 10 Comments

Lev821

Five simple questions

Five simple questions can release the insane back into society. Do they walk amongst you?

My name is Dominic Melvyn, and I am a criminal psychologist. Today, I am at a criminal medical institution where of five patients I was scheduled to meet, I have seen three of them. All the inmates are, I suppose insane. They are in here for their own good, kept away from society as they pose a danger. I am helping in their reformation, pointing them in the right direction until they are able...Read On

Added: 16 Oct 2019 | Category: Horror | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,062 | Tags: short story  horror  fiction   | 1 Comment

chippihc

Ghost

A Halloween photo prompt

It's an old house of history and antiques with a Jane Austin and Bram Stoker feel to it. A bed and breakfast, I could not pass up. It's like a movie in black and white, aged like a fine wine, the creaking floors and the whistling wind are an ambiance to appreciate. I never imagined I would be here alone, nor for a robbery I am not hurt and they are long gone. I am under a sheet looking much...Read On

Added: 14 Oct 2019 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 99 | Tags: ghost  halloween  micro  prompt  spooky   | 2 Comments

AnnaMayZing

The Long Road Home. Chapter 11.

“Are we in trouble, Maria?” Katarina asked quietly...

Rome. November 28 th 1943   As the sun began to set, Katarina and Maria continued with the task of ensuring that the patients were ready for the big move the following day. According to their orders, ambulances would be provided at first light ready to begin the transfer to the railhead where two hospital trains would be waiting to take them on the long journey back to Germany....Read On

Added: 13 Oct 2019 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 3,372 | Tags: history  ww2  nurses   | 4 Comments