Latest Stories

actung

Insomniac

Third of three connecting stories that can also stand alone.

Insomnia ... I can’t get no sleep ... Can he who is haunted by his actions pass on such a haunting with one single final action? Total darkness, eyes open, disturbed by an unending plop ... plop ... plop ... all there is, and it is all around, an eternal mind-numbing drip that must be stopped, it needs to be stopped. Fully awake in a conscious slumber, that drip must be found and ended....Read On

Added: 15 Jan 2021 | Category: Horror | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 1,875 | Tags: sleep  

Adagio

Gold Ribbons

I remember the window of the sun. I remember the peeling paint on the picket fence. I remember when the sun never winked until noon. Then came the summer rains as a spark tore the blue and umbrellas dripping rainbows. I remember little Lord Jesus and the drummer boy. Most of all, I remember my granny's sewing box and gold ribbons of when she was a young girl.  ...Read On

Added: 15 Jan 2021 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 68 | Tags: musing  

DenimAngel

Halloween Tale

Fun times

It is a quiet fall day and Halloween is right around the corner. Halloween candy as far as the eye can see. Itty bitty candy bars and mountains of candy corn and Laffy taffy. Little ones in their Halloween costumes. Witches, ghosts, firemen, nurses, and policemen. The usual cast of characters for spooky good fun. Parents looking for things to occupy the little ones to keep them safe....Read On

Added: 11 Jan 2021 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 112 | Tags: pup  children   | 7 Comments

Adagio

The Depot

I have a make-believe teabag in my watch pocket. A crumpet off the griddle. Still warm with freshly churned butter. And I have seashells from the seashore, although there ain't no sand. But I carry my dreams in a bottle of Jack Daniels. Waiting here at the depot as the world passes me by. My ticket is punched. With a make-believe tea bag in my watch pocket.      ...Read On

Added: 11 Jan 2021 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 4.75 | Words: 67 | Tags: pipe dreams   | 3 Comments

actung

Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis:- a striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances. It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. For many, the eyes can tell a whole story on their own before even the beginnings of a word can be spoken. Eyes, they don’t lie … unless they want to and at that, they can then offer a deceptive sense of calm. A point came in the young life of a certain...Read On

Added: 10 Jan 2021 | Category: General | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 1,680 | Tags: change  

Survivor

Wake Up, Baby

Living among good Christian folks.

"Baby? You awake? Wanna date?" The car had pulled up and awakened the boy, crunching on the gravel road. It wasn't the first time. He reached under and made sure the ax was under the couch where he slept at night. Keeping it there felt safer. His mother whispered through the front door, "It's after three. You'll wake the kids."  They were always drunk. They'd leave at last. This...Read On

Added: 10 Jan 2021 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 100 | Tags: micro fiction  poverty  working class  hard times   | 4 Comments

BillySoho

Chance encounter

Series: Back to my roots

July. Seb meets an old friend and receives a phone call. Second part of five (was three)

Saturday I’m heading down the street in the direction of The Red Lion. I’m out late tonight. You know how it is, too much time spent lying in the sun knocks you out if you’re not careful. Now I’m trying to find the others, Dixie, Billy, Callum and the rest. I’ve been to The Ship and a couple of other places already and there’s no sign of them. That said, I’m feeling good. It’s a warm...Read On

Added: 08 Jan 2021 | Category: General | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 5,114 | Tags: saturday night  romance  interview  short story  

actung

Love Made Me Do It

No one can know any of what I’m about to tell, but still, I’m putting it out there. I can’t help myself, either in action or with placing dots out in the open where they can easily be connected if one were so inclined to link those dots together. Maybe I want to be caught; on some level, this must be true. If I am caught then I’m sure that’ll be that, I’ll be toast... Brown bread, either at...Read On

Added: 06 Jan 2021 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 1,686 | Tags: life  death  

Adagio

Dust Motes

This is how I come to love the dark in writing. Without a map. Now comprised of Trappists and interesting people. From my bookshop's Rolodex. It started with a fascination. Then withdrawing from my insomnia while stroking my black cat. Now I am living in the dark aware of my proclivities to steep my tea with a bit of truth. There is honesty in the dark when a shadow is my muse. It started...Read On

Added: 06 Jan 2021 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 116 | Tags: writing   | 3 Comments

actung

Same Day Round

Nicole's coughing woke Nigel and Ian. It was half seven in the morning and in a way, it was just as well that the three friends were awake. The owner of the shop doorway they had been sleeping in would be arriving soon to open for about eight and he has a severe dislike of the idea that his premises are being used in the manner that the three waking friends are using it. The coughing...Read On

Added: 04 Jan 2021 | Category: General | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 2,119 | Tags: repeat    

BillySoho

Back To My Roots

Series: Back to my roots

Heading home for the summer, under a cloud. The first of five linked stories (was three).

Wednesday So that’s it. The journey into wonderland is over as soon as it started. I’m sitting on the train, looking out of the window at the fields passing. It’s a beautiful evening in June and the sky is blue and cloudless. It’ll be getting dark soon and I’m making the most of it before it does. There’s still a fair amount of the journey home to go. I’m sipping from a cold can of...Read On

Added: 04 Jan 2021 | Category: General | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 5,185 | Tags: short story  diary entry  summer  

AnnaMayZing

The Long Road Home. Chapter 27

“Where are you going?” he asked abruptly. “Berlin,” Katarina replied.

Dresden, February 13 th 1945   Katarina and Maria seemed to be waiting for a long time for a tram that they were beginning to think, wasn't coming. Furthermore, they seemed to be the only ones waiting. The sky was devoid of clouds, and the stars twinkled and glimmered brightly in the dark, night sky. It would have been a beautiful scene was it not for the cold that seemed...Read On

Added: 31 Dec 2020 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 3,674 | Tags: dresden  ww2  history   | 3 Comments

actung

Watergate Park

A very odd encounter ...

During the latter half of 1989 and on into the early months of 1990 some of the local football fields in the town of Watergate along with the river which flowed alongside, were given a makeover and transformed into a public park with lakes, a geezer and so on and this park opened to the public early in the summer of 1990. Across the street where Jennifer Langton lives in this park and...Read On

Added: 31 Dec 2020 | Category: General | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,259 | Tags: odd  encounter   | 1 Comment

Adagio

Gross My Verbs

Gross of my verbs like hump-back crows. Dark my philosophy of thundering words, through the soot of Rotterdam. Like the twilight with the mange. Regurgitating my sins with Ouija's omens. Listening to lords of my gothic Parchisi. Rolling the dice of my iniquity. In the hedgerows of my immortality over the paling dells of gobshites. Removing the hearts of stone. Swallowing death of defiled...Read On

Added: 28 Dec 2020 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 89 | Tags: macabre  dark   | 1 Comment

actung

The Swan

I saw something one night. Could it be what it appeared to be?

Strange things do happen and more often than not they tend to happen to me. This is the telling of the kind of thing that does happen. Went into the bar of a nearby hotel one evening, met up with a few of the lads, had a few drinks, and watched the televised football. It was late in the year, quite nippy outside but after having a few pints it always doesn't seem to be quite as cold as...Read On

Added: 28 Dec 2020 | Category: General | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,139 | Tags: oddness  swan   | 1 Comment

Rumple_deWriter

A Winter's Day

this crap isn't helping my self-esteem one damn bit, she thought in a burst of bitter self-pity

The weak light from a leaden sky revealed a scattering of forlorn leaves clinging to the dark, wet limbs of trees bordering a deserted playground and half-empty parking lot. Cold, misty rain and swirling winds hastened the inevitable outcome of this doomed struggle.  A typical winter's day in New York, thought, Gwen Kaplan, as she took in the scene from inside her snug bedroom. To her,...Read On

Added: 27 Dec 2020 | Category: General | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 2,951 | Tags: love  story  dope  tears  goldfish  shirt  omega   | 7 Comments

actung

The Light

From the far side of the street, Nathan could see that the living room light of his apartment was on, but when he had left for work it had been quite bright so he knew that he had not accidentally left it on. He entered the estate grounds after keying in the security code to the pedestrian gate and watched as that apartment light went out before he could even get to the steps that lead up to...Read On

Added: 26 Dec 2020 | Category: General | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 1,004 | Tags: light     | 2 Comments

Lev821

Room 15

A metal detector finds the key to a room in an abandoned hotel. Should it be investigated?

As the wind carved its way swiftly across the sand and rocks of the Wirral side of the River Dee, seagulls tried desperately to maintain some sort of stability as they circled in the air, and a few dogs that were out still played and jumped around as though not affected. One of those dogs, ‘Baron’, a three-year-old border-collie sniffed around the rocks and pebbles for nothing in particular,...Read On

Added: 26 Dec 2020 | Category: Mystery | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 1,548 | Tags: short story  horror  fiction  mystery  hotel  beach  treasure  

Adagio

Charlie

I remember. "Get Wildroot Cream-Oil, Charlie." To slick back my hair, in a duck style. It was the rage, as cooties slipped in the grease. I remember my mom's bonnet hat pins. I remember Little Lulu in the comic strips. What happened to the ashtrays in cars? I remember fried chicken on Sundays after Church. I remember my little puppy dog. I remember playing Red Rover with my friends. Where...Read On

Added: 22 Dec 2020 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 85 | Tags: musing  memories   | 3 Comments

The_Count

Yes, the cats play

I wrote this in response to a friend that was trying to extol the virtues of being a dog owner. "Cats don't play as dogs do," he informed me. "Yes, they do. You just have to understand the game," I respond. Our little ragdoll female loves to play and her favorite game is "Where's the kitty." The game starts when I go into the basement to start a load of laundry. As I'm sorting the clothes...Read On

Added: 21 Dec 2020 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 217 | Tags: basement  hiding  calling  answering   | 6 Comments

Survivor

She Never Forgot

Kindness is learned at any age

Added: 14 Dec 2020 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 100 | Tags: micro fiction  dogs  lessons  kindness   | 7 Comments

Beesting online

Year End Bash [S2] – A Fuel Story

Series: Stories of the Fuel Speedway

As the end of the year approaches, the F-X racers look to finish off at the top...

13th of December – Season 2  Growing up with a legendary racing father, Beatrix Honeycomb had learnt how to tell the difference between having skill and having talent. In fact, it was this ability that made her realize that no matter how much she knew about motorsport, she was not destined to be a driver like her father. Fortunately, she'd figured this out by the age of 18 so that by...Read On

Added: 13 Dec 2020 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 2,469 | Tags: manipulation  blackmail  celebration  holidays  racing  motorsports  soap opera  

Adagio

No More Lum 'n Abner

I lost my youth when the radio died. No more Lum 'n Abner, sponsored by Frigidaire. I miss the static. Where have all the furrows gone, when planting potatoes? Now just a wrinkle in memories, buried in rows.  Where has the sawmill gone that cut the lumber? Now but a gate with peeling paint and a rusted hinge. But I remember Tom Sawyer. No more milk in glass bottles.  Where are the strings...Read On

Added: 12 Dec 2020 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 117 | Tags: musing  philosophical   | 5 Comments

redwriter

A Runner

Young runner finds that there is more to ability than just winning or losing

“One day, you’re going to thank God you’ve got that speed, lad.” Those were the words of old Jack Linley to eighteen-year-old Danny Friar after the young man had run a solo one hundred metres trial on grass. While Danny, in his running gear, and spiked trainers, looked on anxiously, from a distance. the old man showed the time on his stopwatch to his two back-up trainers Vic Tanner, and...Read On

Added: 11 Dec 2020 | Category: General | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 4,989 | Tags: speed  croaking  training  sprinting  rescue   | 7 Comments

KatarinaTechgoddess

When I'm Alone

I hate when he travels...

Little things see me through the times when I’m alone. I slip on your t-shirt and inhale the faint scent of your cologne. Silly, I suppose, but it helps. I hug my pillow and hold on to the thought that you won’t be gone forever. The grandfather clock chimes half-past eleven. That cursed time difference always messes with my head! Should you have already called? Or am I fretting over nothing? ...Read On

Added: 10 Dec 2020 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 99 | Tags: loneliness  longing  timezone   | 10 Comments

Adagio

The Bridge

Crossing the bridge of embers burned. Where have all my ghosts gone? On a night painted with snow. So silently my mind drifts to when we were but young lovers. Spanning memories of our lagoon, when we were like dolphins. So in love. Where has the calliope of music gone?  On the midway of our love's blessings. Crossing the bridge of embers burned.     ...Read On

Added: 10 Dec 2020 | Category: Musings | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 63 | Tags: musing  philosophical  love   | 1 Comment

VikaJ93

Blame It On Hank

They sat in a silence so solid it had assumed the status of a third party. Her shoulder was to him, face pressed against the car's side window. He tried to think of something to say. But he failed and instead hit the radio button. It was the Country Gold station. Hank Williams was singing 'Your Cheatin' Heart'. So he said, "did you know that Hank Williams was only twenty-nine when he died?"...Read On

Added: 07 Dec 2020 | Category: Micro Fiction | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 81 | Tags: relationship  communication  silence  country   | 5 Comments

Beesting online

Fuel Season 2: Episode 14 – Never Say Die

Series: Stories of the Fuel Speedway

With their rivalry over, both Mandla and King Kloof must deal with the consequences of the rebellion

14th of December – Season 2 MANDLA What have I done?  That was the thought going through Mandla Xulu's mind as he made his way through the parking lot of the Fuel Speedway which was littered with trash. It was the work of the protesters, that much was obvious. While Mandla was thankful that the security had managed to get rid of the rowdy ones before they did something they...Read On

Added: 06 Dec 2020 | Category: Drama | Avg Score: 0 | Words: 2,072 | Tags: daddy issues  politics  resilience  rebellion  racing  motorsports  soap opera  

Adagio

Who I Am

Above all else, I am a kind heart beneath the exterior of my conservative attire. I lusted in my heart for Budweiser and chips. I majored in "goofing off" stretching my parent's purses. At an Ivy League school where I was, the square peg in a world of Shinola shined shoes. It became the age of seasoning as papa sprinkled salt on my theatrics as I waisted his dime. I joined the Marine...Read On

Added: 05 Dec 2020 | Category: Memoirs | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 355 | Tags: profile   | 6 Comments

MikeStone

The Spirit of the Bayonet Fighter

“What is the spirit of the bayonet fighter? To kill, to kill, with cold, cold steel”

  Back in 1961, I heard on the radio that Kennedy had sent 500 US Special Forces and military advisors to a place called Vietnam. I was just starting high school at the time. It was the first time I remember hearing about that country. We also had a war going on in the Korean peninsula. Things were pretty tense with the Cold War between NATO and the Warsaw Pact countries. Kennedy and...Read On

Added: 03 Dec 2020 | Category: Memoirs | Avg Score: 5 | Words: 4,199 | Tags: army  bct  ait  fortcampbell  kentucky  fortbliss  texas   | 1 Comment