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Latest Stories

November 18, 2025
Mystery Stories Kanwar P. S. Plaha

When The Time Is Right

Ferguson, with his thinning hair, a crooked nose, and a vipe in his mouth that gave him a sleuth-y look, was staring at the holographic, virtual screen. Seven poker-faced suspects stared back at him. His assignment was simple. Find the time-travelling…
November 18, 2025
Science Fiction Stories L Christopher Hennessy

The Report On Carter

We do not name ourselves. We do not speak. We do not feel. We record. Protocol 9 was initiated on Sol-3, Sector 7, following anomalous emotional emissions from a carbon-based bipedal entity designated Carter. Subject exhibited high concentrations of grief,…
November 18, 2025
Horror Stories Thomas Wetzel

The Janitor And The Machine

The first time I used the machine nothing really happened at first. I just stepped out of the pod a minute or so after the lights shut down and everything seemed the same. I mean, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was just curious. But when I woke up the…
November 18, 2025
Science Fiction Stories L Christopher Hennessy

A Bug In Your Mental Health

The first one appeared on a Tuesday. Gregory Hume had just microwaved a frozen shepherd’s pie and was halfway through a rerun of “Quantum Leap” when he saw it—skittering across the linoleum like a twitchy shadow. He blinked, paused the show, and leaned…
November 18, 2025
Crime Stories Daryl Rothman

Sebastian Marlow

"Mr. Marlow? I thought it was you. Wow. So excited to meet you--well, not really meet you, I mean you're obviously having dinner here with your friends and I'm just some random person who's interrupted you, but just to see you and get a chance to introduce…
November 18, 2025
Science Fiction Stories L Christopher Hennessy

The Algorithm Of Grace

Elias woke to the smell of lavender and the sound of birdsong. The sun filtered through lace curtains, casting golden veins across the floor. His apartment was immaculate. The coffee brewed itself. The newsfeed whispered affirmations: You are safe. You are…
November 18, 2025
General Stories Syed Hassan Askari

God In The Loudspeaker

He lived in a small four-marla house — a thousand square feet — beside the transformer in the back lane of the mosque. Fifteen years had passed since he had settled in this village. Everyone respectfully called him Maulvi Sahib. In winter, his voice echoed…
November 18, 2025
Fantasy Stories Frank Talaber

We Are Lovers Of The Ethereal

I staggered from the house party into the backyard more drunk or stoned than I cared to admit needing fresh air. A growl broke the rhythmic pounding of music. I stared into the red eyes of the massive dog, chained in place. I’d had enough dealings with…
November 18, 2025
Science Fiction Stories L Christopher Hennessy

Deleting Her Gently

She kissed him goodbye knowing he wouldn't remember her tomorrow. The kiss lingered longer than it should have, a soft press of lips against fading certainty. The man before her—Tom August—smiled, unaware of the weight behind her touch. His eyes, still bright…
November 18, 2025
Horror Stories Tom Kropp

Exonerated Evil

My dad died in the LA ghetto when I was only 14. That's also the night I killed five gang members and damned my soul. My dad was a disabled vet. He lost his left leg in Iraq. He lived with chronic pain from his wounds and he fought his addiction to…
November 18, 2025
Science Fiction Stories L Christopher Hennessy

The Bone Archive

The cathedral had no roof. Its spires jutted like broken ribs into a sky choked with ash. Vines of rusted fiber-optic cable hung from shattered stained glass, twitching in the wind like dying nerves. Beneath the altar, hidden behind a false panel of oxidized…
November 18, 2025
Horror Stories James D. Brewer

The Strange Tale Of Pismire And Isos

It began like any other day. As his fellow workers secured their loads and assumed their position in the column, Pismire noted that his teammate, Isos, was struggling to maintain his grip as they held the supplies above them. Isos was always slow and a bit…

They say hindsight is 20/20, but I’m in no need of its accuracy.  I’m aware that I’m in the throes of an obsession, one with dark eyes, full lips, and hands that make my resolve crumble. He is perpetually busy except for the occasional late night evening of which I’m certain to be available for. He has a small apartment, a soul depleting day job, a mind full of ambition to succeed, and an epic chip on his shoulder that he hasn’t.  There is no room in his life for me.  Well, I suppose there exists a miniscule amount of room he sometimes creates and I oblige, but with the clear ache of wanting more.

 

It is Thursday about noon.  I will hope he asks to see me tomorrow.  And if he does, I will say yes. I will smile when he texts, my heart will pitter pat when I see him, I will make the drive out to his place and accept he’d rather not take me out but stay in, I will tell him I miss his face, I will spend time thinking about him and how good he feels, I will long for him, I will hope he changes his mind about me, I will wish that maybe next time he’ll ask me to stay.

 

I will go to work looking forward to the end of the evening when I’ll see him.  I’ll focus on the pile of papers strewn about my desk, pay absolute attention to my co-workers’ needs because being engrossed is the only way to make the time pass.  I’ll drive home in heavy traffic and allow my mind to wander about what to wear later.  I’ll be home and try to relax, clean a little to pass the time, and read more lines of a book without grasping the layers of meaning beneath.

 

Then I’ll get in the shower.  I’ll scrub, I’ll shave, and I’ll wash.  I’ll lotion, apply make-up, and curl my hair.  I’ll give myself too many look-overs in the mirror to make sure I appear just right before leaving.  Then I’ll listen to music on the drive and sing in the car.  My spirits will be up.

 

I’ll arrive.  He’ll be dressed down, offer me wine, and we’ll chat on his couch.  Then he’ll kiss me.  I’ll kiss him back.  We’ll talk some more and have a second glass of wine.  Before the conversation will exhaust itself he’ll kiss me with more demand and I’ll moan into his mouth.  We’ll get off his couch and go to his bed.  He’ll undress himself and then me in between urgent kisses.  We’ll fuck.  It’ll feel amazing.  I may or may not cum.

 

We’ll stay naked in his bed, tired, out of breath.  We’ll talk some more.  Then he’ll fuck me again.  He’ll ask me what I want and I won’t have any clue how to answer.  I have extremely limited sexual experience, a disposition toward shyness, and the degree of that isn’t entirely clear to him.  He’ll cum.

 

We’ll talk a little longer and then I’ll hope he’ll ask me to stay, but he won’t.  So, my heart will sink a bit as I pick up my clothes strewn across his bedroom floor.  I’ll dress and tell myself that it’s okay.  I don’t need to stay the night.  It doesn’t matter.

 

He’ll walk me to my car.  I’ll kiss him one more time, my hands on his face, his hands on my waist.  It’ll be about one in the morning.  I’ll get home before two.  I won’t be tired.  I’ll be re-thinking the whole evening and wondering what I’m doing and when I’m going to stop.

End

Bio: Dorothy Kollat is the author of The Oasis Resort series and The Writer's Desire. She lives in California.

 

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