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Latest Stories

March 19, 2024
Fantasy Stories Wondering Monk

Just My Imagination

The alarm clock went off and started playing an awful tune. Tom opened his eyes and closed them back, squinting. He reopened one eye and stood up to stop the torture. The phone was on the desk, in the furthest spot from the bed. Although he changed his way of…
March 19, 2024
Science Fiction Stories Ocelotlzin

Earth Is Dead

Recording… It doesn't matter who I was; I probably lived a long time ago, and I am now just a voice someone added to the audio-visual records. What is essential is the recollection of events that lead to the current state. So, a little history needs to be…
March 08, 2024
Flash Fiction Benoit

Some Enchanted Evening

It was a rugby tackle with tears: Chrissy burst in, sobbing and babbling, hugging James. Her face was all wet, eyes wild. What…? My parents split up, Dad has moved in with his boyfriend and I cannot join them. I am shut out. I have lost my dad. Torrent of…
March 08, 2024
Horror Stories Marvel Chukwudi Pephel

In The Hands Of My Legs

The car pulled up in front of the large salon. The neon sign, that sexy broad thing, on the salon'sroof read "Mr. Gil's All-night Salon". The exhaust pipe of the car was pumping solid smoke, theswirls moving from the car and towards the salon.…
March 07, 2024
Mystery Stories Vanessa Leigh Giles

Casualty of Love in the Time of Coronavirus

Chapter 1 Until Death do us Part ‘Ring, ring!’. I answered the telephone and asked, “Hello, good evening. Who’s this? “Hello.” This is Dr. Smith from Red Cross hospital. “Is this Mr. Locke, John?”, he asked, hesitantly scratching his bald head. “Yes, doctor.…
March 07, 2024
Crime Stories Robert Pook

Bar Room Trigger

Another return journey on footpaths so familiar. He strides across each crack in each paving stone. Regular loose drain covers sidestepped. Mapping long ago mapped in Richard’s desolate mind. His pace hastened by the sight of the oncoming storm. Quickening…
March 04, 2024
Horror Stories Ano Chinemerem

Sanctity

Where should I begin? I could begin by telling you about this comely boy, whom every notable person around the streets agrees his smile could charm the bills off one. Between one smile, there was his goodness, his dreams and humanity—a little far ahead?— but…
March 04, 2024
Flash Fiction Emanuel Diaz

Et Mortui Partium

As Rafael stepped out into the rain, it wasn't the ordinary drops that fell from the sky. Instead, it was a storm of souls, each one taking the form of shimmering jewelry as it cascaded toward the ground. Rubies, diamonds, and sapphires twinkled amidst the…
February 29, 2024
Poetry Jing Li Ava

London

‘Am I in London?’ "I am." Where is Elizabeth? Happy living story All of your chapter Bounlance joy Please my heart Power hand Wise mind Our baby Vow vow Love all love Miss I miss Endless wonder Bring us together Love all love Miss I miss For everything My…
February 29, 2024
Flash Fiction Rob Pook

Life Sentence of The Smith

Born nine months after his country won the World Cup.A child prodigy.Cast off at age twenty-four.Husband, father, emigree, away on the other side of the world.The blue-collar life.The dreams of success.The search for fulfillment.The long years of empty…
February 29, 2024
Mystery Stories Joshua Lowther

The Operator

Jason looked over to his right, his eyes barely able to focus themselves on the subject of his attention. His neck ached terribly from the strenuous movement. He was tired. The captain’s gaze came to rest on the rookie sonar operator sitting tense at his…
February 29, 2024
Flash Fiction Salvatore Difalco

The Chute

At dusk, we left our unit with a soft pink bundle. I carried it through the wet streets and into the black woods. I said I’d take it all the way, the bundle, but that we had to drop it in together. My wife’s green eyes flashed. “Don’t make me do that.” I…

The gas lamp rose and fell as his arm swung back and forth. He carried a garden fork in his other hand. It was the only thing he could think to bring.

The moon hung low over the fields. The stalks of the linseed rustled in the breeze.

He moved into the woods, and held the lamp out in front of him.

To his right, an oak tree creaked.

He walked on down the slope, meandering carefully between the branches, trying not to stumble as he went. He paused, and looked around. The lamp gave off a slight hiss, but there was little else to be heard. He sniffed. He was sure he could smell it.

He turned the lamp off, and threw it on the ground. It wasn’t helping anymore.

Now he could hear. It was faint, but there was a soft buzzing in the air.

With his fork held out in front and his legs feeling each step in the dark, he carried on down the hill until the trees ended and he reached the next field.

The buzzing wasn’t too far away. He plunged the fork into the ground, and let it settle. Then, delicately, he ran his fingers across the surface of the wooden handle, feeling the fine vibrations. He listened carefully to the distant sound, turning his head from side to side to locate the right point. He sniffed again. There it was.

He untied his shoes and put them on the ground. Then he pulled off his socks and threw them into the mud, letting his feet wallow in the damp earth.

With a flash of excitement, he ran. He shot across the field, his feet whipping against the long grass. He threw his arms behind him and let his coat slide away. He stared at the moon, just above the horizon.

He almost tripped as he tried to pull off his sweater and t-shirt, but he stayed upright and threw them to the side.

Eventually he slowed down to a gentle jog, then stopped at the edge of a gully. He removed his jeans and his underwear, and left his watch with them in a heap. As bare as the sky above, he climbed down into the gully and stood in a stream in the middle.

The buzzing was intense here, but it had no obvious source. It seemed like the air itself was humming away.

He looked to the stars immediately above him. The buzzing grew louder. He could feel the vibrations shaking through his flesh, and growing ever stronger.

There was a brief flash.

He was gone.

Scattered across the field, his clothes shifted slightly as the wind blew past them.

Where he had stood, all that was left was just his outer layer of flesh, lying in a bedraggled pile on the ground where it had been shed.

Somewhere, far above the field, he travelled on.

End

Bio: J S Villiers grew up in Wiltshire, UK. In 2005 he graduated from Cardiff University with a degree in biotechnology. In 2007 he moved to France with no money and no plan, and with help from some friends managed to get a job as a teaching assistant in Nantes, where he stayed for eight months. Since then he's tried various jobs, but writing has always been the most exciting. He now lives in south west England with his wife and a small but rather charming cat. His first novel, "Welcome To Chaos", is available from Amazon.

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