-The best stories on the web-
Read or link to over 1000 stories listed under Stories to the left.
Submit your short stories for review as a Word document attached to an email to: Read@Short-Story.Me

Latest Stories

July 08, 2025
General Stories Michael Barlett

Dance Of Death

CHAPTER ONE 1940 Chief Inspector Kenneth Langford offered the Commissioner a crisp salute, and then walked back through the labyrinth of passageways to his own small office. Langford was a member of the London Metropolitan Police, commonly referred to as…
July 08, 2025
Poetry Markus J

The Winter Blues

the winter blues has a grip on me, all so tight Its icy tentacles wrap around me and squeezes freezing my fingers and toes with its nasty frostbite staving off the cold is a battle, an endless fight it brings forth an assortment of nasty diseases The winter…
July 08, 2025
Horror Stories Sushma R Doshi

Deliverer Of Messages

A loner in my childhood, my scrawny and weak figure prone to being bullied by sturdy and robust boys, I tended to wander around places frequented by few. Those curvy roads which fell into darkness after evening without street lights, the area near the pond…
July 08, 2025
General Stories L Christopher Hennessy

With A Side-Eye I Cherish

for Brittany ma amour Up to my neck in sadness for something just out of reach and she came along and fired up my life with kisses and the physical. The moment I looked into her eyes I didn't want to share her with anyone else and keep her all to myself. In…
July 03, 2025
Poetry Markus J

The Days Of Future Dreams

the days of future dreams the flames once rose high thinking our lives would end up supreme thinking our future seemed a far of dream but in the end nothing is what it seems many times the winds of changed has blown this way one minute we`re lapping the cream…
July 03, 2025
General Stories L Christopher Hennessy

Bad Girl

Part 1I lost the entire manuscript when I assassinated my laptop with sauvignon blanc as I rubbed the lower back of a woman who dozed drunk on my bed, sweating. She was crazed, somewhere between screaming and lying about the orgasm. Bree was a miracle to me,…
July 03, 2025
Horror Stories Nelly Shulman

Black Is Our Colour

“I swear she could have been you. Look! This girl is your long-lost twin.” Fi nudged me, and I smiled. “Never had or wanted one.” I stood up. “Let’s go, or the bargain hunters will clear the shelves before us.” We dived into the vintage emporium across the…
July 03, 2025
Poetry Markus J

The Transformation

"I need a brake" words that twisted my heart- shattering the dream that we would never part. I asked myself 'what ever did I do wrong? sad, gloominess could`ve easily been my song. I wouldn't let the anger and misery grow or cultivate- uprising feelings I…
July 03, 2025
Flash Fiction Benoit

Jae

It was Jae’s birthday today. She turned eight. What a beautiful sunny girl! Hyo planned a surprise or two; Li, his wife, did too. Birthday cake, a puppy and … Don’t forget, they grinned just before he drove off. Traffic was intense. A long call came from…
July 03, 2025
General Stories Matias Travieso-Diaz

Fear

Leandro stood outside the Kroger, leaning forward as he shivered in the early March dawn. He hated this moment: the cold, the fatigue, the feeling of helplessness, the anticipation of another day ahead at his degrading job picking collard leaves under the…
July 03, 2025
Horror Stories Mihko Askiweno

Found You

Panic gripped her as she staggered up the steep, rocky incline, breath coming in jagged, shallow gasps. Sweat streamed down her face in torrents, her hair clinging to her forehead and cheeks in disheveled clumps. Her legs trembled with exhaustion, molten fire…
July 03, 2025
Poetry Markus J

Lost On The Path

But alas; sometimes I think we've lost our way- too many strayed opinions...one too many a survey. Walking on the road ahead, just following the herd of sheep- with a hypnotised mind, wide awake yet very fast asleep. While yelling...join the team of the…

“How long did you think I would wait?” Alice restlessly examined the bar’s dimly lit parking lot, each frame burning into her mind.

“It’s only been ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes is a long time for us, Sam.”

"There was a lot of traffic.” Sam opened the door of her old Toyota.

“Traffic? It’s three in the morning. It’s too early for traffic.”

“It was a joke. Learn how to take one sometime? Anyways, I’m here now so let’s just do what we need to do.”

“But what are we even doing? You don’t know anything and I don’t know anything and all of this is - ”

“Dammit Alice! You need to calm down,” Sam huffed as she walked towards the white Range Rover. She knocked on the trunk and waited for Alice to open the door.

“Alice are you there?”

“Sorry, it’s open.”

“Can you get into the car now, please? What are you doing outside anyways?”

“I wanted fresh air. I got nauseous.”

“That’s not possible.”

“But I was.”

“Then turn on the AC.” Sam shut the door and walked to the passenger seat.

“You want me to drive?”

“Is that a problem for you?”

“I told you I feel nauseous.” Alice gripped the handle of her car, “but I guess I can drive.”

“Just make a decision.”

“Can you drive?” Sam sighed as she made her way towards the driver seat. She opened the door and watched Alice trudge along through the wide windows.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps pierced the silent night. Sam hopped into the driver seat and attempted to rush Alice inside.

“Hey you! Girl in the pink skirt!” A man yelled from the across the parking lot.

“Shit, Sam! I think he saw me! What do I do?”

“Okay, uh, try to relax. He’s probably just another creep who’s looking for someone to escort him through the night.”

The man teetered towards Alice then slumped against the car.

“Oh two pretty ladies. Hello there!” The drunk man waved grandly to Sam. “Aw why do you two look so serious? Let’s have some fun! Come back to the bar with me, come on! I’ll show you a great time.”

“We’re actually on our way home right now,” Sam spoke up. “This little lady had her fair share of drinks already.” Alice crookedly smiled.

“Suit yourself then.” The man approached Alice and the smell of hard liquor engulfed the two. “Just be careful because there are tons of creeps out there at this hour.” Then the man turned around and staggered back into the bar, singing an unidentifiable tune.

“Well that was interesting.” Sam waited for Alice to get into her seat.

“That’s not funny. What if he remembers my face?”

“It was a joke.”

“I know, but it wasn’t funny,” Alice stirred in her seat. “And it definitely wasn’t interesting.”

“You’re right. How can anything be more interesting than what you did tonight, anyways.”

“Don’t say it like that. It wasn’t all me.”

“You were always like this, you know?”

“You were there too, Sam,” Alice quaked.

“Ever since the third grade, you were like this.”

“Like what?”

“You were always seeking adventure. Always looking for the nicest places to visit, the newest trips to take, the biggest challenges to overcome. Now you’re faced with your biggest challenge yet and you don’t want to figure out a solution? You don’t want to overcome this? This is what you wanted. Adventure, right?”

“What are you even saying? I never wanted it like this.”

“Well we’re here now.” Alice rubbed her palms anxiously. “And there are only so many options, Alice. You can either tell someone or we can leave.”

“It wasn’t all me.” Sam started the car.

“Let’s just decide on the road. We’ve been here way too long and that creep basically called us out. Who knows who could have seen.”

“Sam it wasn’t all me.”

“Yes, I heard you the first time.”

“Then acknowledge what I said!” Alice clenched her fists.

Silence filled the air. Only the sound of the car’s steady humming and Alice’s heavy breathing comforted the silent night.

“Look, I’m just trying to fix this,” Sam sighed as she pulled out the car keys and laid them on her lap.

“By blaming me? I have a lot to lose, Sam.”

“You say that yet you’re the one sulking while I’m the one trying to get you out of this.”

Alice stared up at the lampposts. “I don’t know if that’s what I want, Sam. I don’t know if I want to get out of this anymore.”

“What is that supposed to mean? You just said you have a lot to lose. What are you gonna do? You’re just going to give it all up?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“You never do. You always leave a mess then rely on others to clean it up for you.”

“Just stop it. I don’t want to argue anymore.”

“Someone had to tell you.”

Alice slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and began to open the door. “I’m getting nauseous.”

“I didn’t know that these grew out here during the springtime”

“What?”

“That tree, I think it’s called a Manchineel”

“A Manchi-what?”

“Manchineel. They’re known for their death apples, but it’s so weird. I remember reading about them. They only grow during the winter. Why is there one here?”

“How would I know, stop worrying about the tree. I’m getting nauseous.”

“How are you nauseous?”

“I can smell it.”

“I told you that’s not possible. Just get back in the car. Who knows how many people have seen by now.”

“Why isn’t it possible?”

“Because it’s only been three hours.”

“I just need some fresh air.”

“You already got fresh air, Alice. We really need to go.”

“I’ll just be a minute. I need something to drink, too.” Alice opened the door and slammed it shut, leaving Sam impatiently waiting for her return.

Sam watched Alice’s retreating figure under the fluorescent lighting of the bar’s parking lot. She watched her disappear into the western style double doors then slumped into her seat. The bar had been blasting old country music and the sound of laughter trapped Sam as she sat by herself in the all too spacious Range Rover. She fell deeper and deeper into her seat then pressed her knees to her face.

Twenty minutes elapsed and Alice was still nowhere to be seen.

“God where is she?” Getting impatient, Sam hastily got out of the car and went towards the bar. She made a beeline to the drinks and searched for the blonde bombshell.

"Alice? " Sam whispered as she searched the bar, “Alice?”

She moved on to the bathrooms, “Alice, are you in here?"

Sam searched the entire bar yet she could not find Alice. Everywhere she went, she was met with strange faces and no traces. Everywhere she went, she was met with silence from her biggest friend and adversary.

 

END

Kennedy Ribet was born and raised in Long Beach, California. She enjoys snowboarding, as well as watching and reviewing movies on both IMDb and Metacritic.

0
0
0
s2sdefault

Donate a little?

Use PayPal to support our efforts:

Amount

Genre Poll

Your Favorite Genre?

Sign Up for info from Short-Story.Me!

Stories Tips And Advice