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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…

Cal and Carrie Dodd, each twenty five, left their apartment at 9:00 AM and loaded their car with camping equipment. “It looks like we have everything we’ll need for a week. There’s plenty of food in the coolers, and we can always catch some fish,” Carrie said.”

“I have my hunting knife, and I put the hatchet in the back. We might have to chop some fire wood. I guess we have everything, Carrie, so let’s go camping.”

They left their town and headed for the mountains.  After driving for two hours, they entered Running Creek, a small town that was the gateway to the Mitawin mountain range. “I think we should stop and get some lunch before we head up the mountain.”  There’s a diner, Cal,” she said and he drove up to it, parked, and they went in and sat at the counter. A waitress went to them and placed silver ware and menus on the counter. “Welcome to Running Creek.  You folks planning to go camping?”

“That’s why we’re here,” Cal said.  “Say, what’s the meaning of the name of the mountain?”

“It’s Lakota for ‘my wife’. Some time ago, the Lakota lived in this area. Apparently, a Lakota village was attacked by the tribes’ enemies, and a girl, who was recently married to a young brave, was kidnapped by the invaders. The brave was heart-broken. He left the tribe and went out on his own to try to find his wife. What people here believe is that the young brave can be seen on the mountain searching for his wife. It’s a nice love story.

“So, what can I get you?”

After eating, Cal and Carrie drove toward the mountain. “What did you think about the love story?” Carrie asked.

“No matter where you go, there are folktales about spirits and ghosts. They’re just old, wives’tales.”

After driving along a mountain road wide enough for their car, he came to a clearing and stopped. “This looks like a good spot to set up camp,” he said and both unloaded the car and set up the tent.

“Cal, according to this map, there’s a lake about a mile to the west.  Let’s go fishing.”

“Good idea,” he said, they got their fishing gear, and headed for the lake. As they approached the lake, they stopped in their tracks. “What the hell.”

“Cal, do...do you see an Indian?”

“Yeah. I see an Indian, and he’s coming toward us.”

“The love story. Jeez, Cal, it’s true.  My God.”

“He’s coming straight at us. Jeez, he’s holding a knife,” he gasped, as the Indian ran at Cal and stabbed him. Carrie screamed as Cal fell to the ground, dead. Before she could move, the Indian picked her up and ran into the forest.

****

One month later, the Running Creek sheriff entered the diner and sat at the counter. “What’s new, sheriff?”

“A mystery. A man’s body was found not far from Crystal Lake. He had been stabbed. We found two fishing poles but only one body. We searched the area and found a camp site and a car. I ran the tag on the car, and found the owners…Cal and Carrie Dodd from Brainerd. We learned that they came up here a month ago to go camping. The mystery: who killed the man, and what happened to the woman?”

 

The End

While teaching speech and English at a community college, Mr. Greenblatt wrote short stories and plays, one of which won a reading at Smith College.  After retiring, he wrote short stories, novellas, and plays.  Several of his stories were published in on-line magazines, and others were published in print anthologies.

 

 

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