We watch children mourn their futile endeavour as the tide engulfs their sandcastles. Ellie lies with me as the water laps at our feet and we find his ghost in the clouds.
Come for the flash fiction and short stories. Stay for the sense of wonder at deriving meaning from weird symbols on a screen
Tag: 50wordstory
Ghosts of the Machine
We find shelter from The Horde in the old courthouse.
Casey marvels at the cornicing, the domed ceiling, the utilitarian furniture.
Working It Out
That’s not really how it works.
No?
You can’t really rob a spa.
Gavin put the gun in her mouth.
I want a free massage. Now.
Dispatch Box
How can a violin be haunted, I said. Maybe it’s got a ghost living inside it, like a little mouse, he said.
Mitigating Circumstances – Part 1
‘Truman, you can’t expect a crushed child on your watch to go without consequences.’
Derek Granger stands up, gulps down his Coke and burps. I stare out the window at the July snow.
Testimony of Niagara Falls Repatriation Officer #3
Before The Contamination my job was much easier. I’d never complain, of course, but stopping Outcasts from scaling a 188-foot waterfall to flee has been tough since they drained Lake Erie.
Until the End of the World
Bulgaria was the last to fall. They even had hotel bellboys, for fuck’s sake.
Short Circuit
Robert knows too much. At first light, I run the bath, yank out his Pain Threshold chip and throw him in the water.
Mitigating Circumstances
‘You can’t expect a crushed child on your watch to go without consequences.’
Advice for Budding Journalists #83
If you are interviewing grieving parents in their cramped Victorian living room, try not to knock a photo of their dead teenage daughter off the mantelpiece.
(A)Wake
The vacuum whine woke him every morning.
She met him once in the communal hallway to apologise, her son lingering behind a haircut.
Playground Tiff
Unused swings wobble in the breeze. An disheveled man, can in hand, chases a pigeon, staggering, burning fury in his bloodshot eyes. The taunting bird hops in a large circle until, bored, it hauls itself […]
The Spark
The Union flag stood tall in scruffy gardens, thrashed violently on the aerials of speeding white vans, draped lazily across windows of now-darkened pubs. Victory. The windswept rock was cleansed, thanks to one woman, in […]
Swipe to Clear
Mum’s birthday today, don’t forget. Swipe to clear. Huge earthquake in Bangladesh. Swipe to clear. Police hunt for missing toddler in Derby. Swipe to clear. I love you. Swipe to clear. 86 dead in suicide […]
Maternity Ward
Aika shut out the world, gripped the scissors in her right hand and cradled the baby’s head in her left. Her training had prepared her for this and yet her heartbeat was deafening, her breath […]
Barbarians
‘The barbarians are coming,’ proclaimed the king. And so, the people prepared for war. A sacrifice was left outside the walls. The wait was agonising, but no one came. ‘Where are the barbarians?’ demanded the […]
Just Punch The Clock 