All Stories, General Fiction, Short Fiction

New Zealand’s Immortal Citizen by Frank Beyer

A story about life extension

Wanaka on a September day, the sun is shining and its fifteen degrees Celsius. The ski season is over in this resort town, but the mountains surrounding Lake Wanaka still have a good covering of snow. The lake itself is of a bright blue seen in New Zealand’s South Island. The brilliance of the colour depends on the minerals present. Outside the town, near the pepply lakefront or up in the lower reaches of the mountains, are a number of architectural oddities. Dream houses of billionaires with vision but sometimes lacking architectural good taste. Squashed domes and rhombohedrons are favourite shapes, many of these houses are now abandoned. Unlike like a lot of the planet, the population here has never been high, no squatters have moved in to enjoy faded luxury. Foreigners, mainly Americans, have been building bunkers here for sixty years – but in the last five people have actually started to live in them. Unamused locals have observed the long preparation for the apocalypse has finally caused it to happen. Some of the wealthy, unable to let go of their mansions, have built bunkers right underneath them… Peter, a longtime resident of Wanaka, is one of these.

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All Stories, General Fiction, Short Fiction

Fast Train to Burton by Matthew Roy Davey

As he emerged from the subway, George shaded his eyes, blinking into the morning sun.  At the top of the steps he paused, glancing around the island platform.  It was busy and the benches all seemed taken.  A little further on he found a space between a middle-aged woman and a gnarled old man.  It wasn’t hard to see why the space was free, but George’s head was spinning and he had to sit down.  He nodded as the man’s yellowy grey eyes met his for an instant.  The man folded his newspaper to make space before hunching his shoulders and continuing to read.

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All Stories, Horror, Short Fiction

12 Nudes by JWGoll

I once got lost in the Badlands of North Dakota. I was working the wheat harvest as a hauler with a crew that ran fourteen combines and we were working our way up to Regina from Topeka, Kansas. One of the drivers, Mitchie Vanderbush, dared me to go camping there after he saw I slept in a tent. The rest of the crew stayed in cheap motels but I was trying to save money to buy a Linhof 4×5. He told me the place was haunted and said most people that go in don’t come out. “You stay in there three nights,” he said, “and I’ll split my bonus with you.” Most of the crew thought it was funny, but the foreman had some choice words when I informed him I was leaving early. He said I could just haul my ass up to Canada at the end of the season if I wanted my pay.

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All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller, General Fiction, Short Fiction

Impact by Hugh Cron – Adult Content.

“Someone once said that life prepares you for what it throws at you.

Man O’ fuck! That’s a very wise and comforting thought for coping.

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Short Fiction

Stopping by a Bar by Roy Dorman

The garishly colored neon sign announcing “Bailey’s Come Back Inn” and the booming of the bass coming from the band inside could easily be seen and heard from the road.

The gravel parking lot was full, leaving patrons no choice but to park on the patchy snow on the lawn near the building.

Though it had started to snow and he was still miles from a warm bed, Alex Redford turned into the lot and parked up on the lawn.

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General Fiction, Short Fiction

My Guns by Kika Dorsey

I have a lot of guns. Most of them people have given me, and one I stole. Adam bought me a shotgun to hunt grouse and ptarmigan in the mountains, and we would eat the meat carefully, picking out the pellets. The rifle I couldn’t resist taking from the old man who was an evicted hoarder, and I was hired to clean out his basement. It had been under a pile of new shirts with their tags still on them, and I stuffed it with the clothes in a trash bag, carried it out, and put it in my trunk. I never shot deer, so I would lend it to Adam, who sometimes brought home venison that I would cook with carrots and tomatoes in a stew. A friend had given me the handgun. I had been complaining to her about my current job weeding the landscaping for some man who worked for Google, wore silver chains and Hawaiian shirts, and kept trying to touch my shoulder when we talked.

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All Stories, Horror, Short Fiction

The Beach by Patrick Alton

The-Beach_Title-Header

A wall of angry clouds threatened the morning light. William Watson hoisted the last suitcase and slammed the trunk.

“Hurry! It’s almost here!” he hollered. “We need to stay ahead of it!”

He adjusted the rearview mirror, smiled confidently at the kids, and wheeled the sedan off the apron of the driveway.

“Here we go!”

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All Stories, General Fiction, Humour, Short Fiction

Mannie The Moocher by Hugh Cron – Warning – Strong Language.

Alan joined his sister.

“You OK Trish?”

“I’m getting there. I’m no good with this.”

“I know, you can’t handle a hamster dying never mind anything else.

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