Tag: fiction

All Stories, General Fiction

Hep C And A Lot Of Codeine by Hugh Cron

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Scott was excessive. He would have told you that himself. He lived life to excess.

What I admired about Scott was that he had absolutely no regrets. I cannot explain why and you will have to take me at my word. I knew that he had no regrets when I looked into the twinkle in his eye as he told me so.

I first met Scott many years ago and he would tell me story after story about his life. I will admit I didn’t believe his tales of travel, wealth and famous people until the night he decided to show me his treasured photographs. There was Scott in all his finery, in some exotic looking locations, rubbing shoulders with some very famous people. I am no fashion expert but when you looked at the cut of his suit, you knew that they were money. He also showed me pictures of his wife and their land in…I think it was Thailand somewhere.   Now I need to explain where I met Scott. I met him in a hostel for the homeless. He was living in a room that had no toilet or kitchen. But as I said, he had no regrets. Continue reading “Hep C And A Lot Of Codeine by Hugh Cron” →

All Stories, General Fiction

The River by Diane M Dickson

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The clamour of the hand bell echoed through corridors and hallways, it was followed in an instant by the scrape and thud of thirty pairs of assorted boots and shoes on the bare floorboards of the classroom.

Miss Robinson stood and removed her specs.  They fell to the end of their chain and swung gently over her ample bust.  “Thank you Class Four collect your things.  For homework today I want you to write an essay.”  None of the children actually groaned but Jed noticed one or two pairs of eyes rolling heavenwards.  For him though there was a flutter of excitement deep in his stomach, he loved essays.

“Your work is to be entitled “The River” and is to be at least five hundred words. Hand it in tomorrow.  Now bow your heads for the prayer.”  Thirty heads bowed in unison and the mutter of childish voices strove to find a way to whatever God looked down on this benighted part of Yorkshire. Continue reading “The River by Diane M Dickson” →

All Stories, Science Fiction

Do Eros Sevens Dream Of Jupiter And Mars? by Adam West

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The two hundred and fifty kilometres per hour station-to-station no-turbulence pipe came to a stop. End of the line. Everyone off.

I stepped out the pipe onto a narrow walkway amongst a shoulder-to-shoulder throng six wide whose momentum funnelled me toward a down-ramp and into a square, where a girl with dreadlocks leaning against a 3-D sandwich-board bit through a foil wrapped protein bar – without first removing the foil.

Continue reading “Do Eros Sevens Dream Of Jupiter And Mars? by Adam West” →

All Stories, Horror

The Product by Victor Bort

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“Can you imagine someone who knows that he may be living his last year?”

The enquirer was sitting in a wheelchair opposite me – a man in his late forties to early fifties, broad-shouldered, dressed informally, black hair with streaks of silver grey, intense brown eyes, clean shaven.

“How old might he be,” he went on, “and what might be the reason for his imminent departure?”

He eyed me questioningly, an enigmatic smile on his pale, handsome face.

“I believe you’re not referring to yourself,” I smiled back.

He grinned broadly and chortled, “Well, a bit of sarcasm won’t spoil the pleasure of our interaction.” He pressed one of the buttons on the arm of his wheelchair and moved closer. “Are you really sure you want this?

Now, he was staring at me intently, unblinkingly. “Let’s put it this way: Are you adamant in your decision?” Continue reading “The Product by Victor Bort” →

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

The Old Man by Scott Sharpe

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Rust-orange scales litter the ground beneath the pine – sign of the squirrel’s search for the sweet seeds found tucked beneath the cone’s thorny lobes.  The scales fall like heavy snowflakes, twirling and seesawing to the forest floor.  As I raise my eyes to the bushy-tail sitting astride a pine limb, I’m thankful he’s ignorant of my presence and his certain death.  He’ll feel no pain, for I don’t miss.

Not anymore. Continue reading “The Old Man by Scott Sharpe” →

All Stories, General Fiction

Dover by Michael W Smith

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I was sat at a table in a service station café off the M20, on route to Dover, waiting for Angelika to return with the coffee. The seat beneath me was small, with a round foam cushion and flat metal back. Outside, through the window that stretched the length of the cafe, I could see our campervan parked in the rain. In the dim morning light it appeared grey. We’d been on the road since six, as the sun bled into the sky, and had made good time. We were twenty miles from Dover when the temperature gage hit the red and the warning light came on. Continue reading “Dover by Michael W Smith” →

All Stories, General Fiction

Friday by Jane Dougherty

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There are some lives that don’t begin in earnest until they are almost over. Time is almost used up before the moment is reached, the decision taken that will give life some meaning. Until that moment, only holiday snaps show that time has moved at all. Children grow up, then move away and there are no more holidays, no more snaps. Time passes unnoticed. Continue reading “Friday by Jane Dougherty” →

All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

Dilemma – An Experiment by Hugh Cron

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The woman cuddled the sleeping child who was oblivious to the man pointing the gun. The father stared and reasoned and wondered if he could. The other man also sat looking for an opportunity. The gunman stepped back and sat down in the armchair.

“Don’t even think about it folks. I know how to use this. I don’t panic and please forgive my arrogance but I am a damn good shot. I won’t miss.”

“What do you want?”

The father tried to keep his voice steady.

“I will get to that but let me first say, you are simply unlucky. I have nothing against any of you. But having just finished your barbecue, sitting having a drink and me seeing you is all that it has taken.”

She pulled the kiddie closer. Continue reading “Dilemma – An Experiment by Hugh Cron” →

All Stories, Historical

Madam Panagoulias and the Pithos by Adam West

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“May I?”

The man took a step towards the jar.

“You will be careful with it, won’t you?”

“A closer look, that is all. I know it’s worth a small fortune, what, at least…”

“…At least a jolly large amount I shouldn’t imagine and wouldn’t like to say.”

“Well I will say, Madam Panagoulias. Put my cards on the table so to speak.”

“As you wish.” Continue reading “Madam Panagoulias and the Pithos by Adam West” →

All Stories, General Fiction, Story of the Week

Post by Jenny Morton Potts

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Final credits. Show’s all but over. One last tune from Ed’s iPod and the crematorium doors widen. I’m going where the sun keeps shining, through the pouring rain. Randall lurches outside, wobbles in a thank-god patch of sunshine. Going where the weather suits my clothes. The family shuffle themselves into a line-up: the deceased’s mother reaching just the shoulder of the deceased’s wife. Ed’s brother next? Very tall and looks a little like him. Ed’s children, the daughter only up to her uncle’s waist. A face she loves interrupts the protocol and the little girl’s smile slashes the dark fabric of today. Ed’s son, adolescent and alone at the end, arms meshed over the outrage in his gut. Here now we see the stiff bar chart of the family, offering some kind of analysis. Continue reading “Post by Jenny Morton Potts” →