All Stories, General Fiction

Beside the Dying Ash Tree by Michael Bloor

Andy put down the phone on his sister, though she was still sobbing intermittently. They’d already been talking for half an hour; he realised that there was no more comfort he could offer, til he saw her tomorrow at the undertakers. And he needed a break to process her news of their father’s death. So, booted and rain-proofed, he headed out the door for a familiar walk beside the river.

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All Stories, Short Fiction

Godfather JoJo By Hugh Cron (Adult Content)

Gregor hesitated at the door of ‘Till Dawn Night-Club’. He took a deep breath and walked in. Two rather large gentleman walked over to him.

“Don’t think you should be here pal! We’re fucking shut.”

One stood in front of him and the other guy moved slightly to his side.

He took a deep breath, “I know. I’m not here for any trouble, I was just wanting to speak to JoJo.”

“Is he expecting you?”

Gregor looked round at the other man.

“No…”

‘Well fuck off then!!’

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All Stories, General Fiction

Fisheye by Jade Lacy

The last time we stayed at Popo’s house, I was five years old, still in the cradle of memory when truth and story become mixed up in an inseparable mosaic. It’s hard to say what I remember and what has been spun to me as a family tale, more real than my own hazy recollection. Maybe if I had been older I would have more to tell. Or maybe it would be all the more clear how much of Popo’s life had slipped through the cracks of my young, distracted mind.

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All Stories, General Fiction

Nothing Else That I Would Ask by Antony Osgood

‘Above the spume!’ Dr Gerasimos Evangelatos chants as he presses his disputed sandal to the pedal. Cephalus, his family’s latest ‘stray’—though what is a stray cat but an unmet friend?—gingerly stares from the front basket. ‘Above the foam of the sea!’

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All Stories, sunday whatever

Sunday Whatever – Channeling Rick James by Susan DeFelice

It’s raining and fog lays a smoky screen over the distant hill dotted with houses that twinkle like fireflies at sunset. I stare out, feeling some guilt about watching Rick James videos on YouTube. I told Cheri and she went: “You know all he sang about was ‘bitches and hoes,’ right? Disgusting. And all he did was free base coke and have orgies! What’s your problem, have you sunk so low?”

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All Stories, Fantasy, General Fiction

Hell’s Half Acre by Danyl A Doyle

In the morning, the sun had long since risen above the horizon, casting stark, foreboding shadows over the Yampa River. We stood at the edge of the water, my wooden boat bobbing gently on the surface. The wind whispered secrets through the cottonwoods and I felt the weight of my history bearing down upon us. We had married, and this handsome kind man had promised to spend the rest of his life with me, knowing I was doomed to run this river every two weeks for all time.

We pushed off from the shore.

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All Stories, General Fiction

Trespassing by Liz deBeer

AJ slows his pace, hesitant to interrupt Lu as she tosses crusts to a pair of pigeons. When he crunches gravel, she doesn’t look up, just asks, “Why you back?”

Wanted to see this hellhole one more time.” He takes a few steps toward her. “And you, Lu.”

She stiffens. “Been a long time.”

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All Stories, General Fiction

The Chicken Sandwich by T.A. Young

Klib placed the bag on the counter and took out a sandwich. And now you have read the most boring sentence to begin a story ever. The bag, the counter, the sandwich, even Klib: nothing even remotely interesting.

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