June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 23 I was worried about Stuart. Everyone says twins are supposed to be alike, but we were fraternal twins; while we were alike in many ways, we were also different. Stuart had been the sensitive one. I was worried about him. When I walked through the door, I had hoped… Continue reading Louisa’s Story
Category: weird fiction
A Familiar Face
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 20 Everyone moves so fast at work these days. I do my best to stay out of their way, but it takes vigilance. The hall is a special effect, a light show of colorful blurs as massage therapists and clients zip by at speeds that feel wrong for a place… Continue reading A Familiar Face
B.Y.O.S.L.
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 18 Bring Your Own Sacrificial Lamb, the Lambda Nu frat poster said in oversized bold letters. The party was for members and pledges only, their final blowout bash of pledge week, held in an abandoned lyceum under a buttery full moon. For their final party, before judging which pledges made… Continue reading B.Y.O.S.L.
Donated to Science
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 17 Why did I drop that damn gun? Occasionally a few grains of coffee will get in my eyes or a splash of water from the fill tank. I have only the loosest perception of light through the white plastic enveloping me, enclosing my head. They say the brain has… Continue reading Donated to Science
Real Magic
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 16 “So then they spread the deck face up, and you…” “Wait, what? But when do you take the deck back from them?” I say. “What do you mean?” Is he serious? “You have to take the deck back at some point to affect a control of the two selections.… Continue reading Real Magic
Mr. Auk
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 14 The people of the earth collectively pause whatever they’re doing and shift their attention to the solemn ceremony. Today it is Mr. Auk, a retired fisherman in Thailand. Who knows where it will be (or IF it will be) next month. The sleeping wake in time to watch. A… Continue reading Mr. Auk
Rapid Transport
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 13 The smell of falafel is always the first thing I notice in the Cairo terminal; recirculated air is laden with the scents of parsley, mint, cilantro, and garlic. The bustling hallways of disembarking passengers and the vendors selling their falafel, hummus, and baklava. I woke on a sleeping couch… Continue reading Rapid Transport
Lou Cypher
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 12 The first thing I noticed about him was that he dressed impeccably in a black silk suit, the whitest shirt I’ve ever seen, and a red silk pocket square. His beard was salt and pepper but neatly maintained, and he carried himself with crazy confidence. His eyes were friendly… Continue reading Lou Cypher
What to Expect When You Can’t Remember a Meat
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 11 Drew warned me about the strange hunger pangs I’d have, but I don’t think this is what she meant. She’s had three children. I only wanted one, but it looks like I’m getting two. It’s twins for me. Identical, at least that’s what they think. How can they know… Continue reading What to Expect When You Can’t Remember a Meat
A Forgetful Infernal
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 10 There’s power in knowing a name. Ironic that there would be power in forgetting one’s name. Sometimes I forget my name. All demons must answer when called by their true name. At least that is the case if the sorcerer, magician, or priest is competent. I’d been in the… Continue reading A Forgetful Infernal
Glitch Mendelsohn
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 9 I hurry my pace and steal a glance behind me. Damn it. They’re still there, the three teenage boys following me. Again, I allowed myself to forget that I’m an eighteen-year-old girl. What is my name this time? The body might be 18, but its rider is much older.… Continue reading Glitch Mendelsohn
Blythe
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 6 It is surprising how much misinformation the media and books have regarding monsters. The idea that the only way to kill a werewolf is with a silver bullet? Laughable nonsense. Or that vampires can’t go out in the sunlight? Silly and baseless. Most of them don’t like being in… Continue reading Blythe
Gargoyles
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 4 “I think they are supposed to be guardians or something, right?” Kimberly says, peering upwards at the three buildings that make up the bulk of our burb’s central square. Ken looks ready to speak again. “Go ahead,” I say. “While symbolically linked to defense, their original purpose was to… Continue reading Gargoyles
Papa
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 3 Uncle Kenny never rises before noon on the camping trips. So far now, it’s just me, Cheryl, Adam, and dad, finishing our breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. The cool air and the smokey smell usually make me feel giddy in the mornings. That isn’t the case this morning.… Continue reading Papa
The Ladder in the Box (a dream)
June 2022 Flash Challenge, Day 2 I decide to leave the doctor’s report in the car. If I bring it inside I will not stop reading it. I need some space from it. Then I’m outside the car. I don’t remember getting out of the car, but here I am. Then I’m on the stairs… Continue reading The Ladder in the Box (a dream)
My Dead Dad and I Talk Technology
I really ought to be able to explain this better. I used to be an engineer for chrissakes. But that was a long time ago. Since then, I migrated to computer programming. Now I’m no longer in the technology field at all. I’m a massage therapist. I can’t believe he’s here. He died in 92.… Continue reading My Dead Dad and I Talk Technology
An Ugly Chair
Ordinary horror in the mundane The chair sits awkwardly in the shallow corner between the fireplace and the patio door (it’s a small apartment), shrouded under an ugly brown, queen-sized blanket I bought years ago on my way to a meditation retreat. That year we had a bitterly cold winter, and the retreat center was old… Continue reading An Ugly Chair
Desert Highway
In the end, the most surprising thing about the video was how no two people ever remembered it the same; it was a modern-day Rorschach test. It was only three minutes twelve seconds long, but people saw different things when they recounted what they had watched. One thing almost everyone agreed upon was the video… Continue reading Desert Highway
No-Hitter
A Terryn and Shawn Story 2:10 PM I’m trying to put it out of my mind. At first, I didn’t believe the front desk was calling my clients. So on number three, I made Tobias make the call on speakerphone. Sure enough, it rolled to voicemail just like the other two. Weird. A… Continue reading No-Hitter
Inflatable Santa
Horror Flash Fiction The neighborhood was quieter now. Folks felt guilty when they accidentally found themselves enjoying the calm. Eleven in three weeks. That’s how many children had disappeared. The inflatable Santa, magically moving from yard to yard, each morning in a different place. A prank. One that Larry or possibly Eileen had started years… Continue reading Inflatable Santa
Stories by Shawn 