#shortstories — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #shortstories, aggregated by home.social.
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@nesce
I'd love to know how things go on with Sonya and Lillith. -
ICYMI
Joyrides For Shut-Ins
Experience the dark and twisted world of American absurdist literature in this collection of stories that will leave you both perplexed and entertained.
From micro-fiction to short stories, each piece delves into the encounters, desires, and violence that make up the fabric of American culture and psyche. Meet characters who are both familiar and bizarre, as they navigate a world that blurs the lines between imagination and reality.
Fans of Samuel Beckett, Lydia Davis, and Chuck Palahniuk will find themselves immersed in this kaleidoscope of dead-pan incidents, where nothing is quite as it seems.
But be warned, as you turn each page, you may find yourself questioning your own grasp on reality.
Don't miss out on this masterful chiaroscuro of a book.
Name your price now!
Buy the paperback at Bookshop.org!
https://absurdproject.gumroad.com/l/JoyridesForShutIns
#bookstodon #weird #absurd #literature #shortstories #microfiction #satire
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I was writing a wee serial on substack before I abandoned the platform, but I also abandoned the story.
Here, rising from the ashes... A pair of witches!“Succumb to my devil vagina magic!” Shouted the naked woman as she ran down the street, the wind and rain not bothering her at all.
The suited guy she was chasing ran like his life depended on it. It didn’t, but he didn’t know that."
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October can't come soon enough! Pamela M. Durgin and Karlo Yeager Rodríguez opened the door to autumn (among other times and places) with these spooky tales. You can still watch! #Bookstodon #StoryHour2020 #ShortStories #ShortFiction #AuthorReading #Horror #HorrorFiction #PamelaMDurgin #KarloYeagerRodriguez #KarloYeagerRodríguez @kjy1066 https://youtu.be/dxJhsTbzsLA
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October can't come soon enough! Pamela M. Durgin and Karlo Yeager Rodríguez opened the door to autumn (among other times and places) with these spooky tales. You can still watch! #Bookstodon #StoryHour2020 #ShortStories #ShortFiction #AuthorReading #Horror #HorrorFiction #PamelaMDurgin #KarloYeagerRodriguez #KarloYeagerRodríguez @kjy1066 https://youtu.be/dxJhsTbzsLA
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October can't come soon enough! Pamela M. Durgin and Karlo Yeager Rodríguez opened the door to autumn (among other times and places) with these spooky tales. You can still watch! #Bookstodon #StoryHour2020 #ShortStories #ShortFiction #AuthorReading #Horror #HorrorFiction #PamelaMDurgin #KarloYeagerRodriguez #KarloYeagerRodríguez @kjy1066 https://youtu.be/dxJhsTbzsLA
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October can't come soon enough! Pamela M. Durgin and Karlo Yeager Rodríguez opened the door to autumn (among other times and places) with these spooky tales. You can still watch! #Bookstodon #StoryHour2020 #ShortStories #ShortFiction #AuthorReading #Horror #HorrorFiction #PamelaMDurgin #KarloYeagerRodriguez #KarloYeagerRodríguez @kjy1066 https://youtu.be/dxJhsTbzsLA
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October can't come soon enough! Pamela M. Durgin and Karlo Yeager Rodríguez opened the door to autumn (among other times and places) with these spooky tales. You can still watch! #Bookstodon #StoryHour2020 #ShortStories #ShortFiction #AuthorReading #Horror #HorrorFiction #PamelaMDurgin #KarloYeagerRodriguez #KarloYeagerRodríguez @kjy1066 https://youtu.be/dxJhsTbzsLA
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NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Edinburgh launch
15 September, Blackwell’s, South Bridge – £3 / £11 with bookCelebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/naming-the-snakes-new-writing-scotland-44-tickets-1995684361648
#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #shortstories #writing #writingcommunity #Edinburgh
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NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Edinburgh launch
15 September, Blackwell’s, South Bridge – £3 / £11 with bookCelebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/naming-the-snakes-new-writing-scotland-44-tickets-1995684361648
#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #shortstories #writing #writingcommunity #Edinburgh
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NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Edinburgh launch
15 September, Blackwell’s, South Bridge – £3 / £11 with bookCelebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/naming-the-snakes-new-writing-scotland-44-tickets-1995684361648
#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #shortstories #writing #writingcommunity #Edinburgh
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NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Edinburgh launch
15 September, Blackwell’s, South Bridge – £3 / £11 with bookCelebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/naming-the-snakes-new-writing-scotland-44-tickets-1995684361648
#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #shortstories #writing #writingcommunity #Edinburgh
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NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44
Edinburgh launch
15 September, Blackwell’s, South Bridge – £3 / £11 with bookCelebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome!
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/naming-the-snakes-new-writing-scotland-44-tickets-1995684361648
#Scottish #literature #Gaidhlig #Gaelic #Scots #Scotslanguage #poetry #shortfiction #shortstories #writing #writingcommunity #Edinburgh
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Pues fantástico, esto 🖤🖤🖤
#books #libros #bookstodon #literatura #literature #relatos #shortstories
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Pues fantástico, esto 🖤🖤🖤
#books #libros #bookstodon #literatura #literature #relatos #shortstories
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Pues fantástico, esto 🖤🖤🖤
#books #libros #bookstodon #literatura #literature #relatos #shortstories
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Pues fantástico, esto 🖤🖤🖤
#books #libros #bookstodon #literatura #literature #relatos #shortstories
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Pues fantástico, esto 🖤🖤🖤
#books #libros #bookstodon #literatura #literature #relatos #shortstories
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Behind the Scenes: Part 5
The storyboards are taking shape in The Book Nook. I wanted to drop in and share a raw, quick sketch from the draft table as our newest picture book builds momentum. Capturing the emotion in a scene before any painting begins is where the real storytelling happens. These initial drawings are the blueprint for everything to come, giving us our very first look at how the pages will feel in a child’s hands. I cannot wait to share the next steps in this journey with you, so stay tuned right […]https://heathercongrove.com/2026/09/09/behind-the-scenes-part-5/
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Short stories deserve big production. Cinematic intros and clean edits and art that matches the mood. See what’s possible. https://inkican.com/inkican-audio-production/ #scifi #audiobooks #bookstolistento #shortstories
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This week, Story Hour gets spooky! Longtime Favorite Karlo Yeager Rodríguez returns, and Pamela M. Durgin makes her Story Hour debut just ahead of her novel’s debut. Join us Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. PDT! #Bookstodon #StoryHour2020 #ShortStories #ShortFiction #AuthorReading #Horror #HorrorFiction #PamelaMDurgin #KarloYeagerRodriguez #KarloYeagerRodríguez @kjy1066 https://www.storyhour2020.com/
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Babette’s Feast and Other Stories, by Isak Dinesen [Karen Blixen]
I have a great fondness for Isak Dinesen's strange and Scandinavian short stories. Five years ago I described her Seven Gothic Tales (1934) as 'Rather long, but astoundingly inventive, and ought to be well known in fantasy circles since they predate most modern fantasy writing'. I found this Penguin Modern Classics edition of Babette's Feast and Other Stories in the charity bookshop my husband works in, and I gobbled it in two nights. Like PMC edition of Seven Gothic Tales this is a […]https://katemacdonald.net/2026/09/06/babettes-feast-and-other-stories-by-isak-dinesen-karen-blixen/
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Behind the Scenes: Part 3
Behind the Scenes with Our Latest Sketch Every page of a picture book starts with simple lines on paper. Before we worry about color, lighting, or final details, we use these initial drafts to figure out how a scene feels.I wanted to share this rough drawing from another scene we are working on. In our house, my kids like to spot the tiny details in these early sketches that sometimes change by the time the final book is printed. Rough Sketch from Sharing Kindness Wherever I Go Drafting […]https://heathercongrove.com/2026/09/05/behind-the-scenes-part-3/
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The Dreamers of the Fading Bloom – Newsletter #8
August 19, 2026 23rd Lore Fragment Clamores Corallii MortiferiClamores Corallii Mortiferi, better known as the "Deadly Coral Cries," is an event in which the seaside village of Corallvik experienced a large increase in activity from the merfolk within the surrounding region.These creatures would emerge at night along the shoreline, singing for hours at a time. The village, which was located not far from the site of the event, experienced a disturbing number of residents waking from their […]https://veilofentheos.com/2026/09/04/the-dreamers-of-the-fading-bloom-newsletter-8/
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A Dragon’s Power (Part One): Mattia’s Gift, Mattia’s Embrace
A tired man limps across the narrow pathway, the only safe path on a floor of lava
wearing a ragged orange poncho with crisscross patterns,
and tattered trousers wracked by his tumultuous life.
the heat nearly sears his skin,
his wits are barely clinging on, and the path seems endless,
yet he still walks,
he still takes steps forward.There was loneliness on this road,
a vast fiery sea within this underground expanse, with only a single narrow path,
no signs of life but hearing the occasional chittering of fire wyrms,
eventually, his steps slowed to a halt
he couldn’t continue onward, despite what he felt in his heart
‘keep going,’ it urged, but his body said, ‘no.’On his knees, he begged aloud for the grace of Mattia
he begged and begged, incessantly, hands clasped together,
and after a while,
after the heat nearly burned his feet,
the ceiling ahead caved in and a light shone from abovethat light was Mattia himself, descending upon the forsaken man,
gracefully flying behind him and encasing the man in his gentle embrace
Mattia softly guided the man’s head to his chest,
enveloping the dejected man in a quiet, motherly comfort,
his gentle heartbeat sending healing vibrations.Mattia’s voice was like a soothing, soft blanket for the man’s shaken nerves, “O, forsaken soul, thy hast cometh to mine lands seeking help. I shall grant you safe passage.”
He took this human away,
to a place where all of his worshippers gathered,
carefully taken care of and tended to in his care~ ~ ~
“I will… do anything for him… my god.”
The man knelt before the radiant prince,
taking his hand with the softness of a lover,
and laying a kiss upon itMattia seemed indifferent,
his eyes staring blankly
no smile present upon his delicate featuresThe man looks up,
soaking in the sight of that solemn face
a reflection of beauty—of Ashuton Karrucci
and all who came after him
but Ashuton was the one his heart remembers mostDuring the war when dragons reclaimed earth,
his family had always been devout followers of Ashuton
hanging portraits of him above their fireplace
alongside photos of their family
photos of smiling little girls and boys surrounded by bigger people
of smiling aunts and uncles in professional portraits
colorful, with a bevy of hairstyles from different generations
mohawks, fluffed permed hair, bed-tousled straight hair, afros adorned with accessories
a blended memorial to time—and to the dragon kings
portraits of Ashuton remain in the middle
like as if he was one of them
that worship still continues today, through this man
the last of his family.He took this pilgrimage to beg forgiveness from the Karrucci line
but to be accepted… like this?
it was unheard of
his ancestors could only dream this, in their ageless coffins long forgotten by the constant dirt“I give my heart to you,” he said gently
Mattia nods.
“I recognize you, human.”Human.
not even on a last name basis.
he accepts it, lucky enough to get this far
being lumped in with the other humans is fine.~ ~ ~
In the garden, he watered the flowers
it was his job, assigned to him by a tall biped yellow dragon with crinkled wings
the wyvern had bowed to him upon first meeting
when he spoke, his voice had the same gentle warmth as Mattia’s silken tones
“your place is in the garden, where your weary soul may rest among the flowers, but you must tend to them,” he said.The man nodded, “I am ever-grateful to be allowed rest.”
The wyvern mimics his action, eyes closed, “yes, yes, but it cannot last.”
The man’s eyebrows creased, his head tilting as confusion reigned his thoughts, “what do you mean?”
hm, concern was starting to dig itself inThe wyvern replied, “when you have recovered physically, and your mind has rested enough, The Prince will have need for your company.”
That didn’t sound ominous at all…
Rate this:
#Anime #books #creativeWriting #Dragons #Fantasy #Fiction #literature #ShortStories #shortStory #Writing -
#Novelists, #poets, professors, typewriters, and Asian-American identity conflict are features in several of the stories in this collection. Some of the #stories seem to have #memoir qualities.
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Marilyn Todd's Swords, Sandals and Sirens collects short mystery stories set in Ancient Rome, Greece. and Egypt. But are those stories worth seeking out?
#BookSky #ShortStories #HistoricalMysteries
⚡️📚http://mysteriesahoy.com/2026/08/26/swords-sandals-and-sirens-by-marilyn-todd/
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𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗿: "𝗠𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻" 𝗯𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘂𝗸𝗶 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗺𝗶 -
3-Word Review:
- Quiet
- Self-Deluded
- PoignantFrictional Posture:
- Across the stories, to what degree are Murakami's narrators blame-worthy for their alienation?
#bookreview #bookrecommendations #readinglist #literature #books #book #reading #bookstagram #frictionalreading #3words #harukimurakami #menwithoutwomen #shortstories #japaneseliterature
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SHORT STORY: The Last Train Out
THE LAST TRAIN OUTAva had just clocked out of work and was heading home.
She usually passed by the train station on her way back, although she rarely used it. She preferred taking a bus and walking the rest of the distance. It was her little way of keeping fit after spending most of her day sitting in a laboratory.
Ava worked in one of the largest biochemical research laboratories in the city. She couldn’t imagine herself working anywhere else. The laboratory was known for its experimental research, but it had also become strangely notorious. There had been three unexplained contamination outbreaks within the facility in the past year, and even the CDC couldn’t keep up and had threatened to shut them down multiple times. Most people found that terrifying. Ava found it fascinating.
She had always been curious about everything and even things that science couldn’t immediately explain. That curiosity would eventually be the reason she survived.
While heading home she passed by the train station and heard it whistle, she instantly had dejavu like she had heard the whistle before, not just the whistle, the exact whistle, the same length, the same pause at the end of the whistle, and at the exact same time, 9:00 p.m.
Eventually, she shrugged it off. She passed the station every day. Maybe her brain was simply playing tricks on her.
The next evening, it happened again.
Same whistle.
Same time.
Same strange feeling.
Then again the following day.
And the day after that.
By Friday, Ava had stopped pretending it was a coincidence.
Suddenly, Ava found herself standing in the middle of Central Station with thousands of other people.
She didn’t remember walking there.
She didn’t remember entering the station.
One moment she had been walking to get a bus. The next, she was surrounded by people staring desperately at the tracks.
Ava looked around with no idea what was going on.
At exactly 10:00 p.m., every phone in the station buzzed at once.
Ava pulled hers out.
The same message appeared on every screen.
DO NOT GO OUTSIDE.
Then the electricity went out.
Then the explosions began.
One.
Then another.
Then several at once.
The ground shook beneath their feet.
People screamed.
The train everyone was waiting for was no where to be found just the sound of train racks shaking. Within an hour of waiting at the train, parts of the city were on fire. Everyone scattered around moving to different platforms hoping the next train that came they’d jump in without thinking. While there was chaos everywhere, At 11:30 p.m., another message appeared.
LAST TRAIN LEAVING CENTRAL STATION AT 12:30 A.M.
DESTINATION: NORTH TERMINAL.
Ava stared at the message.
North Terminal had been abandoned for years. She knew that because her laboratory had once worked with the railway authority on environmental testing around the site. There hadn’t been a functioning train there in years. So why was the city sending a train there now?
Ava was already at central station, she sighed relief but before she knew crowd of people were already trooping in, some even pushing others onto the empty tracks.
While struggling not to fall and also to wait for the train, she heard a familiar voice.
“Ava!”
She turned.
Daniel was running toward her.
“You made it,” he said, breathless.
“I almost didn’t.”
Neither of them had time to say anything else.
Then the train whistle sounded.
Neither of them spoke.
The train rolled into the station.
It looked old
Dark
Its windows reflected nothing.
The doors opened.
People rushed inside even pushing some people out of the way.
Ava grabbed Daniel’s hand.
“Don’t let go.”
They boarded.
As soon as everyone settled into the train the lights came back on.
The first journey lasted forty-three minutes.
Ava remembered that because she kept checking the clock.
12:31.
12:47.
1:03.
1:14.
Then the train stopped.
The doors opened.
North Terminal.
But there was no station.
Only darkness.
A voice came through the speakers.
“One passenger must remain.”
Then the lights went out.
Ava grabbed Daniel’s hand.
“Daniel?”
Nothing.
She squeezed harder.
Her hand closed around empty air.
“Daniel?”
When the lights returned, everyone was gone.
When the lights returned, everyone was gone.
Every passenger.
Every bag.
Every person.
Ava was alone.
Then she saw him.
Daniel was standing outside the train.
On the platform. A single flickering light hung above him. His back was turned.
“Daniel!”
Slowly, he turned around.
His face was covered in blood.
Ava stopped breathing.
Something moved behind him.
Two eyes opened in the darkness.
They were looking directly at her.
Ava screamed and stumbled backward, hitting her head against the metal wall of the train.
The train doors slammed shut.
The train moved.
Ava woke up at her desk.
Her heart was pounding.
The laboratory was silent.
It was already 9:00 p.m. She couldn’t remember falling asleep.
She felt a stinging feeling like her palm was burning.
A strange symbol had appeared across her palm. A small black circle. She had never seen it before. She rubbed it but it hurt her as she did like a fresh flesh wound.
She picked up her things to leave the office.
The hallway lights flickered as she walked toward the elevator.
One.
Two.
Three.
Each light went out just after she passed it.
Ava stopped.
The last light above her flickered.
Then went completely dark.
She stepped into the elevator.
When the doors opened again, she was standing outside the train station.
Ava stared at the entrance.
She didn’t remember walking there.
Her phone buzzed.
DO NOT GO OUTSIDE.
Ava stared at the message.
Then another appeared.
LAST TRAIN LEAVING CENTRAL STATION AT 12:30 A.M.
DESTINATION: NORTH TERMINAL.
She was already at central station. People began trooping in.
She dropped the phone.
She saw Daniel
They got on the train together
The darkness.
His bloodied face.
Everyone disappears
She hit her head and falls
The train doors slammed shut.
The train moved.
She wakes up in her office again at exactly 9:00pm
Same cycle repeating itself
This time when she woke up in her office, she was the only one.
Same thing on her palms.
Then someone knocked on her door.
Three times.
Ava froze.
“Who is it?”
No answer.
She opened the door.
Nobody was there.
Only a piece of paper lying on the floor.
She picked it up.
There was one sentence written on it.
DON’T LET HIM GET ON THE TRAIN.
Ava stared at it.
She didn’t know who “him” was.
Until she got the train this time and saw Daniel, it clicked and looked at Daniel.
“Don’t get on the train,” she told him.
He laughed.
“Ava, the city is literally burning.”
“I know.”
“You want us to stay here?”
“I want to know what’s happening.”
The train arrived.
Ava watched the doors open.
Everyone boarded.
She didn’t.
Daniel stared at her.
“Ava.”
“Don’t.”
The train doors began closing.
Daniel stepped back.
Then suddenly, a little girl grabbed Ava’s hand.
Ava looked down.
The girl was crying.
“Please don’t let it leave.”
“Why?”
The girl pointed toward the train.
“My mother is inside.”
Ava looked through the windows.
The passengers were sitting silently and strangely every passenger was looking at her.
The doors closed.
The train left.
The moment it disappeared into the tunnel, the entire station went dark.
The little girl disappeared.
Ava was alone.
She looked around looking for Daniel but didn’t find him.
Then everything went black again but this time she didn’t hit her head.
Ava woke up in her office.
Again.
She screamed.
She knew immediately.
She was living a repeated cycle.
But this time, something was different.
The symbol on her palm had changed.
There were now two circles.
Ava stared at it.
Then she remembered the little girl.
The man on the train.
The sentence on the paper.
And one thought came to her.
Maybe the train wasn’t the destination.
Maybe it was a clue.
She had less than 2 hours before the whole cycle reset itself again.
Ava didn’t go to Central Station.
She went to the old railway archives.
She searched through newspapers.
Maps.
Construction records. Everything she could find about North Terminal.
She discovered that the North Terminal had been abandoned five years ago due to the fire outbreak and train accident that happened.
There was no functioning station there.
She looked at the map of the station and discovered an underground control room.
The original railway plans showed a tunnel that had been sealed.
Ava found an old photograph with newspapers that talked about a fire outbreak.
Six people stood in front of the tunnel.
Engineers.
Scientists.
Government officials.
And behind them was the same symbol on her palm. The two circles.
Ava’s heart began pounding. She needed to know more but she was running out of time.
She took the map and pictures and was heading further but she was out of time. Everywhere became pitch black and she woke up in her office again.
This time Ava went straight to the North Terminal.
She found the sealed tunnel.
Behind the rusted doors was a staircase.
She walked down.
Until she heard something.
A train.
But there were no tracks.
The sound was coming from beneath the ground.
She followed it.
At the bottom, she found a massive underground room.
Machines covered the walls.
Thousands of wires disappeared into the ceiling.
And in the centre was a giant glass chamber.
Inside it were people.
Dozens of them.
Sleeping.
Connected to machines.
Ava walked closer.
Then she saw Daniel.
Her breath caught.
He was inside the chamber.
Alive.
She ran toward him.
“Daniel!”
His eyes opened.
“Ava?”
She touched the glass.
He shook his head.
“You need to destroy everything, Ava.”
The lights in the room came on.
Six people stood behind her.
The same six people from the photograph.
Except they hadn’t aged.
Not a day.
“You finally found us.” One of them said
Ava turned.
“What have you done?”
The woman in front stepped forward.
“We built the first train.”
“Why?”
“To save the city.”
Ava looked at the machines.
“You’re killing people.”
“We’re preventing something worse, and the sacrifices are for the greater good.”
“Every cycle ends with the city destroyed.”
“So you reset it.”
“Yes.”
Ava stared at her.
“And everyone forgets.”
“Everyone except you.”
“Why me?”
The woman smiled.
“Because you were the first person who survived the last train out.”
Ava froze.
“What?”
“You were never supposed to remember.”
“How many times?”
The woman answered:
“One hundred and twelve.”
Ava’s face went pale.
She had lived this night 112 times.
Each time, she had boarded the train.
Each time, the city had died.
Each time, everything had started again.
“But why?”
“We built the machines using untested chemicals and machines that were found in space to make the train faster, we realised we could also travel in time and reset things using the train, but the more we used the more we upset the balance of time.”
“We’ve been stuck here feeding the machine and trying to stop the end of the world.”
The room began shaking.
“You have two choices, Ava. Only you can save us all.”
The woman raised her hand.
“Board the train again.”
The machines began humming.
“And the cycle continues.”
She pointed towards the machines
“Or destroy the machine.”
Ava looked at the people trapped inside the chambers.
Then at Daniel.
Then at the machines.
“What happens if I destroy it?”
Before the woman could answer she fell and hit her head and was having a seizure.
The other five tried to attack Ava but she took a metal pipe and hit the chamber filled with liquid. She knew the liquid was harmless, but volatile and realised that her laboratory were the ones who first created the liquid. At that time she didn’t realise what they were creating such large quantities. The liquid from the chambers swept the other five in different directions hitting their head on the metals around.
Ava looked at Daniel.
“Can you walk?”
He nodded.
“Then let’s end this.”
The alarms began screaming.
Daniel pulled the emergency lever beside the glass chamber.
The machine exploded with sparks.
The room shook violently.
“Stop!”
The woman got up and screamed.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing!”
Ava looked at her.
“I understand perfectly.”
She ran toward the central machine.
The woman tried to stop her.
Ava pushed her. Crashing each other against the controls.
The machine began overheating.
The train whistle sounded somewhere beneath them.
The woman screamed:
“IF YOU DESTROY IT, THE TRAIN WILL NEVER COME BACK!”
Ava pulled the final lever.
The machine exploded.
The underground room filled with white light.
Every screen shattered.
Every wire burned.
The sound of the train became deafening.
Before they could make it out, it exploded flinging them outside to the train tracks.
Ava felt a ringing sound in her ears before closing her eyes and then silence.
Ava opened her eyes.
She was lying on the floor of Central Station.
The station was crowded.
People were talking and walking past her.
Trains were arriving.
Nobody was screaming.
Nobody was running.
Nobody was dying.
Ava sat up and quickly looked at her palm. The symbol was gone.
Ava’s phone rang, it was the hospital.
They had called to tell her Daniel woke up from the coma. She smiled. Daniel was Ava’s fiancée, he had been in the train accident that happened five years ago and had been in a coma since.
She looked toward the tracks.
A train arrived.
Ava’s heart skipped a bit.
It was the same black train.
The same one.
But this time, it was different.
The windows reflected the passengers.
The lights inside were warm.
The doors opened.
People stepped off.
Alive.
Real.
Ava watched silently.
Then she saw them.
The six people from the photograph.
They stepped off the train.
Behind them came the little girl and her mother.
The woman who had been trapped inside the machine looked at Ava.
She smiled.
“Thank you.”
Ava frowned.
“For what?”
“For letting us go.”
Ava looked at the train.
“The six of you…”
The woman nodded.
“We were trapped inside the machine just as much as everyone else.”
“And the train?”
The woman looked back at it.
“It was trapped too.”
Ava looked at the black train.
For five years, it had carried the same people toward the same ending.
Over and over.
Never arriving.
Never leaving.
Until now.
Ava looked back at the tracks.
The black train slowly disappeared into the morning light.
For the first time, it wasn’t taking anyone anywhere.
It was simply leaving.
Thank you for reading!!!
Love,
Dupe Abiona
#books #daydreaming #dreaming #fiction #fictionalstories #fictionalwriting #future #futuristicnovels #futuristicshortstories #lifeloveandstories #shortstories #story -
Virus_infect
(Note: this is old writing but still canon, and written in a mix of poetry and prose)
A few weeks before the war
Beneath the capitol city, dragons rested in silence
They were undisturbed
Bound by sleep
Everyone in New York knew dragons existed
American society had begun to open up to the creatures like Italian society had done so many years before
Dragons, both big and small, were a common sight
but steam began hissing up from manholes in New York
and there were missing persons reports that had been filed at the NYPD
Detective Rashner, a lone wolf on missions, was told to investigate the Underground New York Ontario Systems (UNYOS)
the tunnel network is indeed an unfinished underground city that the National Board of Welfare had initiated at the behest of dragons
construction was cancelled due to unknown reasons
Officer Riley guided Detective Rashner to the wide entrance
but that was as far as he could go
Rashner didn’t hesitate to go inside
the underground was dark, misty and humid
armed with only a flash light, a marble and a pistol, he braced the warm dangers of the underground
Rashner encountered the unbelievable. He shined his flash light on what he perceived was a wall. A shriveled white creature snarled at him, and in defense it pounced on Rashner, pinning him to the ground.
The creature tried to douse Rashner in the acid from it’s mouth, but he managed to keep the creature’s mouth closed. His fingers nearly slipped between the dragon’s teeth. He slipped under the dragon and he grabbed his flashlight.
He ran fast, stumbling and looking back. As he progressed down the hall he could hear them hissing. He clicked his flashlight off and stepped lightly. The ground was mushy from mucus, saliva and crap. There was a small light shining from the power box in the corner.
He inched closer and saw the open door. With a peek through it, he saw the main center of the station. Desolate trains had been crashed atop eachother and unconscious bodies were scattered around. Little dragons were cocooning unconscious victims. That’s when he saw their King, not Queen, at the far left at the end of the station.
For Rashner, it was a terror to behold.
Docile red and green eyes staring into nothingness, the King was the one creating the eggs.
Through this shocking revelation, Detective Rashner could finally conclude that the Vessel is on Earth. He could successfully speculate they were creating the virus. As a major in dragon biology and history, Rashner knew there had to be a human female nearby.
“Send everything you got, including Alpha Team. I’ve just discovered the Vessel…in the living flesh,” he whispered into his walkie talkie, “send in the Fire and Water squad, pronto.”
hhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiissssssss
“HOLY F—”
Rashner’s shouts echoed through the station as one of the Dragons nearly stung him. This dragon was a giant arachnid-type with a feminine body structure and a curly mane down her head to her neck. She struck at him with her sharp talon, but he dodged and heard a low rumbling in the Vessel’s chest.
“Treat our visitor to the Dragon’s welcome.”
The second he spoke, the little dragons that were cocooning had followed Rashner out the room.
Rashner ran out the service tunnels as fast as he could. He stumbled upon the train tracks and dropped his flashlight. He didn’t care to pick it up; he wanted to make it out alive, but in the mix up he wandered into a Wyverns’ room.
The goo and mucus on their bodies were helping them stick to the ceiling so they could rest comfortably.
The exit was a few steps away.
He ran towards it, the light coming closer, and when his feet touched the urban pavement he felt instant freedom.
The little dragons stopped in their tracks and watched as Rashner ran away. He could’ve sworn they were chirping in glee.
Within a few weeks time, a virus had broken out into the city. The virus segregated itself to specific people that lived in certain parts of New York, and Rashner was no exception.
He later found himself quarantined and examined by scientists. Riley had to fill in during his absence. Was it irony that he became this way?
Virus pendemics were becoming a hot topic in video games around 2010-2014. I wanted to do my own virus story, and this (and the revamped Dino Macro) was a result of my efforts. In the stories, the virus was made to wipe out New York before the war. The virus, UNYOS, was developed by Ashuton, Rico, Thomas and Charlie. The dragons living in the train station are different than the ones above ground.
UNYOS itself changes human physiology. It imbues them with draconic DNA while also decaying their body and keeping them alive.
If you are wondering who the guy on the cover is, he is one of the dragons who works on Rashner after he is captured. That story comes later.
2019 notes: I believe this and the UNYOS storyline were inspired by PROTOTYPE, another game I loved. Alex and Elizabeth Greene were fascinating to me. I liked Elizabeth’s design and the fact that she was old. ‘Young but old creator of a deadly virus causes destruction of a city, know she’s a badass, and looks like a post apocalyptic kinda cutie metal-head’ is a vibe I like. I like destructive old-young people.
Want an ebook readable version of this story? Download it here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1163877
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#Aliens #Anime #books #creativeWriting #Dragons #Fiction #FlashFiction #Poetry #prose #reading #ScienceFiction #ShortStories #Undead #urbanFantasy #Viruses #Writing #Zombies -
“I yearned for escape. It hurt to yearn. The more I yearned, the more pain I felt. Sometimes I wished that I could be satisfied with all that appeared to be, rather than yearning for more.” https://library.hrmtc.com/2026/07/28/i-yearned-for-escape-it-hurt-to-yearn-the-more-i-yearned-the-more-pain-i-felt-sometimes-i-wished-that-i-could-be-satisfied-with-all-that-appeared-to-be-rather-than-yearning-for-more/ #AbsurdistFiction #all #appearedToBe #book #EnglishShortStories #EnglishShortStories21stCentury #escape #felt #hurt #MagicalRealism #MikeRussell #pain #quote #ratherThan #satisfied #shortStories #wished #yearn #yearnedFor #yearningForMore -
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the king's horses and all the king's men,
Couldn't put Humpty together again.The fall took Mr Dumpty's breath away! Actually, in his entire life, that is, these four lines, he never suspected the fall.
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The Uncanny Valley: Tales from a Lost Town (The Uncanny Chronicles)
"Thirty-Three Tales. Thirty-Three Tellers. One Lost Town"
Sale: $6.99 to $1.99
by Gregory Miller
Rating: 4.3/5 (1,685 Reviews)
#horror #fiction #books #booksky #thriller #ghoststories #shortstories #creepy #mystery
The Uncanny Valley: Tales from... -
Where Once Fell Soft Rain
This phrase popped into my mind after a cloudburst rolled through overhead. We’ve been having more of those in the past few of years, intense concentrations of Nature’s power blasting through an otherwise clear weather map. It makes me miss the grey skies of summer rain, and the gentle drops that encouraged growth rather than washing it away.
The phrase also sounded very familiar, and a quick check assured me that yes, it was a variant on the title of a Ray Bradbury short story. It’s not a cheerful story by any means, but it is classic Bradbury.
There Will Come Soft Rains (short story) – Wikipedia
I found the story available here, along with a lot of other classics from the likes of HG Wells to George MacDonald to Bradbury, Christie, Chesterton, Gilman, and many more.
Library of Short Stories | Authors
Here’s hoping you find stories that encourage your growth as a writer.
Enjoy!
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Photo by Mariia Zakatiura on Unsplash #365Ways #365Ways2026 #classics #freeFiction #inspiration #library #nature #shortStories #Thoughts #weather #Writers #writing
