Mary died on August 12th at 04:13am. I was there when her husband, John, found her later that morning after he returned home from a nightshift. John was devastated. He promised himself that he would catch the murderer, and when he did, he would make sure they paid for what they did to his wife.… Continue reading The Murderer by Ellie Fiander
A split second later, Paul not knowing where this sudden urge for commandership arose reached for John’s jacket attempting to retrieve his phone. John instinctively battered his arm away. Paul couldn’t help himself, like some sort of power surged through his body, an inner knowledge knowing he had to win this argument. He shoved John… Continue reading Life Can Change in a Second by Tamerice Luke
Ceridwen Hillam watched the blurred fields of flowers and wheat fly by, mesmerized by their gloriously bright colours. Stunning reds and yellows selflessly flung themselves at the passing cars; gentle shades of green and beige balanced the painting. Strips of shadows regularly dimmed her view every time they drove beneath a bridge or through a… Continue reading Biggest fan, pt. 1 by Heather Taylor
I read Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe when I was twelve. It took me two days, ten hours each time, to read and digest every word. Every morsel of danger experienced by the Narrator on that desolate island with no food, I felt, blossomed through the vivid language used by its creator as the words hugged tightly… Continue reading Boarding House Blunders: Anna is Cast from the Nest, pt. 1 by Jack Hancock
III Hamberie was rural farm in Calvados, northern France. The farm was bounded on one side by a small river and what looked like a retired railway crossing on the other which, if followed just four miles east, would take you to the little town of Falaise, home of William the Conqueror’s Château. The… Continue reading De la Ferme; or, Of the Farm, pt. 2 by Tom Gorst
She cursed his caution as she trudged across the forbury to the abbey ruins. He’d made her swear not to bring a lantern, saying fire would defeat his purposes. She wouldn’t mind walking in the dark if not for these boots -- that was his other condition. She must borrow a set of clothes from… Continue reading What is Ruined, What is Lost by Jesse Stanchak
I Marianne’s younger sister, Rosie, was in the kitchen at the time trying to tend to his arm, but she was quite useless. He stood hunched over the sink, pressed against the cool brass cover of the countertop which ran along its edge. They’d succeeded in getting him to respond, however meekly. “I… I’m… Continue reading De la Ferme; or, Of the Farm, pt. 1 by Thomas Gorst
Continued from part one (where in the year 2242 the scientific L2DMC research group are about to ‘map’ dark matter to find out what lies within it. Junior Tech Assistant M’diitch is out the office watching a ‘skyscreen’ presentation: Captain Addams’ Lost Love – we join the action being broadcast mid-way through as Addams is… Continue reading What waits for us in the Dark (Matter)? – A Darkmatters Universe Fragment, pt. 2 by Matt Adcock
It is well scientifically documented that the dark has always frightened mankind. From our earliest cave dwelling ancestors huddling around fires through to our high-tech London2 megacity habitats of 2242 which are floodlit day and night - we are hard-wired to fear something in the gloom. Once the lights go out, our primate minds begin… Continue reading What waits for us in the Dark (Matter)? – A Darkmatters Universe Fragment, pt. 1 by Matt Adcock
In the time before mankind walked on the world, there lived the demi-god known as Māui. A trickster from a young age, Māui was a plague to his two older brothers, Māuitaha and Māuiroto, and they went out of their way to avoid his company, often taking long fishing trips on the ocean just to… Continue reading Māui and the Giant Fish (Māui Me Te Ika Nui) by Ross Firth
