June, 2016 Archives

14
Jun

In the Paris Catacombs

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

My tour is just two thousand meters of the hundred kilometer labyrinth that forms this subterranean ossuary.

The tunnel walls are stacks of femurs, tibias, scapulas, et alia, interspersed with grinning skulls.

Six million dead unceremoniously disinterred, generation upon generation, from centuries ago.

Good, evil, male, female, beautiful, ugly, aristocrat, artisan, everyone has attained an undignified égalité here.

I could laugh myself to scorn at this macabre absurdity. Not a ghost in sight, merely piles of bones!

Back in the land of the living, I emerge into the rush hour: busy throngs of stick people, all sharing the same destination.

From Guest Contributor Ian Fletcher

Ian studied English Literature at Oxford University many years ago. He has had short stories published in various genres in Schlock! Webzine, Schlock! Bi-Monthly, Short-story.me, Anotherealm, Under the Bed, A Story In 100 Words, and in anthologies by Horrified Press and Rogue Planet Press. He is an Affiliate Member of the Horror Writers Association.

13
Jun

Neglect

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

Lichen and moss had made their home on the intricately carved headstone while a ravenous community of ivy sought to embrace it.

The man wondered who Charlotte was. All the superficial dedications were there, though the surname was hidden. Who had she been? Was there no family to visit and maintain the plot…or did they believe in allowing it to age as naturally as their progenitor?

He crouched and pulled back some of the thicker growth from the bottom.

“…leaving behind…”

He read the names. One was unusual, like Gran’s.

He brushed ivy aside.

The surname was his own.

From Guest Contributor Perry McDaid

10
Jun

That Holiday We All Supposedly Love

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

I push in my code: 437. The sound mocking me as I snatch the clipboard off of its peg—the check list of the unforgiving. My job today: revision in the main isle. I garb my lime-green box-cutter. Time to unpack the new merchandise. I fill the cart with cardboard boxes and scoot to the holiday shelves. I slit open the tape and a waft of rich-bitterness hits my nose. I pull out the advertisement holder that holds crimson candy boxes with cartoon dogs saying, “I ruff you! Give me a kiss!” Lurking within, little cones of so called yummy.

From Guest Contributor McKenzie A. Frey

8
Jun

Caught In The Fury

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

One came at him from behind, another from the side. The assault started only minutes ago yet to him it felt longer.

He recalled his father’s war experiences. How as a mere twenty-year-old he was expected to carry out his country’s mission. The horror of losing many close friends while he was able to return home haunted him to the end of his life.

The present situation was nowhere as difficult as his father’s. The opponent stalled, giving him the chance to counterattack.

He leaped into a pile of paper, shaped sheets into airplanes. Aimed at his son.

From Guest Contributor Krystyna Fedosejevs

Krystyna writes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Her work has been published at: Nailpolish Stories, 50-Word Stories, 100 word story, 101 Words, Boston Literary Magazine, From the Depths (Haunted Waters Press), ShortbreadStories, SixWordMemoirs, and Espresso Stories.

7
Jun

Wavestar Bang

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

He lost her, but not as he thought: not to the cancer, or a car accident, or to some art student.

She was dancing alone to Wavestar in the dark, only the nightlight of the stove touching her naked toes, her knees, her swishing hips. She spun, hair whipping, neck caning, hands flying like children playing through the twilight air of the highway with the windows down, wrists like autumn leaves whose time had come.

She became transparent, translucent, spinning faster and faster, and glitter evaporated from the feet up, a tornado of silver steam.

He fell right through her.

From Guest Contributor Brook Bhagat

After graduating with a BA in English from Vassar College, Brook landed her first paid writing job as a reporter for a small-town Colorado newspaper. She left it to travel to India, where she fell in love, got married and canceled her ticket home. She and her husband Gaurav write freelance articles for dozens of publications, including Outpost, Ecoworld and Little India. In 2013, they launched www.BluePlanetJournal.com, which she edits and writes for. She also teaches writing at a community college, is earning her MFA in Writing at Lindenwood University, and is writing a novel.

6
Jun

Marathon Man

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

I lace up my trainers; the park beckons me.

My new Runmaster 3000 watch. Mary’s times improved dramatically using
the mind control feature. Now it’s my turn.

A gust of wind blows the instructions out of my hand. Oh well. How
complicated can a running watch be?

I press a button. My body starts stretching. “Run.” I do; my technique
is perfect.

“One mile completed; Nine hundred and ninety-nine miles remaining.”

Oops.

I try to press the button, but my arms swing forwards and backwards
like pistons. “Stop! Halt! Reset! Help!?!?”

“Two miles completed; Nine hundred and ninety-eight miles remaining.”

From Guest Contributor Ross Clement

3
Jun

The Lake Of Shadow

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

The traveler had spent his entire day trekking through the woods until he came upon a lake. As blue as the sky this lake was; he could see his reflection as if it was a genuine copy of himself looking into his own eyes.

He decided that he would take a swim in this beautiful lake that seemed to hold mysterious shadows in the depths below the translucent blue glow. It was a refreshing feeling as he entered the lake. But after only minutes, did the mystical glow engulf his consciousness, and his body sank into the shadowy depths below.

From Guest Contributor Gabe Mancino

1
Jun

Try Again

by thegooddoctor in 100 Words

He buys a supermarket flower bouquet and, pecking her cheek, gives it to his wife in the kitchen. She throws it in the trash can after he goes to work the next morning. Again. He buys white roses from the subway exit vendor, and gives them, with a hug, to his wife in the living room. Into the trash can after he goes to work. Again. He gives a pink potted orchid, expectantly, to his wife in the dining room. The orchid sits on a bedroom table the next morning when the wife lies in bed with the trash collector.

From Guest Contributor Gerald Kamens