Darla stepped into the street, pulling the door closed behind her. The impact shook free flakes of red paint that drifted to the ground like bloody dandruff. She hugged her thin coat closer to her, but the evening chill sent freezing fingers exploring beneath the cheap fabric. Within moments, the damp air turned her groomed […]
Creative Writing
Friday Flash – Regular Guy
My name is Henry Carpenter and I am just a regular guy. I tell myself this for twenty minutes every morning, beginning at 8:02, and I repeat the mantra again at 6:36pm. If I tell myself this, I do not hurt people. If I don’t… An insurance salesman called at 6:34pm. I didn’t realise what […]
Friday Flash – Talent Show
Simon Powell sat at the table in the village hall, and motioned for quiet. The dull hubbub of voices in the audience died away, leaving behind a silence so pregnant it almost gave birth on the floor. A young man stumbled forwards onto the stage, forced on by an assistant in the wings. Simon recognised […]
Friday Flash – Nevermore
A piercing caw broke the midnight silence. Maxwell Fischer groaned and pried open his crusted eyelids. Moonlight sneaked through a gap in the curtains and fell across the carpet in silky waves. He threw back the covers and swung his feet to the floor with a thud. “Not again,” he growled. He hauled himself upright and glared […]
Friday Flash – Speak Easy
Dora sat near the back of the room, a trashy romance novel in her hand, and a glass of cheap lemonade on the table. She paused at the end of each page to glance around the cavernous basement bar. The hotel dated back to 1910, but the current decor screamed 1980s time warp. Even the […]
Friday Flash – Finders Keepers
The sun’s sliding down the sky towards the horizon and the dying husk of the city lies quiet around me. Only the sound of my horse’s hooves on the grass of Victory Park breaks the silence. I’m not worried about the noise. They only come out if they hear humans, and they don’t stir much […]