by Steven Holding Slow shuffle, like a senile senior citizen. Shoulder to slumped shoulder. Your own odour, Eau de decay, bothers you no longer. You’re at one with the crowd now. Amidst this apocalypse, you experience an acceptance never found in life: not inside, doing time, nor in padded asylums. The herd swerve, having […]
by Nicole Little Holing up in this ramshackle cabin was our first mistake, but we’d run out of options. Now we’re surrounded. They pound on the door seeking entrance. And though they mumble amongst themselves, no words are discernible to us through the splintered wood. The children—our poor children; they cower, clutching at their […]
by Dustin Pinney The last survivor screamed as the creatures brought him to the ground, reached through his flesh, pulled away his lean meat, snapped apart his ribcage, gripped his lungs, and dug out his final breath. They devoured him without pleasure, leaving nothing but red and bone. Now, the undead were without purpose. […]
by Jodi Jensen “Mom! Dad!” Kelly’s shouts were met with a clattering noise from the other room. She raced toward the kitchen. “Mom? Dad? Let’s go!” Her foot hit the tiled floor and she slipped, landing her on her butt. “What the he—” Feet shuffling, her mom turned, dead grey eyes staring, jaw chomping. […]
by Zoey Xolton Rayne’s heartbeat thundered in her ears until the world fell away, and there was nothing but her shuddering, panicked breath, and the steady, hypnotic rhythm of blood roaring through her veins. Plastered against a cold concrete pylon, hidden in the shadow of the interstate bridge, a hoard ambled by just feet […]
by Melinda Pouncey It began with a worldwide contagion.Warning signs were ignored, governments slow to respond. It spread rapidly, overwhelming resources, crashing economies. Then, just as quickly as it started, it was gone; and most of the population with it. They didn’t die, that would have been a mercy. Instead, they lingered on, blind, […]
by Andreas Hort Every day they trudge around the city on their endless journey for satiation of their hunger. I can imagine their suffering; I’m starving, too. Only not for flesh. For human contact. For the last six years, day after day, I’ve had no one to talk to but myself. I… I think […]
by Paul J Scribbans “Harry! You promised Dad!” “I won’t shoot, I’m just using the scope.” Charlotte glanced uneasily at her older brother. She’d learnt the hard way to obey her parents; Harry wasn’t. Her mother told Charlotte to be quiet last year. She disobeyed and her mom died terribly. In the gorge below […]
by Maxine Churchman Sylvia, the bride-to-be, gasped when she saw the highlight of her hen weekend. Charlotte had done well; organising events on the small Caribbean Island to keep everyone partying. Now, at the end of their last meal, a huge pretend wedding cake was wheeled in and sat in the centre of the […]
Paul Warmerdam is a Dutch-American with decades of experience writing stories, who only recently decided to start submitting them. He lives in the Netherlands, where there’s plenty of rainy hours shut indoors with a story in mind.