Stories on the Go - 101 very short stories by 101 authors

Stories on the Go

101 Very Short Stories by 101 Authors

edited by Andrew Ashling

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Copyright

Stories on the Go

101 Very Short Stories by 101 Authors

edited by Andrew Ashling

Copyright © 2014

All rights to this anthology are reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the authors. This book contains works of fiction. The characters and situations are products of each author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Rights to the individual works contained in this anthology are owned by the submitting authors and/or publishers and each has permitted the story's use in this collection.

Cover picture provided by Hudson Owen.

Cover design by Scarlett Rugers.

Publishing services and advice by Draft2Digital.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Introduction

Index by Author

Index by Genre

101 Very Short Stories by 101 Authors

Micah Ackerman: 38th Street

Caddy Rowland: Suzanne Valadon — A Woman Who Dared

Monica La Porta: Eternal Bounds

Sam Kates: Coming Home

Lanette Curington: Purple Passion

Ela Lond: Crescent Moon

Livia Harper: Buck Hunt

Griffin Carmichael: Flashlight

Selina Fenech: Wild

Mark Gardner: Chip Assassin

Ellisa Barr: Choose Peas

Marilyn Vix: Payback’s a Witch

Jean Louise: Thursday at the Ritz-Carlton

Sheryl Fawcett: The Man Across the Room

Nathan Williams: The Gambino Theater Gambit

K.D. Hendriks: Witch in Space — and other Mishaps

Wendy C. Allen a.k.a. Eelkat: The Oak Tree — EelKat’s Twisted Tales

Lindy Moone: The Little Chill — A Three-Minute Mystery

Andrew Ashling: The Fiar

David J. Normoyle: Last Words

Jack Lusted: Found in Space

H.S. Stone: A Deluge of Demons

Craig Halloran: Henry and Tory

Cherise Kelley: My Master Got a Raw Deal

George Berger: Hudson and Hailey

Jamie Campbell: Masked Attraction

Amelia Smith: The Birds of Winter

H.S. St.Ours: Perfect Blue Sunset

Melisse Aires: Justice For Rogue Incubators

Cora Buhlert: Heiligenloh

Philip Harris: Cag — An Almost True Story

Emily Martha Sorensen: A Phone Conversation

Raquel Lyon: One in the Eye

Samuel Clements: One Depressed Angel

Dulce Rolindeax: Virtual Vampire

Julie Ann Dawson: Bad Karma

J.T. Hall: The Valentine’s Day Before We Met

Roz Marshall: The Snow Patrol

Vincent Trigili: Rage

J.E. Taylor: Abyss

Hugh Howey: A Father’s Fist

Samuel Peralta: Trauma Room

Daniel R. Marvello: Final Exam

John L. Monk: Trixy Chestity goes to England — (Chapter 7)

Hudson Owen: Einstein Stayed Here

Stella Wilkinson: The Witch and The Wolf

Susan C. Daffron: Kitty Nightmares

Anya Kelly: The Vampire’s Prey

Rachel Aukes: Beer, Bugs, and the End of the World

Anya Allyn: Another Point of View

Zelah Meyer: Mab

Nicolas Wilson: Buttrock

Jennifer Lewis: Grace and the Green Card

Toni Dwiggins: The Green Stones

Derek Neville: Oz

D.D. Parker: Quiet on Set

Keith Rowland: Beyond

Ruth Nestvold: Embracing Sorrow

P.D. Singer: Reading Material

Quinn Richardson: Mechanical Advantage

Peter J. Michaels: Noumenon

Daniel Wallock: Forgetting Life

Thea Atkinson: Of Piss and Tobacco

Lisa Grace: The Trouble With Tribble

Matt Ryan: Pencil

Vanna Smythe: The Million Colors of the Sea

Geraldine Evans: One For The Boys

MeiLin Miranda: Non Si Muove

Beverly Farr: Something Worth Keeping

Sarah L. Carter: Deadly Beauty

Tony Bertauski: What I Wasn’t

Edward M. Grant: Tongue Tied

Misti Wolanski: Indy-San

Erik Feka: Life Goes On

Dee Gabbledon: Outlandisher — A Short Tour de Farce

Becca Price: The Sirens’ Song

Arrington Flynn: Telling Your Story with Misty Rose

L.E. Parin: The Frog Prince

Darrin Perrez: The Last

Frank Zubek: Martians For Neighbors!

Rachel Elizabeth Cole: Hit and Run

Matthew W. Grant: Lamron Ot Emoclew

Michael Coorlim: Twin Souls

Maren Hayes: Kiribati

Tony Held: Showdown on Lyndale Avenue

Allan Körbes: Workplace Hazards

Tiffany Cherney: Into the Ether

Landon Porter: Live Without Them

Kathy Molyneaux: Welcome Home Mrs. Lee

Drew Avera: My Last Moment

SB Jones: The Eternal Gateway — Blades

Bob Summer: Words

E.A. Linden: Death Sentence

Sarra Cannon: The Witching Well

Carol Kean: The Tipper

Kristy Tate: Anywhere Else

Jos van Brussel: Love Salutation

John March: The Spirit Talker

Nadia Nader: The Witch in the Woods

R.M. Prioleau: Death’s Door

Joel Ansel: Living Bride

Afterword

Introduction

Andrew Ashling

Nobody likes long introductions.

I'll keep this one under a thousand words as it introduces 101 stories of a thousand words or less.

Hugh Howey launched the idea for this anthology on Kboards, a forum for Kindle readers, but also the meeting place of an active community of indie writers. The idea was almost immediately picked up by a lot of enthusiastic indie authors. Writing is usually not a collaborative art, and indie authors value their independence, maybe even more than other writers. So it's no wonder that this project went through several iterations, with so many individualists involved.

From the outset, our goal was to provide an anthology that would be a showcase of recent indie writing. To make it more attractive for you, the reader, we set ourselves a limit of a thousand words. You should be able to read each story in under five minutes — on your desktop computer, laptop, or tablet at home or in the office, but also on your smartphone, on the go, while you are commuting or waiting at a coffee shop for your significant other to arrive.

We included as many genres as we could. We hope that maybe, with only five minutes of your time on the line that would otherwise be wasted anyway, you'll be tempted to venture outside your comfort zone and try out some new genres and new authors.

To make it even easier on you, we included an Index by Genre and another Index by Author. Of course, there's also a Table of Contents.

Or… you could just start reading the first story without further ado.

There are many people to thank.

Hugh Howey for his ever-abiding enthusiasm and for providing the idea and initial impetus for this book. Harvey Chute, the benevolent, long-suffering creator of Kboards, home of so many unruly indie-writers, where the idea for this anthology originated. Hudson Owen for providing the cover picture, Selina Fenech for paying for the cover, and Scarlett Rugers for the design. The volunteers who helped edit this book and always provided me with constructive suggestions. The 101 authors for making their stories available.

And, last but not least, my thanks go to you, intrepid, gentle reader, for giving us a chance to present the fruits of our lonely craft to you.

I hope you'll enjoy our stories.

Andrew Ashling, Editor

Horror

38th Street

Micah Ackerman

Saban watched as the flash of blood entered the tube attached to the butterfly needle. He had been bitten yesterday afternoon, and had called his doctor right away. He was at the clinic now; his doctor had told him to get tested immediately.

He thought it was all rumor, all media hype right up until the moment that homeless dipshit had sunk his teeth into Saban’s arm. The man had been covered in filth and defecation. Saban didn’t even see him coming; how was he supposed to know that the bum was dead? Two days ago, Eyewitness News had reported about groups of psychotic people biting innocent bystanders. Last night they had finally announced that the biters were—dead, but walking? It was ridiculous. It couldn’t be happening.

The phlebotomist pulled the cylindrical tube filled with crimson off the needle attachment. I’ll get this right to the lab; you’ll have your results soon. She looked tired; the line of people waiting to get tested stretched out the door of the clinic. Saban had waited two hours for a blood test. He knew it was the right decision as he felt his body temperature rise and his knees buckle while waiting in the queue.

He stood and glanced into the mirror hanging over the sink. Ohh, God, he whispered, hoping no one would hear. His face was a greenish yellow, and his eyes were red with blood. Would there be any reason to wait for the results? He could have diagnosed half of the people in line just by looking at them.

Saban walked out of the blood draw booth past the throng of souls waiting for their turn. Some of the people held bags full of vomit. That was the first symptom: uncontrollable nausea and vomiting. Saban hadn’t been able to hold down anything solid since the bite. He wrote it off as nerves, but now he knew that it was so much more.

The line extended onto the sidewalk. It was freezing out, and Saban shivered as the wind hit his sweaty brow. It was the grayest winter that he’d ever experienced, which certainly fit his mood. Reaching up, Saban pulled down his wool hat over his ears. His stomach and calves began to cramp, locked up as if a noose were drawing tight around his neck. The hallucinations would come next. The phlebotomist had given him a printout describing the symptoms. Of course they left off the last symptom: death.

An ambulance screamed by him on the street, the sirens echoing off the glass-faced skyscrapers. It made 38th Street feel like a cavern, a cold unforgiving cavern. He walked toward his apartment. Four blocks, which might as well be a hundred. Every step was agony. Trash had started to build up on the curbs, always the first thing to be forgotten in a time of crisis. The epidemic was certainly a crisis; the garbage men must have headed for the hills. If only I were smarter, or worked in trash collection, he said, laughing quietly to himself. Even laughing was painful. His ribs seemed to stab into his lungs with every chuckle. He could have run, it was true. Little good it would do now.

The tall buildings seemed to magnify the icy wind as he walked. Up ahead, Saban could see two men fighting. It seemed commonplace these days; everyone was on edge. One man straddled the other, who was lying on the ground desperately trying to get free. The man on top was determined; he looked as if he were headbutting the other in the face. Saban picked up his pace, wanting to get past the ruckus before the cops arrived and caused a scene. The sidewalk felt spiky under his tender feet. He was almost to the men when he noticed the man on top wasn’t fighting the man on the bottom — he was eating his face. Every time he bent down he chomped another mouthful of nose, lip, or cheek. Blood had puddled around the victim’s head. His legs gyrated up and down as the remaining electrical impulses left his body. Saban was disgusted and mesmerized at the same time. It must have been a hallucination brought on by the fever. He was hot, then cold; his body couldn’t decide which. His immune system was rebelling against itself. Soon he wouldn’t know up from down.

Saban walked around the grotesque scene of bloody gore. He wanted to give the men—were they men or monsters? He wanted to give whatever they were a wide berth. The sun started to go down slowly in front of him, though it was only ten in the morning. Regardless, the sky was darkening. Saban felt faint, he was spinning, no he was… Hungry, so hungry, he needed to eat. A thin film had fallen over his eyes, like a blurry veil. He was ravenous now; he needed something, anything or anyone. He pushed the thought out of his mind. What did it even mean, anyone? Saban’s throat had begun to close up. He tried to speak, but the only sound that came out was a sickly groan. His legs wouldn’t work right. He began to shamble. All he could think about was getting to his apartment, to the steak in the refrigerator. But steak wasn’t quite what he wanted.

Saban turned stiffly and watched the man chowing down on his enemy’s face. He looked up at Saban, cocked his head to the side, and then went back to eating. Saban’s brain was going foggy. He couldn’t remember yesterday. He didn’t know how he had gotten on the street. He knew that he needed to eat. Soon he found himself on his knees beside the corpse biting into the bicep, feeling the wet flesh slither down his throat, which opened to accept it. The taste was beautiful, like a symphony.

Micah Ackerman

is a Horror and Science Fiction writer from Connecticut. He has worked in the medical field for the past 10 years giving him unique insight into the interior workings of the human animal. His first full length novel Wormwood is now available on Amazon. The book is about a full scale nuclear war and how one man strives to save his small town. Micah loves to chat with his fans, so if you have any questions or comments please visit him at his website.

Micah Ackerman’s Website

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Historical Fiction

Suzanne Valadon:

A Woman Who Dared

Caddy Rowland

Suzanne sighed as she looked around at the customers at Le Chat Noir. This cabaret in Montmartre was considered the place to be seen by everyone, from the lowliest of artists to the finest of gentry. The past year it had flourished. Oh, yes, particularly the bourgeoisie flocked to the crowded cabaret, hoping to be noticed frolicking with the wild bohemians and their wicked ways.

Surprisingly, it didn’t matter to these imposters that the cabaret regulars cruelly satirized them, calling them out and embarrassing them in front of their colleagues. It was all a lark, after all. Once the night ended, they’d go back to their respectable parts of the city, never making eye contact with any of the rabble they had associated with the night before—should they be so unlucky as to run into them on the streets of Paris.

She herself was more looked down upon than most of the artists in the area. It was most definitely a man’s world, and probably always would be. Yes, even in the world of bohemia, where artists prided themselves on their cutting edge painting and lifestyles, women were very much a minority in regard to playing anything but traditional roles.

Generally, women only gained entrance to the art world as an artist’s model. Artist’s model, my ass, thought Suzanne. She, and other models, served as nothing but whores who were passed around from artist to artist. Once one had their fill of whatever had made the woman seem their muse, she was discarded, only to be picked up again by the next in line. For one man, it was her hair, another, her hips. Regardless of what feature appealed, the males painted a few pictures, grew bored, and found new inspiration. She doubted they ever considered how poorly they treated the women who posed for them.

Well, she had dared to enter their world not only as a model, but as a painter—something few other women had succeeded in doing so far. Renoir had helped her, but most of all Degas. Degas had taken her under his wing and taught her technique. It had probably amused him to do so. Once she began to show promise, he’d been unable to hide his surprise. To his credit, he complimented her, continuing to help her.

Now she painted quite well. Additionally, she was also currently pregnant. Oh, it wasn’t Degas. Not him. Other than that, she was unsure who the father of the child growing in her might be. It didn’t matter. She’d been branded a salope long before she became pregnant, simply because she refused to live according to society’s rules. Most of the men she knew wouldn’t make a father to be proud of, anyway. Those who would were unlikely to step forward. One could always hope, though. It would be nice to be taken care of for a change.

Even when the baby was born, she’d continue to paint. It was in her blood now, and she knew her paintings were quite good. Currently, men admired her only for her looks, but she hoped the day would come when people would admire her for her artistry. Suzanne Valadon. Although she had been born Marie-Clémentine Valadon, she now went by Suzanne. Could she dare hope to never be forgotten? Would the world ever start to appreciate contributions by females? Wouldn’t it be something if her art made history?

Suzanne looked around the smoky cabaret once more. There was Vincent, always by himself unless his brother, Theo, accompanied him. Well, he was a strange one. Still, van Gogh could paint. No one could deny that, although she heard many trying to. He winked, making her smile. She felt a kinship with him, knowing what it felt like to be an outcast. Maybe all of the outcasts should get together and build a fortress, with a sign hanging in front that simply said, Just Don’t Mess With Us.

Wouldn’t that be something? A place where she was safe from prying eyes, where she could live freely, never being held up for inspection and contempt by not only the rest of society, but some of her fellow artists as well?

Men! They were such fools. It seemed they were more motivated by what was in their pants than what talent ran through their veins. Still, she shouldn’t talk. Lord knew it was hard for her to turn down any man she found appealing. Well, men did it, why shouldn’t she? Men seemed to think women didn’t find any pleasure in the act itself, only in pleasing them. Simply further proof they were fools. Someday, some man would figure out that women enjoyed that certain pastime every bit as much as they—if the man cared enough to actually consider what felt good to women. When that day came, he would be very much in demand. Of that she was sure.

In the meantime, she kept sampling them, hoping to find one who actually lived up to the promise in his eyes, his arms, or his aura. So far, no luck. They were like day old bakery treats: nice to look at, but disappointing as hell when bitten into. Still, she’d keep trying. Perhaps she’d get lucky and discover one that could last more than a few minutes. They didn’t understand it felt as good to women as it did to them, but women wanted it to go on longer.

At least she had her painting. And the child within her. Would it be a boy or a girl? She hoped it would be a boy. Life would be so much easier as a male. Either way, she would teach the child to live life to the fullest, never answering to society. Maybe the child would even paint.

In several months she would add Mother to the list of names people called her. Suzanne Valadon: Mother. Artist. Model. Lover. Whore.

At least three of the five weren’t bad. Not bad at all.

Caddy Rowland

is author of the five book historical family saga The Gastien Series. This story begins in nineteenth century France. Gastien is a farm boy with dreams far bigger than a peasant has a right to. He leaves home to become a great artist and lover, but lacks education, money, or contacts. It’s a story about struggle, quest for power, abuse of power, and pursuing dreams.

The Gastien Series: Sometimes the impossible is possible, but the cost can be extremely high.

Caddy’s also authored a psychological thriller, There Was a House, a four novel saga of revenge and redemption. Six teenagers have been sex trafficked. They’re forced to work in a brothel where wealthy men satisfy their most vile sexual urges. The teenagers hang onto hope that one day they will be free, but escape isn’t good enough. Phoenix and Jamie head up a plan for total destruction of the despicable men who use them.

There Was a House Saga: They better be damn good. There will only be one chance.

Caddy has always been a nonconformist. She likes to push the proverbial envelope when it comes to characterization and world building. Heroes have warts; villains have soft spots. Main characters don’t always learn their lessons because all too often we don’t, either. There isn’t always a happy ending, but sometimes there is. Otherwise she’d be predictable.

Caddy Rowland: Novels showcasing the sublime joy and bitter tragedy of being human.

Caddy Rowland’s Blog

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Paranormal

Eternal Bounds

Monica La Porta

I always feel cold. I shouldn’t feel anything at all, but Fortune didn’t smile on me when alive, so why should I be lucky in death? Maybe the coldness, seeping through what is left of me, is a reminder of actions not taken and words not spoken. I wish I did speak and act then, and now I can’t. I would have died a better death.

She shivers when I am around, and she cries when she thinks I am not. My love, are you here?

I am. Always.

She wipes a tear, and reaches for the clasp securing her white tunica in place. The fabric caresses her body in soft waves and I am jealous of it. She hugs her chest, one hand flat over her heart. I miss you. She stands.

I follow her to the window opening to the fields. She looks for me. Out there, among the others. She knows I am no longer. Yet, every evening, when the first stars appear in the dark sky, and the workers intone the nightly chants of the vespers, she strains her eyes, hoping to recognize my shaved head bobbing alongside the other shaved heads.

I would never understand how she could identify me among a sea of humanity, all wearing the same rags, all raising their shackled arms at the same time, all singing with the same intonation in Egyptian, a language still foreign to her. Yet, she did.

Remember the day I met you? The hint of a smile tugs at her dry lips.

I nod. Once a respected member of the palatial court, I had been a nameless captive for the entirety of three days. One lost battle against the Roman army and my life as royalty was already a memory.

Pater thought the library needed renovation, and I was there, hiding behind a column, curious about the new slaves. She keeps looking outside at the darkness, and slowly rocks at the sound of the vespers.

My fair complexion and educated mannerism had been noticed by the prefect, who recruited me and others to work inside the house, a place I had known all my life as my own, now renamed Domus Petronia to honor the new owner. My shackles had been removed, and at first, the temporary relief of it had blinded me from seeing her. She had seen me first. Her eyes, the bluest shade of blue, the color of my beloved sea, had commanded my attention and I had forgotten to lower mine. Later, I received ten lashes for that indiscretion. I suffered the punishment with my eyes closed, seeing the auburn halo surrounding her oval face, wishing I could pass my fingers through her tightly coiled tresses and free them.

The day after, I looked for you, but I was told the whole crew had been moved to the outer fields. I ran there— She laughs. Junia was terrified, she didn’t want to leave the house. She was sure she would get in trouble for helping me. ‘Domina, you’ll have me killed, I swear!’ She wipes a tear that has escaped her lashes. I was careful not to be seen sneaking around the slaves’ quarters. She presses her palm deeper against her chest. I didn’t return to the house until I found you.

I was washing my wounded back in the river, and I stopped, aware I was being watched. I knew it was her and I slowly turned to confront her unabashed probing, but I wasn’t afraid. I loved her already. As I had worshipped the sun and the moon, I worshipped her, my Roman goddess. She walked toward the riverbank, uncaring that the hem of her toga was darkened by the Nile’s silt. I stepped back, tripping. This time, I remembered to lower my head.

Look at me. Please, she had whispered in Latin, one of the many languages I fluently spoke. One arm outstretched, the dainty fingers of her smooth hand reached out to my arm, once adorned with jewelry and now marred by bruises.

Her touch enslaved me more than the shackles I wore.

I had never seen anyone as beautiful as you. She blinks and then shrugs. I couldn’t stop thinking of you, my only desire to have you in my arms. And when I stole that kiss from you, I thought I would faint.

Day after day, she looks more and more fragile. And yet her beauty is still intact. I wish I could feel the softness of her lips on mine one more time. It would be worth dying again. When, one day, a few months later, the slave master caught me climbing the trellis to her room, I knew my time had come. Thankfully, she wasn’t there and never saw what happened to me. I was nothing more than spoil of war. Nobody realized I was gone but her.

Although, I never left her. Her love has anchored me by her side all this time.

She sighs and I know what will follow next. A sob. Then another. Then the servant girl, who is patiently waiting for the scene to unfold from her corner, will bring the milk of the poppy to calm the old domina as instructed by the medicus, the new family physician freshly arrived from Rome.

I don’t need it, Junia. The girls come and go, but she calls all of them Junia.

The servant has her orders and gently guides her to the wooden lettiga, the narrow bed where she spends most of her time nowadays. She drinks from the proffered cup and the deep lines etched on her face relax, while she slips away to her dreams. But before she closes her already clouded eyes, she looks at me with that stare of hers that would make me breathless if I had any breath left, and she smiles.

Soon, my Egyptian princess. Soon, I’ll be free to be with you.

Monica La Porta

is an Italian who landed in Seattle several years ago. Despite popular feelings about the Northwest weather, she finds the mist and the rain the perfect conditions to write. Being a strong advocate of universal acceptance and against violence in any form and shape, she is also glad to have landed precisely in Washington State. She is the author of The Ginecean Chronicles, a dystopian/science fiction series set on the planet Ginecea where women rule over a race of enslaved men and heterosexual love is considered a sin. She has published the first four books in the series, The Priest, Pax in the Land of Women, Prince at War, and Marie’s Journey. She just released two new NA paranormal romances, Gaia, and Elios. She also wrote and illustrated a children’s book about the power of imagination, The Prince’s Day Out. Her published short, Linda of the Night, is a fairy tale love story celebrating inner beauty. The Lost Centurion, the first title in a new series, The Immortals, a paranormal saga set in Rome, has just been released. Stop by her blog to read about her miniatures, sculptures, paintings, and her beloved beagle, Nero. Sometimes, she also posts about her writing.

Monica La Porta’s Blog

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Horror — Paranormal

Coming Home

Sam Kates

Utter darkness. The type that only exists during power outages. If it wasn’t for the rattling of the street lamps as gusts buffeted their casings, audible even above the banshee yowl of the wind, he might have believed the lamps had never existed. He might have been in the Yorkshire moors, two centuries in the past, waiting for Cathy to come home.

Impressions of swirling black movement as leaves swept into the air. No lightning flash or thunder rumble, but rain and hail spattered the windows like a child throwing grit. The panes shook under the onslaught in their ancient putty casements, though held firm. The cottage had seen this – and worse – many times before.

He pulled back from the glass, his flickering reflection appearing wraith-like, obscuring the glimpses of exterior motion and making outside seem like the infinite blackness that moths seek on the far side of flames.

For a moment, he considered drawing shut the heavy velvet drapes that he hated and that he’d kept – she had chosen them – but stayed his hand. Something told him that he was heading towards a climax, and that it was near. They had grown more intense of late, the dreams…

Threshing, sweating dreams. He would come out of them in wild disarray, tongue thick, heart racing, convinced that she once more lay by his side. Only bringing an arm across to the cold, empty space told him otherwise. Still he could smell her perfume, though the scent faded with the dreams, growing insubstantial, a suggestion, like a breath on a lover’s neck.

He moved to the door rattling in its frame. The iron key was turned to the locked position. The gale would not prevail. Rivulets of rain ran down