Fantasy
The Black Beret
We are the black berets, and we have one rule: “Always complete the mission” I guess that’s why they only select the best of the best. I am no exception. I left everything behind. I trained for three years and am now part of the elite task force under the “white masks” as the locals call them. An organization of wealthy officials. They control all of our sources but are hardly seen. When they are, they’re always in a long black cloak, and white mask reminiscent of a barn owl. They don’t live with us in the commune, in fact, no one knows where they live. We just know they pay us well as a Black Beret. Bravery is a commodity in this post-apocalyptic world. You can find things such as medical kits, non-perishables, and sometimes, water sources. On the other hand, there’s threats such as disease, radiation, feral mutated animals, and outsiders willing to do anything to survive. That being said, they all pose a danger to our health or resources, which is why we have to patrol. But recently, the white masks decided to expand, so here we are.
By Alexis Lopez5 years ago in Fiction
Resin, Second Chance
After midnight a low pulsing sound woke Owen from a deep sleep. From his second-story window he could see over many of the other buildings inside the city walls. He stood still and listened intently for a long moment. It was the same sound he heard in the square the day before. Something was different now. He could feel the sound. It was not a man-made, he was sure about that. It called to him. He needed to go back to it.
By Andy Ahart5 years ago in Fiction
Outside.
23 years we've been shut in. I can't really remember what was out there. I’ve been locked in since I was 5 years old. The stories I was told by my Aunt were supposed to scare me, to instil fear so that I would never want to venture outside. I always was an inquisitive child.
By Jayne Howey5 years ago in Fiction
Reluctant Reckoner
Two men stood at the edge of a high plateau. Below them stretched a wide plane of low, rocky hills. The barren terrain was broken by an occasional bush or rare, green-leafed tree attempting to leech what life it could from the dusty soil. The brown waste ended at a wide river a few miles off which acted as a natural barrier separating the dismal plane from the city on the other side. The city itself occupied the rest of the horizon. Miles of small buildings littered the landscape along the far bank of the river and stretching back across the slightly more fertile ground. The gray structures resembled the rocks and boulders of the preceding hills at this distance. However, there was no mistaking the city center. In the middle of the sea of mud and concrete, a high wall surrounded a forest of steel structures towering over the landscape. Their glass windows and silver spires gleamed in the rays of sunlight which broke through the overcast sky.
By Dawn Hunter5 years ago in Fiction
Crush
The city is dark as she runs. Occasionally the glowing cinders of an abandoned drum fire hint at the presence of other stragglers, but there are no other signs of life. What could survive so many assaults, one after another? The air has a chalky brightness from all the concrete dust, smoke, tear gas, antiseptic spray. The sharp burn in her lungs has become her most constant favorite friend, a dependable voice at every turn.
By Kat Campbell5 years ago in Fiction
The Cost Of Vengeance
Levi stood at the top of the large rooftop, staring down at the destruction. He knows he shouldn’t be here, but he just can’t help it. This used to be a wonderful neighborhood. The kind where all the neighborhood kids played together, and people were happy. The kind where everyone knew each other. The kind where you could raise a family. All that changed after it happened. After that experiment went horribly wrong and sent out the energy blast.
By Blake Riley5 years ago in Fiction
Carnival Godmothers
Sirena She wanted her hair to be green. She knew from the start that that’s what she wanted out of the life that had been planned for her, but not the plan her mother wanted to see. She wanted it to be green especially in her baths, when her long hair floated and it was not a strain on her little neck. The frizz of her hair did not exist there, the hard brush strokes of Nana were not possible then, her hair was wild thing, a blob of mass like a jellyfish lazily floating towards the surface. She wanted it green like the mermaids, so that she could blend in to the reeds that she saw at the bottom of the tiny river near la iglesia that used to be used for baptisms, like in the days of the Jordan. She wanted the fishies to wriggle through it, think it an anemone and raise their babies there. She wanted the sun to be a dancing light that was wavy every time she moved. She wanted the water lilies to be her bouquet when she decided to marry her new life. She wanted to swim rather than run. She asked and asked and asked for the color of the lily pads, of the grass, of the trees, of the algae, to be the color that defines her head and identity. She wanted the little straight hair she had to look like the stalks that hold flowers up and her big curls to be something people admired when the sunlight turned them to a forest.
By Ariana GonBon5 years ago in Fiction
A Vampire's Life - Part 2
5 July, 1602 He hadn't seen the punch coming, but he certainly saw the stars exploding on the insides of his eyelids after it connected. One good hit was all it had taken to down the thirteen-year-old, and he'd dropped like a sack of rocks. Dazed, he groaned in pain, trying to roll over so he could get up off the wet wood of the shipyard's dock. Yet, even as he did, another burst of pain came to him as one of the older boys kicked him in the stomach. He dropped onto his side and curled, dry-heaving from the pain.
By Bastian Falkenrath5 years ago in Fiction
Seven Strangers
Marjory stood against a set of large steel doors; her hands were clasped daintily at her waist. She was in a corridor of sorts with two large, rusted steel doors in front of her, held closed by a chain. The two behind her were more polished and required a key card for entry. Her eyes were closed and though her body was in that damp corridor, her mind was sunbathing on a remote island. A gorgeous, shirtless native was just about to hand her a drink when a cacophony of voices and growls brought her back to reality. When her eyes opened there were six people close enough to her face to tell she’d skipped her last facial screaming and pleading for her to let them in. They were all angry, but one voice stood out among the rest. Probably because it was an 11-year-old girl hurling profanities at her like she was born to it.
By Jerica Floyd5 years ago in Fiction
Children of the Sun
Children of the Sun By: Shannon K. O’Brien & Cari D. Missan I don’t think I can run anymore, even though all of our lives depend on making it out of this cave. I trip, but Lucian’s hand whips out, grasping my arm and wrenching me to my feet before I can fall face first onto the unforgiving, jagged stone ground.
By Shannon O'Brien5 years ago in Fiction
