The three of them stared through the front gate while I stood a few feet behind them. They’d never noticed there was a house back there.
Short Stories
The Ghost
Inspired by true events
Some ghost stories frighten the reader with accounts of murders and hauntings. Others entrance the reader with tales of tragedies and eerie coincidences. Ours may merely perplex you with its testimony of mystery and Gatorades. Still, I feel this story must be told. Continue reading
The Discovery
Cold. Not a winter cold, though. After all, this was mid-June. No, it was more of a lifeless cold: a certain uncomfortable feeling that something wasn’t right in the world. It was damp too, as I recall. All around, I felt a paralyzing stillness. It was as if this place had never felt the sun’s warmth, never imagined the spark of love, never shifted from its sullen fixation on its own emptiness. This place was darkness, unadulterated and unexplored. Continue reading
Day 121
The storm is here. Through the windows I watch the trees bend in the wind, the water fall upon the roads. All is washed by the downpour. The dark clouds threatened rain for hours before the first drops fell from heaven, leaving us in a strange state of anticipation and dread. Though we were resigned to face the inevitable, we knew not what lay ahead. Such has been our lot for many months. Continue reading
Day 298
Four more are gone. Only two weeks ago, they were with us. They were nearing the end, yes, but they were still with us. But now, such times are only memory. Two others have only weeks left before they go as well. So much is changing. So many are passing. Continue reading
The Warrior
“It isn’t very often that one sees a blood-spiller in town.” Continue reading
Day 192
More continue to fall.
Our numbers are thinning. I fear that, in time, we all will be taken. Two of the four of us are already gone. The third’s days are numbered, and I already see him fading away, changing into something different than the man I met years ago. He’s not yet gone, but I know it won’t be long. He knows it too. Poor old boy doesn’t even fight it. Soon, I’ll be the only one left.
The influence of “the others” is staggering. For so long, it all seemed manageable. For years, we laughed, ignorantly confident, at what we then only knew as legend, that which is now reality. We never dreamed they would be so strong. God, help us.
For now, I’m safe, but I have no way of knowing how long that will last. Will I be taken as well one day? Only God knows. There’s no wisdom in worry. I can only submit myself to the Lord and pray for grace and mercy.
I pray for those who remain with us. I pray too for those being taken. Lord, bring us safely home. Amen.
– Joe Waller
Day 192 of the year of weddings
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash
Memories and Doubts
Though a host of thoughts and feelings filled him, he closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and remembered. Continue reading
Shifting
“It’s really quite simple, to be honest. The trick is to sedate the protester before they have a chance to protest. It sounds a bit complicated, but it’s actually just a matter of figuring out what one really wants, then supplying the need. The matter takes care of itself from that point.
“At least, it does if we’re the suppliers.” Continue reading
as i learn to walk 