FFM 2021, July 31 - Prospect Echo Part 3 (Collab) by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2021, July 31 - Prospect Echo Part 3 (Collab)
I knew I should have trusted my instincts. Of course the bones were human. This fucking place doesn’t have any native wildlife. The only thing with bones here are us. Yborra stared down at the ramshackle village, now mostly quiet. Everyone had gone into the big central house, the only one that looked like it might actually stand up to anything more than a light breeze. Light spilled through the tiny shuttered windows, and sometimes the light flickered as someone moved inside. The Nvoi beeped next to her, to indicate it had finished its sweep. Farrow, reading the display, frowned. “That’s all bar…three of the children, as per the last colony census. Four adults. Two ping as Reznik and Xenia, the other two are ID:d as Madeleine May – that’s the pre-K and primary school teacher – and Alexei Rogozin, an agricultural worker.” “Weapons?” “Just Reznik’s rifle. Rogozin has it. But I’m pretty sure it’s bio-coded to Reznik.” “Pretty sure?” Yborra groaned. It tracked, though – the company
I'm writing this as a warning to everyone: if a relative or a loved one, especially one you haven't been close with for a long time or who lives far away suddenly contacts you and wants to talk about Dybbukism, do not talk to them!! Do not meet them, do not return their calls or messages. Block them everywhere, and forget they ever existed. Even if it's your own sister.
Consider my story a warning example. Everything I write here is true.
My sister, let's call her Ann (not her real name) and me were never close growing up: she was ten years older than me, and by the time I started school she had already moved away from home. But we kept in
Jeanette found the portal to the other world the day her fiancé left her. She had been crying so much she had run out of napkins, and when she went to the closet where she stored the big bag of paper towels, the back of the closet had been replaced with a glowing portal.
The shock of it was enough to pull her out of her depression. She opened her mouth to call for Jason, but then she remembered he was gone. Good. He wouldn't have been able to enjoy it anyway.
The problem with the portal was that she was the only one who could see it. Taking pictures of it only gave her embarrassing photos of the back of her messy closet. She brought he
FFM 2018, July 26 - She Saw Everything Clearly by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 26 - She Saw Everything Clearly
Being a guard in the only place in the world where they stored Unobtainium was, as far as Faith was concerned, just one step below actually being a super-hero. The only problem was of course that no-one could a) know that this was the only place in the world where they stored Unobtainium, and b) super-heroes were presumably paid better? The a) part was really quite a bummer. For example: the storage place was a large industrial warehouse, where they (on paper) stored parts for nuclear reactors, and everyone of her colleagues pretended that this was all they were guarding. She did like to obliquely talk about the content of the forbidden room
FFM 2018, July 25 - Blood Brothers by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 25 - Blood Brothers
The more detective Meg Battle found out about the victim, the less she wanted the perpetrator or perpetrators caught. The gutting and dismemberment of the body did suggest a personal motive though. The interview with the bastard's daughter had been especially enlightening.
"I accidentally killed a butterfly once." The kid had said (she was maybe 8). "And daddy said 'no more butter for you'. After that I tried killing all the cockroaches I could. It didn't work."
The kid was staying with her much older brother now, and seemed much happier for it. The mother was long dead. She remembered the look of alarm on the brother's face when she'd came
FFM 2018, July 19 - Ratramentum (Part Two) by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 19 - Ratramentum (Part Two)
The creature that lived inside the body of Solender Vike tried her best not to be affected by the stares of the rag-tag so-called Dead Rats, but it was difficult. When she had first taken over the mercenary contractor's body, Solender Vike had clearly been a man, wearing a man's clothing, with a man's hair and a man's attitude to life. She had tried to emulate that, for a bit, but it had been too hard. So now Solender Vike was as androgynous as they could come and still remain living. Clothes that could pass for robes or a skirt with a particularly long slit; hair braided and formed in ways that defied all fashion and custom, and a carefully
FFM 2018, July 24 - Sting Operation by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 24 - Sting Operation
The sting operation was old hat to Laura Esteban by now. She pretended to be a member of the underground railroad that ferried people to "friendly countries", while her fellow ISA agents waited at every entrance, ready to burst in the moment the target had spilled the beans. Usually they operated out of an old warehouse, in the kind of place that in the olden days would've felt really unsafe. These days, of course, the only unsafe thing about them were the property prices.
"How'd you do it, anyway?" Reyes was donning his ISA-stamped body armour, which Laura thought was a little overkill. But she guessed they liked to look tough when they sto
FFM 2018, July 23 - In-between by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 23 - In-between
It was time to break up, but Naomi didn't want to do it through text. But she still had to use text to get in touch with Kenzie.
Hey. We need to talk. Where are you?
33°56'18.5"N 118°26'08.0"W
Naomi sighed. Why couldn't anything Kenzie ever do be normal? She took the coordinates and put them into Google Maps.
You're by the airport? Again? Can we meet somewhere legal?
I'm by the tree.
She took the bus and walked the rest of the way. Above, planes flew in and flew out. Kenzie was obsessed with the airport, and for a while like all of their obsessions, it had felt charming. In the beginning, all of Kenzie's idiosyncrasies had see
FFM 2018, July 22 - Wonderland by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 22 - Wonderland
Alice woke up, and found the pack of cards transformed into a flutter of dead leaves on her face, and her older sister's face looking gently down at her. "Why, what a long sleep yo--"
Nope. Nuh-uh. Alice sat up. Sure, the grass rustled innocently in the breeze, sure the cow-bells sounded a bit like the Hatter's tea party, and sure, the cow in the distance mooing sounded a bit like the Mock Turtle's sobs. But it was all too perfectly set up.
"All right, Rabbit. Out of hiding." Alice growled at the grass, and almost to her surprise the little white ears popped up, and then the worried-looking face of the White Rabbit.
"Where's the Queen?" Sh
FFM 2018, July 21 - Like Dolphins Fly by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 21 - Like Dolphins Fly
Ziva had lived next to the Wall all of her life. Her family were shepherds, and their sheep liked to graze in the shadow during the hottest summer days. It wasn't a Wall at all, supposedly, but rather something buried in the ground, but to her - seeing only a small bit of it - it always looked like a Wall. Her father said the King's men came once a generation to study it, but so far no-one was any the wiser. She remembered them coming once, when she was very small.
So far, they hadn't found the Shaking Man.
Her dog, that she liked to call 'the Buzz' for how hyperactive he was for a sheepdog, was always the better shepherd, so when things lo
FFM 2021, July 31 - Prospect Echo Part 3 (Collab) by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2021, July 31 - Prospect Echo Part 3 (Collab)
I knew I should have trusted my instincts. Of course the bones were human. This fucking place doesn’t have any native wildlife. The only thing with bones here are us. Yborra stared down at the ramshackle village, now mostly quiet. Everyone had gone into the big central house, the only one that looked like it might actually stand up to anything more than a light breeze. Light spilled through the tiny shuttered windows, and sometimes the light flickered as someone moved inside. The Nvoi beeped next to her, to indicate it had finished its sweep. Farrow, reading the display, frowned. “That’s all bar…three of the children, as per the last colony census. Four adults. Two ping as Reznik and Xenia, the other two are ID:d as Madeleine May – that’s the pre-K and primary school teacher – and Alexei Rogozin, an agricultural worker.” “Weapons?” “Just Reznik’s rifle. Rogozin has it. But I’m pretty sure it’s bio-coded to Reznik.” “Pretty sure?” Yborra groaned. It tracked, though – the company
I'm writing this as a warning to everyone: if a relative or a loved one, especially one you haven't been close with for a long time or who lives far away suddenly contacts you and wants to talk about Dybbukism, do not talk to them!! Do not meet them, do not return their calls or messages. Block them everywhere, and forget they ever existed. Even if it's your own sister.
Consider my story a warning example. Everything I write here is true.
My sister, let's call her Ann (not her real name) and me were never close growing up: she was ten years older than me, and by the time I started school she had already moved away from home. But we kept in
Jeanette found the portal to the other world the day her fiancé left her. She had been crying so much she had run out of napkins, and when she went to the closet where she stored the big bag of paper towels, the back of the closet had been replaced with a glowing portal.
The shock of it was enough to pull her out of her depression. She opened her mouth to call for Jason, but then she remembered he was gone. Good. He wouldn't have been able to enjoy it anyway.
The problem with the portal was that she was the only one who could see it. Taking pictures of it only gave her embarrassing photos of the back of her messy closet. She brought he
FFM 2018, July 26 - She Saw Everything Clearly by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 26 - She Saw Everything Clearly
Being a guard in the only place in the world where they stored Unobtainium was, as far as Faith was concerned, just one step below actually being a super-hero. The only problem was of course that no-one could a) know that this was the only place in the world where they stored Unobtainium, and b) super-heroes were presumably paid better? The a) part was really quite a bummer. For example: the storage place was a large industrial warehouse, where they (on paper) stored parts for nuclear reactors, and everyone of her colleagues pretended that this was all they were guarding. She did like to obliquely talk about the content of the forbidden room
FFM 2018, July 25 - Blood Brothers by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 25 - Blood Brothers
The more detective Meg Battle found out about the victim, the less she wanted the perpetrator or perpetrators caught. The gutting and dismemberment of the body did suggest a personal motive though. The interview with the bastard's daughter had been especially enlightening.
"I accidentally killed a butterfly once." The kid had said (she was maybe 8). "And daddy said 'no more butter for you'. After that I tried killing all the cockroaches I could. It didn't work."
The kid was staying with her much older brother now, and seemed much happier for it. The mother was long dead. She remembered the look of alarm on the brother's face when she'd came
FFM 2018, July 19 - Ratramentum (Part Two) by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 19 - Ratramentum (Part Two)
The creature that lived inside the body of Solender Vike tried her best not to be affected by the stares of the rag-tag so-called Dead Rats, but it was difficult. When she had first taken over the mercenary contractor's body, Solender Vike had clearly been a man, wearing a man's clothing, with a man's hair and a man's attitude to life. She had tried to emulate that, for a bit, but it had been too hard. So now Solender Vike was as androgynous as they could come and still remain living. Clothes that could pass for robes or a skirt with a particularly long slit; hair braided and formed in ways that defied all fashion and custom, and a carefully
FFM 2018, July 24 - Sting Operation by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 24 - Sting Operation
The sting operation was old hat to Laura Esteban by now. She pretended to be a member of the underground railroad that ferried people to "friendly countries", while her fellow ISA agents waited at every entrance, ready to burst in the moment the target had spilled the beans. Usually they operated out of an old warehouse, in the kind of place that in the olden days would've felt really unsafe. These days, of course, the only unsafe thing about them were the property prices.
"How'd you do it, anyway?" Reyes was donning his ISA-stamped body armour, which Laura thought was a little overkill. But she guessed they liked to look tough when they sto
FFM 2018, July 23 - In-between by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 23 - In-between
It was time to break up, but Naomi didn't want to do it through text. But she still had to use text to get in touch with Kenzie.
Hey. We need to talk. Where are you?
33°56'18.5"N 118°26'08.0"W
Naomi sighed. Why couldn't anything Kenzie ever do be normal? She took the coordinates and put them into Google Maps.
You're by the airport? Again? Can we meet somewhere legal?
I'm by the tree.
She took the bus and walked the rest of the way. Above, planes flew in and flew out. Kenzie was obsessed with the airport, and for a while like all of their obsessions, it had felt charming. In the beginning, all of Kenzie's idiosyncrasies had see
FFM 2018, July 22 - Wonderland by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 22 - Wonderland
Alice woke up, and found the pack of cards transformed into a flutter of dead leaves on her face, and her older sister's face looking gently down at her. "Why, what a long sleep yo--"
Nope. Nuh-uh. Alice sat up. Sure, the grass rustled innocently in the breeze, sure the cow-bells sounded a bit like the Hatter's tea party, and sure, the cow in the distance mooing sounded a bit like the Mock Turtle's sobs. But it was all too perfectly set up.
"All right, Rabbit. Out of hiding." Alice growled at the grass, and almost to her surprise the little white ears popped up, and then the worried-looking face of the White Rabbit.
"Where's the Queen?" Sh
FFM 2018, July 21 - Like Dolphins Fly by Wolfrug, literature
Literature
FFM 2018, July 21 - Like Dolphins Fly
Ziva had lived next to the Wall all of her life. Her family were shepherds, and their sheep liked to graze in the shadow during the hottest summer days. It wasn't a Wall at all, supposedly, but rather something buried in the ground, but to her - seeing only a small bit of it - it always looked like a Wall. Her father said the King's men came once a generation to study it, but so far no-one was any the wiser. She remembered them coming once, when she was very small.
So far, they hadn't found the Shaking Man.
Her dog, that she liked to call 'the Buzz' for how hyperactive he was for a sheepdog, was always the better shepherd, so when things lo
FFM 31, 21 - Prospect Echo Part 6 by inksoaked, literature
Literature
FFM 31, 21 - Prospect Echo Part 6
(This is the final chapter of this years collaboration challenge; the other chapters can be found in the artist‘s comments. I strongly suggest that you read them in order, this…doesn‘t stand alone. LOL) The moment before Reznik’s deafening fusillade and the sickening screams of children had Xenia dropping to the floor, the kid had been eerily silent, looking through the slats of the shuttered window. The girl had been focused, or maybe she’d even dissociated- it was hard for Xenia to tell. As far as Xenia was concerned, the girl didn’t look “transcended”. She was nothing more than a traumatized kid. “THISSSSZZZZ ISISIS IS—” Xenia and the child were on the floor and Reznik’s voice was...glitching? The gun stuttered into silence. “GRAHHHHH, FAARRO-BODY THIS ISN’T MY-- Xenia crept out of the small room in an army crawl, terrified of what she’d find. She froze. Ms. May’s glassy dead eyes stared back at her, accusing in their emptiness. Blood trickled from the schoolteacher’s nose
FFM21 31 - Prospect Echo Part 4 by distortified, literature
Literature
FFM21 31 - Prospect Echo Part 4
Madeleine, Ms. May to her wards, was a woman who prided herself on her ability to maintain control of a chaotic situation, but she had felt the reins slipping as soon as she saw that damned red ship break through the muggy atmosphere and disappear over the ridge where Prospect Echo proper lay. Outsiders would bring more technology with them, she knew, and that could be disastrous for her and her companion. He was slow-witted and largely useless but she needed another adult around if she was going to survive. It had been a long year, and they had only barely made it, together. Of course, she hadn’t expected the dense old bastard to bring the interlopers to their village. The man was unconscious when Rogozin dragged him through the brush. The old farmer was pulling him along with one hand while his other pointed some sort of fancy gun at the woman’s back. Of course the child was with them. Of course. “Are there more?” She called. Rogozin shrugged that he didn’t know. “Alright,
FFM21.31 - Prospect Echo Part 2 by The-Inkling, literature
Literature
FFM21.31 - Prospect Echo Part 2
“What were they digging for out here anyway?” Xenia asked, kicking a clump of muddy soil into the pit below. They’d locked the malfunctioning constructs back in their box, while Farrow went back to the refectory to comb over the site logs. But so far no dice. Reznik could still hear their voices chanting in the back of his mind, like a litany, or some dark promise. This isn’t my body, this isn’t my body, this isn’t my— “Fucked if I know.” Reznik said, craning his neck to try and see whatever was at the bottom of the hole. When he looked up, Xenia was still staring at him, with that little tell-tale crease between her brows that always meant trouble. “Seriously, Xenia! I don’t know shit. Do you honestly think that corporate would tell me anything? I’m just the hired gun. Dumb muscle. Remember?” He said, lifting his rifle to drive home the point. Xenia chewed it over for a minute, then shrugged, breaking their eye-lock. “Guess not.” She said at last, and Reznik had to physically bite
Prospect Echo - Part One by joe-wright, literature
Literature
Prospect Echo - Part One
“This isn't my body”, said the construct. It was motionless, slumped over the reception desk, its facial display dead and grey. Farrow dug around in its guts, unplugging connectors, cleaning them and plugging them back in. “This isn't my body”, said the construct again, and nothing else. Xenia crossed her arms, disconcerted. “That's not a standard error,” she remarked, hoping to prompt a reasonable explanation from the engineer. Her wet envirosuit was unzipped and hanging around her waist, and she wore only a vest underneath, but that wasn't why she had goosebumps. “It's not an error. I don't know what it is.” Farrow unplugged his Nvoi and retrieved the connector cap from between his teeth, replacing everything just as he'd found it. “The OS is completely hollowed out – bar a handful of drivers, it's flooded with junk data. Even components that should be unwritable, they're just … bricked.” Silence fell between them as Farrow concentrated on replacing the dead construct's
Ever since his death, Richard Nixon's crystallised heart had remained in the possession of the CIA – until tonight. The full strength of the Demonic Neutralization Coalition smashed into the CIA convoy: hulking armoured veetolls blocked the neon skyway ahead, while military and civilian cabs alike crashed in from all angles.
Bootsy flicked her electric blue hair out of her eyes, gritted her teeth, and joined the fray, slamming her Charger up alongside a sleek black sedan. Before they could even trade paint, the sinister mirrored windows burst outwards in a hail of bullets, but the car was already empty. Going toe to toe with the suit
JayHenge Publishing is happy to announce Myths, Monsters, Mutations! Over 300 pages recounting tales of the dark side of fairy tales, macabre mutations, and the monsters that lurk within us all. http://a.co/4bDJ4sF
(It's also available on Amazon UK, as well as other Amazons around the world, and the paperback versions should be available shortly.)
This anthology contains some fantastic Deviants like:
SRSmith (https://www.deviantart.com/srsmith)
Memnalar (https://www.deviantart.com/memnalar)
Oreramar (https://www.deviantart.com/oreramar)
Lugal (https://www.deviantart.com/lugal)
C-A-Harland (https://www.deviantart.com/c-a-harland)
Wolfrug (https://www.deviantart.com/wolfrug)
DamonWakes (https://www.deviantart.com/damonwakes)
Tobaeus (https://www.deviantart.com/tobaeus)
GDeyke (https://www.deviantart.com/gdeyke)
ThornyEnglishRose (https://www.deviantart.com/thornyenglishrose)
ErlenmeyerKat (https://www.deviantart.com/erlenmeyerkat)
Will-Reierson (https://www.deviantart.com/will-reierson)
SCFrankles (https://www.deviantart.com/scfrankles)
NamelessShe (https://www.deviantart.com/namelessshe)
And an amazing cover image by taisteng (https://www.deviantart.com/taisteng)
I fear I'm mis
Let me tell you a story about waking up under water. No, not literally waking up under water, but that very same feeling. It's also a story about oxygen. Have any of you ever thought about oxygen, how important it is? Oh, sure, you've held your breath for sixty seconds, felt that surge of pleasant panic. Pleasant because all it takes is to open your mouth and let that sweet, sweet oxygen come back in. Except have you ever thought about what would happen if at that very instant, when you've held your breath for as long as you could someone would come along and dunk you head-first into water? You would suddenly realize you have no
I am published again, hooray! Any diligent reader of my deviantArt will of course already have read all of the stories featured (Katabasis, The Sphinx and Reborn, or, The Spider), but maybe you haven't, and maybe you want to read a whole bunch of other stories too about myths and monsters and stuff! Go check it!
Woop! What a nice surprise!
The lovely BeccaJS (https://www.deviantart.com/beccajs) featured one my my flash fictions, written for this year's FFM:
Always so nice to see that little gold-bordered thingumi :)
Btw.
NaNo. Am I right?
Hello all!
So for your who follow me, you should already be familiar with the torrent of new flashes coming this month - as it is once again July, which means Flash Fiction Month is here!
As is traditional, I am more busy than I can possibly express - July is literally the worst. But that hasn't stopped me before, so...here we go! Another 31 one flashes coming up.
(Flash Fiction month is nowadays both a user: Flash-Fic-Month (https://www.deviantart.com/flash-fic-month) and a group: http://flashfictionmonth.deviantart.com/ This is likely to cause all manner of chaos. Joy!)
I've come to you from afar to wish you a lovely day or night, wherever you are on the globe. Keep up the awesome work and stiffen a lip. The world might look like a scary place at times, but there are little pockets of sunshine just waiting to lift up your spirits. Have a beautiful rest of your day!
Um. Thanks? :-D I'll just take this as a genuine, random comment rather than the deed of some strange new form of deviantBot, and wish you all the same, stranger.