Death and All His Friends
Howdy there, old partner. What brings you round this neck of the woods? You, my friend. Ah. Did you come on your lonesome? Or are your friends here already…
Nickel
22 stories written on Ficly, 2010–2012, shared under CC BY-SA 3.0. Their page on ficly.com
Prospekt
I climb free and rise, slowly, my bones hurting, every muscle screaming, my skin torn and dusty. The sky is grey. I stagger away, feeling nothing at all…
A Nickel
They call me Nickel. Let me count the reasons why. I suppose it could be said that I bear some resemblance, in personality and bearing, to a certain character…
Violet Hill (Reposted)
It’s been too long a war—I’m tired, and the end is in sight. For me, at least. In the end, what are we but soldiers on a sinking ship? It’s a war we can’t win…
December Snow (Reposted)
Too many dark Decembers have passed without my knowledge; uncounted Christmases and New Year’s Days spent trying to stay alive. Seven years of fighting have…
Boogeymen
She opened the door, and soft light fell on the boy. She grinned. “What’re you doing still up, hon?” The face peeking over the covers smiled back. “There’s…
The Dentist
“Please don’t do it! Mom, please!” the boy screamed, pleaded, begged. “He’ll kill me! Mom, please!” The lady gave the dentist an apologetic look - the kind…
Fire
Me, age seven: Sitting before a pink-and-white cake with icing on top, delighted. Yellow warmth hovering in front of me. Leaning in to blow them out… Me, age…
A Generic Horror Story
“Mom?” A hint of movement, somewhere in the darkness nearby. Mom shook her head, eyes wide. “Don’t make a sound. They’ll hear us.” Glass tinkled outside. “I’ll…
Waking Up At Midnight, Alone in the Dark
I’m lying in a ditch. The night pools around me quietly. My world shudders as a thousand bombs make landfall amid the scream of jets overhead. And…
Keep Your Enemies Close
“So, Detective, how’s your latest case going?” I laughed without humor, taking off my hat and crushing it in my hands. “Whaddya think? Got the whole damn…
Apologies
He shifted uneasily from foot to foot, waited, then pressed the doorbell again. “Jo?” he called, staring hopelessly at the door. “Please, I just wanna talk.”…
Violet Hill
It’s been too long a war—I’m tired, and the end is in sight. For me, at least. In the end, what are we but soldiers on a sinking ship? It’s a war we can’t win…
December Snow
Too many dark Decembers have passed without my knowledge; uncounted Christmases and New Year’s Days spent trying to stay alive. Seven years of fighting have…
Retrenchment
The worst part about breaking bad news is watching how they react. Some get real quiet. Some get mad. Some just stare blankly, not quite believing. But not…
3 Against the World
“Oh, yeah, hole up here for the night, they said. We’ll be safe here, they said. Goddammit.” Tom gripped his submachinegun tensely. Outside, ragged howls burst…
You Get What You Asked For
Moonlight filtered through the leaves overhead, keeping the woods in eternal twilight and making the landscape seem all the more surreal. The hunter stepped…
The Hunt
The stillness of the moonlit landscape lent the world a supernatural quality. Wading through knee-deep darkness, the man in the worn black coat and the…
One Shot, One Kill?
Dropped straight into the heart of enemy territory. Crawling three kilometers over six days through Russian wilderness. Dragging along a 15kg Intervention…
Snow
It’s night now. The sun has set some time ago—now there is nothing but the darkness, and my fears. But still it’s snowing. White flakes are falling from the…