Stories tagged “fear”
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Homecoming
The blows were fast and furious now. Instinctively she cupped her arms over her head, folding herself as small as possible. She caught herself mewling and bit hard on her lip to stop. Find the light, she told herself, and dragged herself away from the ...
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Sanguine Tune
Garret slumped forward. The pain at the base of his skull tore through his head like a wildfire. Attempting to fight through the overwhelming agony, he shifted around to see who had struck him. It was much too dark, he worried. What had happened to the...
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A Scream in the Dark
The sounds of my own terror filled screams tore me from the grips of the dream. My heart pounding. My breath coming in loud gasping pulls. My skin and sheets soaked with sweat. I lay in the dark relearning how to breathe. The realization that I’m...
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Triskadekaphobia
It was everywhere. This was the last straw. No more would this idiotic figure be present in the human race! No more! I would obliterate it! It would no longer haunt me on every single street! It would no longer be a presence in my life, or anyone’...
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The Box
Suddenly, I notice that there’s music playing. My hands are trembling as I hold my bag; my nails digging deep into the strap and leaving marks there. I am standing in an upright coffin, hanging freely a mile in the air. The box lurches and swings a l...
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Illumination
Her hands shook, as she spooned grounds into the filter. Finally, she hardly noticed. Sleep came when you were truly exhausted, but you had to stay alert in between, somehow. She heard some people had to turned to things other than caffeine, things tha...
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Fear
I stood there and watched, marveling at my friend. Where I was calm and cool, he was viscous and vivacious. I would watch and follow as he wandered through the battlefield running and screaming. He was drawn to them, to the helpless. A man was pinned d...
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Fear, Death and Envy
“It just rolled out! I can’t find it.” We were in the kitchen of our two-bedroom flat and Fear was holding one skeleton hand over her empty eye socket. Spiders crawled out of her sleeve and across her knuckles. “I kept popping i...
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Basements
I hate basements. No, I freaking despise them. They terrify me. Ever since I was a kid, going into the basement causes my heart to race, my mouth to dry out, and my palms to sweat. You want a milkshake? Hand me ice cream and milk in a cup, and send me ...
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An Animal's Fear
You say you’re not scared, but the very fact that you exist contradicts that. You’re so scared that you’re afraid that even admitting that will somehow endanger you. So scared that you lock up those who are not. Afraid you might not b...
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A Reluctance To Die
The Italian food put me in a good mood, so I flag down a cab. Luckily the driver is focused on the road more than his customer. When the taxi stops, I fork out some change and hop out, dusting the crumbs off my cloak, brandishing my scythe. The house i...
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The First Horseman
“Buddy?” a stout fellow at the sink next to me said, “ya gonna wash your other hand, too? – it’s not lookin’ so good.” He glanced over the rest of me – my clothes were immaculate – not a touch of lint, nor dust. My face and right hand...
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Milestone, or Lack thereof.
Day 280 since nuclear fallout. Diary entry number 174. Time 3:02 PM. Temperature 55 degrees Fahrenheit. In just 90 days, I will have been on my own for a year. For a fucking year. This thought blows my mind. From where I was to where I am. King sized b...
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Quarantine
It’s 2050. They said the hole would’ve been fixed by now, but they were wrong. Oh, God, those scientists and politicians and environmentalists were so wrong. The hole didn’t close, it got bigger, and it let in the disease. The disease...
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It's Back
“…I’m a tiger when I want love. I’m a snake when we disagree…” Why can I never get that song out of my head? It ain’t exactly the best thing to be thinking about on the way home. Again, I have to stay late. Why...
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A Fear's Effect
Standing by the wall As the music starts to pound Everybody dancing, moving with the sound Awkwardness, uncertainty A fear that grips my heart It makes my limbs go still In this dance, I don’t take part Climbing up the element Finally reach the t...
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Running Away...
I’m running, I’m crying, I’m breathing, I’m dying. I’m shouting, I’m screaming, I’m stumbling, I’m reeling. I’m regretting, I’m stunning, I’m pushing, I’m shunning. I hurt...
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Falling
Having placed the tiny strip of paper on his tongue he flops back and smiles. Far off in the distance he can hear the music playing. Far off in the distance he can smell the flowers growing. Far off in the distance he can hear her speak. “Awake.&...
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From Yesterday
I am sitting in my special place. I’m sitting on a large, mossy rock in the middle of a clearing in the woods. There is a small stream rushing peacefully below me. The trickle of water calms my torrent of thoughts. I take a deep breath which pai...
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listen...to the violent silence
She was watching him, waiting “You don’t know,” he started, “the silence, its killing me inside. I’m dying. The silence, isn’t it affecting you? Or am I the only one going insane?” The coffee was now resolved to a ring at the bottom of hi...
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Everything in the Right Place
Lydia walked up the stairs wearily, a sheaf of dark hair covering her face like a raven’s wing. “Brian?” she called out as she reached the second landing. Her voice echoed back, the sound of it mocking to her ears. She shrugged out of...
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It's Out There
Only a soft and fuzzy wall stood between me and the monster. I couldn’t see it but it was out there, lurking among the wooden block buildings and toy cars, pillaging the miniature city. I bet it could smell my fear as it slid along the ground searchi...
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In the Morning
The lights had gone out a long time ago. All safety had vanished with the first flicker of the bulbs. A lightning flash sent her burrowing under the covers, making her ignore the subtle creaking of the bedroom door. “Kitty-cat?” She had wok...
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The End
Her heart sank as darkness enveloped her, but she didn’t realise that this was the end until her nails were torn and bleeding while she screamed from six feet under.
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Cape Fear
Dear Emily, I’m sorry. I love, respect, and admire you in every way but I just can’t live with the fear any longer. Why did you take so long to tell me? When I wondered about all the time you spent away you told me it was because of work. I...