The Death Hero: Part 1

November 29, 2025 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Heroes, Fan Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy

The severed foot and portion of leg hovered impossibly in the glass display like a dark trophy. Its flesh retained the light beige hue that marked it as having healthy living skin and was still covered in a sparse arrangement of dark wispy hairs that swayed slightly back and forth from the encapsulated wind currents. Exposed muscle tissue at the topmost part was dark red and would twitch nearly imperceptively, and two jagged ends of bone stretched out ahead of the rest. It had grown slowly over the past few months, piece by agonizing piece, starting with just the majority of his right big toe. Like a demon’s jigsaw puzzle, it had assembled itself inside the glass case as a constant reminder to its owner that the puzzle would not be finished anytime soon.

30 Days of Heroes: Day 3 The Time Hero

January 26, 2021 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Heroes, Short Stories, Western, Sci-Fi

Somewhere Outside Bandera, Texas 1884

The four horsemen circled the body of a man laying on his back in the yellow desert dirt. A massive brown cloud of dust encompassed the horsemen that gawked at the odd site. They had no idea what to make of the symbols "GOT" in gothic writing that adorned the passed out man's black T-shirt. They were even more confused about the strange blue sweatpants the man wore which had a large white "Nike" typed along the leg. What they did recognize was the gun belt around the man's waist with the shiny ivory handle of a Colt Revolver sticking out of the holster. The man stirred as the horsemen reined in their horses and came to a halt.

30 Days of Heroes: Day 2 The Gossip Hero

October 18, 2020 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Heroes, Fiction, Western, Short Stories

Annie's blond hair flailed all around her face as she struggled to hold her new blue dress against the strong wind as she walked down the dusty main road toward the shop with the wooden sign with a lady's shoe on it. She came to the town of Battle Mountain by train a few days ago but this was the first time she was able to come back to it from her uncle Pete's ranch. She had stepped off the train and immediately noticed the shop with the woman's shoe on it and she knew she would have to come back to see it. She only had a few minutes to greet her cousins and uncle before they would have to head back to the ranch. "Can't be away too long, there's work to get done," Uncle Pete said with a smile while he stacked Annie's luggage with the supplies, tools, and dried goods he had purchased earlier that day.

30 Days of Heroes: Day 1 The Fitness Hero

April 05, 2020 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Heroes, Fiction, Short Stories, Sci-Fi

I woke up with a headache and a furious anger. My prison cell was clean at least. I tried to smash my way through the door but it didn’t budge. I tried to rip the toilet out of the ground but it didn’t budge. I’m not the strongest man but I’m a big man, yet none of my rage was satisfied as everything in the little room was bolted to the ground or molded into it, save a pillow and blanket that was now strewn about the small area; sadly representing the minimal amount of chaos I could conjure.