30 Days of Fiction: Day 26

October 23, 2018 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Fiction, Fan Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

As the sun started its route over the horizon to scorch the earth with its hot tendrils three horses galloped side by side down an abandoned road toward what was once called Downtown Los Angeles. Each horse had a rider and each rider had a burning desire to flee the danger they had narrowly escaped just minutes earlier. Their party of seven had been taken by surprise. As they had passed a line of markets along the road they were suddenly engulfed in a chaos of explosions and gunfire. All around them were loud bangs and snaps and before any of them could react two of them lay dead on the ground. Most of the horses had bucked their riders off to run away from the danger and as shots were being wildly flung all around only three were able to escape.

30 Days of Fiction: Day 25

October 07, 2018 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Fiction, Fan Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

"What is the first rule, Jacob?" Mark asked his 12-year-old son in the dimly lit basement of their home.

Jacob stood straight as he'd been taught and held his spear in his hand hard against the floor and said confidently, "The dead are our enemy and should not be underestimated. Their power is in their numbers and their singular desire to kill. Use your ears and they will never get the better of you. Keep your distance and do not let them overwhelm you. They must be purified!"

"Very good!" his father said while pacing the room. "What is the second rule?"

30 Days of Fiction: Day 24

September 22, 2018 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

I woke up the morning of the funeral in a melancholy mood. My friend Harry had died two days ago in a car accident and I was still in shock. Our last conversation ended in a shouting match and it had been two months since we had spoken. We had fought about his decision to go public with his newest work and I knew that it would not be met with the widespread praise that he had envisioned but he went ahead and launched it anyway. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea that he was really dead.

30 Days of Fiction: Day 23

September 09, 2018 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

A soldier stood in line like all the rest. He wore the same green uniform as all the rest. He had the same rifle, slung around the same right shoulder and the same haircut under his hat like all the rest. Everything was the same save one thing. This soldier's head towered above the rest by at least 2 feet.

30 Days of Fiction: 22

July 02, 2018 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

"Can you tell me what happened on the night of July 5th, Mr. Meeks," a lawyer named Jim asked a very sweaty man named Walter Meeks who sat in the witness seat looking up into the rafters. Walter was now staring off into space and looking nervous with the audience's gaze bearing down on him like a dozen firehoses trying to put out a raging fire.

30 Days of Fiction: 21

June 26, 2018 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

IN a car dressed in black a man sat, or nearly sat, as what he was actually doing was bouncing up and down on the seat. His eyes starred forward never blinking. His hands clutched the steering wheel as if it were the only thing keeping him from flying out of the moonroof and into the sky. 'Come on, Come on,' he thought as he watched the house on the corner with the one light on in its upstairs window. He was the moth to the light's flame and just as the light went black so did the man stop bouncing. His grip slowly released from his anchor and his hands took on a new task. His face went serious as the mask came down.