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Short Stories




Cold-Eyed Triage Nurses In High-Heeled Boots by Angel Obregon Forced into a Lesbian encounter in the fitting room. [Rated R] [2,527 words]
The Way To Bet by Angel Obregon The horrible result of reading a book called The Pleasures of Probability by Richard Isaac. [1,035 words]
...And Everything Goes Black by Darcy K Metz A nightmarish story about a young man, two taxi drivers, and one unforgettable wom... [2,517 words]
The Winds Of Change by Darcy K Metz This is the first short story I wrote based on characters in a novel I tried writing when I... [7,246 words]
The Trouble With Carla by Darcy K Metz This story follows a previous one, "The Winds of Change." This story is more of a horror... [4,905 words]
A Jennifer Love-Affair by Darcy K Metz A completely false story of a treeplanter from Vancouver who meets and falls in love wit... [3,869 words]
The Wicked Witch Of Creative Writing by Gary Donnelly Non-fiction/fiction. [1,418 words]
Dark Rebirth by Kerry L. Schofield Dark Rebirth is the story of a man named Senwick, who inherits on the death of his mysterious aged... [7,117 words]
Satan Smiled by Albert Davis - [3,737 words]
The Fourth Floor Landing by J. Michael Kearney A young firefighter recounts how a pompous Captain finally got his wish. [6,364 words]
Forever And Always by Virginia A. Sheppard A young woman is tormented by a decision she must make. Her four year old daughter lies help... [1,567 words]
Spring Break by Arlene Mason Another adventure for Keith Richardson, Private Investigator. This time his vacation is interupte... [4,784 words]
Hidden Reality by Lisamarie Jones Christina's lunch-break is not quite as it seems. [736 words]
Autumn Wind by Dorothy Getchell About an old man who must learn to deal with his wife's death. A very sad but moving story, if I m... [1,461 words]
Art Lovers by M J Martino A Guardian Angel's simple manipulation of fate allows two soulmates to meet for the very first, and ... [2,481 words]
There Be Dragons by Scott Jones A young couple on an afternoon jaunt get more than they bargained for. [1,809 words]
The Empty Bay by Alex Empire [461 words]
On The Other Side by Lisamarie Jones This is a story about a young girl who is tired of being pushed around. She takes matters int... [1,134 words]
The Witness by Thomas J Misuraca A Kafka-esque story in which a man finds himself and his loved ones in danger if he reveals informa... [2,244 words]
The Perfect Kiss by A Shockley A teenager wonders about the word "Love." She begins to believe that what she has heard about... [1,959 words]
The Running Man
Come Back, Mr. Mojo Risin' by Noel Dolan Kennedy James lost her beloved brother in the Vietnam War. A year later she sees leg... [4,245 words]
God's Messenger by Tom Di Roma About the influence an elderly gentleman has on the patrons of the diner where he has been froz... [5,970 words]
The Good Gun by Russ Bauer A lone women prepares to leave a city falling into chaos. She also has to protect herself from som... [1,564 words]
A Day In Dell by Barbara Villarreal Old west setting... good vs evil. [1,969 words]
My Boy's Best Friend by Melissa Allen About a girl who can't stand her boyfriend's bestfriend and then one day she finds out she... [4,020 words]
Music To My Ear by Melissa Allen About a girl who cannot stand a guy and then she has to sing with him in her band and realizes ...
It's A Wonderful Life by Jennifer M Haynes The story of a man surviving (and wishing he hadn't) a nuclear war. What happened before ... [1,950 words]
The Jigsaw Puzzle by Jennifer M Haynes A teenager tries to free himself from the sickenly perfect town he lives in, to make it into ... [1,084 words]
A Teen's Diary Entry by Rachel Elaine Reeves A teenager writes a diary entry after driving drunk and killing four people. Her chilling... [295 words]
Sticks by Charmaine L. Glass With the help of an overweight classmate, an underweight girl finds her hidden courage to overcome teasi... [877 words]
Always With You, A Collection by Toni Jaquay Lynch Always With You - It's a story of undying love. [514 words] I Will Feel It - It's... [149 words]
The Big Bang by Darcy K Metz A short short about a man who meets himself. [196 words]
Escape To Samsun by J A Melody A tale of three comrades, chartering their epic path to freedom, and to escape the horror that... [2,450 words]
Haul Out The Holly by Jennifer L O'callaghan This is a holiday story I wrote for a writing class, inspired by what my sisters and I call... [2,087 words]
Warriors' Mired Blades by Daniel A. Souers A true medieval and inspiring masterpiece that brings the reader within the mind of a gr... [1,799 words]
Fake Reality by Erin D. Traynum Covers the thoughts and influences of a gold digger at the moment when she commits suicide. [1,034 words]
Through The Window by Erin D. Traynum This story is about a nine year old girl who is being sexually abused. [1,211 words]
Florence by G�rard Ducasse A rather banal love story. [762 words]
Deposit Three Billion Dollars For The Next Two Minutes by Angel Obregon This is the horrible result of watching 3 X-FILES re-run... [2,931 words]
Quarter Of A Century by Drexler McStyles This short story is an obscene tale of insanity and excessive drug use set in Las Vegas. [4,084 words, Rated R]
Destroy The Link by Jennifer M Haynes Story of a girl who comes home from school to find things are wrong, and then realizes that sh... [3,333 words]
Packed With Peanuts by Jennifer L O'callaghan This is a flash fiction piece I wrote for a writing class about an attempted late night sna... [731 words]
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A Quarrel In The Forest by Darcy K Metz An argument between a cedar tree and a stone resolves itself after much time. [161 words]
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The Mistake by Kavan Tate drama of a boy's decision gone wrong [504 words]
Mike and Sadie Mae by Judith Z Marrs Short story. [4,038 words]
A Work of Art by Roy L Pickering Jr The tale of man who feels trapped in the merely serviceable existence he believes he has settled ... [3,944 words]
Elizabeth by Christine Dorothea-Maris A short mystery story about a widow, taken in by her late family's husband in the late 1890's, who ha... [255 words]
Home by Matt Matics This short story (or possible beginning to a longer piece) is ostensibly "about" a boy returning home from... [3,299 words]
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Twenties by Larry D. Griffin Flash Fiction [668 words]
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The Cake in His Pocket by M Betette A dark comedy about a very disfunctional and very happy family. [850 words]
Blue Dog Days by W Delaney This short story is about an ex-politician turned political writer named John Gerrick. The story ... [2,000 words]
The Doona Drag, A Collection by S Lichtenstein The Doona Drag - A humorous look at the plight of modern middle-aged man, coping w... [650 words]
The Girl in the Ocean by Edward D Adams Two women are dead and only one man cares about finding out who did it. In catching the ... [4,300 words, Mystery]
(Un)Faithful by P D Woo How do you forgive someone you love? What if you'd betrayed them before and they'd forgiven you? W... [1,050 words]
Leaving by Murray Evans Leaving home for not just a new country, but a new world. [4,050 words]
The Perfect Joke by J A Young A dark and funny slice of life detailing a boy's search for perfection. [1,800 word]
Bazaar by W I B R Smith This story was inspired (very) loosely by an incident which happened to me in college, back in 1991, whe... [5,500 words]
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The Magic Ball
The Beast
Pfarfenagle
The Sheriff
The Alien
Vampires
Jealousy
Corrine and Victoria
Destiny
The Death Reader
Early One Morning
Lost Four Words
Lavender Moon
Sweet Angela
Iridescent Imagery
Christmas Shopping
It's Been There...
Burnt Out
Stolen
Tinfoil Memories
A Pang of Pity
The Way It Ends
Miss America
Don't Ask
Obsession
Tales from the Altar
Waves
In the Cards
Billy
Looking At Me
The Gift
Suspension of Disbelief
Bingo Blood
The Belief
Aunt Rose's Revenge
Lytle Creek Trek
Utter Untruths
Protect and Serve
The Figure
The Last Tenant
Into the Knight
Salugi at Starbucks
The Parent Hunt
The Last Laugh
Mother's Day
The Cop
The Red Eagle
The Grand Old Party
Lacy and the Bear
Locusts
Unconfessed Sins
Rules of Civil Procedure
Do Unto Others
A Stranger Dressed Black
Strike Force - The Reckoning
The Doorway
Coping
Sniper Hunt, A Collection
The Slayer
Some days you're the pigeon...

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TITLE (EDIT)
The Running Man
DESCRIPTION
Written for freshman English class, to explore the concept, meaning, and definition of heroism. The character in this story may or may not be a hero. You decide for yourself.
[1,091 words]
AUTHOR
Eric Allen
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am an ambitious 14-year old writer from Connecticut. My interests include basketball, skiing, playing video games, and killing countless hours in front of the TV watching The Simpsons.
[January 2000]
The Running Man
Eric Allen

A stiff, cold breeze blew across the forest, rustling the trees and bushes that covered the countryside. The light from the full moon fought to break through heavy cloud cover, casting a dim white glow across the landscape. It was a cold night, the type of night where even the strongest of men are scared to wander in the dark alone. It would have made a nice Halloween night; many children would have been able to scare another. The darkness and coldness stimulated the mind, and put it in a state of readiness. Readiness for one�s darkest fears to leap out of nowhere and grab you.

He ran for his life. The woods were dark, and his pursuers were not far behind him. They wanted to kill him. When they caught him, they might kill him on the spot, or they might hold him for months or years, as they normally did, before carrying out their intentions. He was scared.

They wanted to kill him!

His legs drove him forward, branches of trees reaching out and hitting him, cutting his face and tearing his clothes. Off to his left, he saw the highway. He turned slightly to his right, sure to follow the highway, but not to get too close. To go on the highway would mean instantaneous capture. They could see him on the highway, but not in the woods. If he stayed in the woods, they would be forced to stay on foot, and he would have a chance at outrunning them.

He came to a pond. He stood there for a second, pondering what to do. Should he swim across it? That would be quicker, but it would make a lot of noise, and he might get caught. Should he go around? That would be much less noisy, but it could take a long time to get around, and he might end up getting caught anyway. If he were to swim, he may get tired and drown. But then he would probably end up dying anyway, right?

He looked to the highway. He was surprised to see that there was a bridge that crossed the pond, not thirty feet away. He should run across that, and he would get across the pond quickly without having to swim! He could get off immediately after getting to the other side and go back into the woods!

He started to run to the bridge. His legs, tired after being in flight for nearly two hours now, started to falter, but he kept pushing forward. He had gotten quite close when a car came along. He collapsed to the ground, to hide himself from view.

But this car was out of control. It skidded onto the bridge, brakes squealing. It spun around in a full circle before surging forward again, crashing through the guardrail. It hovered at the edge of the bridge for a heartbeat, before plunging into the water with a gigantic splash. It immediately started to take in water, and in a matter of seconds, it was nearly halfway submerged in the murky waters.

Without hesitation or second thought, he dived into the pond. His once-tired legs and arms were born anew, propelling him through the water to the sinking vehicle, which was now up to its roof in water. He could see a woman inside, at the wheel. She was screaming, smashing her fists against the windows as hard as she could. It did her no good, however. The car bobbed for a final second, and then went completely under.

Taking a deep breath, he went underwater. Opening his eyes, he struggled to see in the murky depths. Closing in on the car, and guided by the street lamps on the bridge, he smashed the passenger window in with three powerful blows. He swam inside, undid the now-unconscious woman from her seatbelt and dragged her out of the car. He kicked up towards the surface, and got the woman to shore in seconds. He laid her on her back, and she began to cough up water.

She struggled to speak. �My baby�get�my baby�� She went into another round of vicious coughing, but he had already dived back into the water.

The car was now completely submerged. He went in through the broken window, and saw the baby. It�s arms were flailing, but they were probably just dead arms bobbing in the currents. Nonetheless, he fumbled with the buckle, freed the tiny child, and headed towards the surface. He placed the baby in its mother�s arms, not knowing if it was alive or dead.

His job done, he headed to the bridge. His pursuers were, without a doubt, much closer now. He ran across the bridge as hard as he could, but the swimming had tired his legs to the point where he could run no more. He fell to the ground, on the shoulder of the highway. Two minutes later, he was caught. His enemies had caught him, and sooner or later, they would kill him.

As she lay sprawled along the edge of the pond, Mary Connor finally regained her breath. She spat a last mouthful of pond water from her lungs, tasting the iron and muck that came with it. Her baby, not ten months old, lay in her arms, a tiny rag doll. He was breathing, and would survived unscathed, but Mary Connor knew that if that man had hesitated at all, Kyle, her son, would not have lived. He was a hero.

As she sat up, she saw the flickering red and blue lights of the police cars. It hadn�t taken them very long to get there. How strange� Stranger still, she saw no policemen around the bridge, or anywhere near her. Are they blind? She asked herself.
She struggled to her feet, Kyle in her arms. He was crying now, and it was then that she knew that he would live. She climbed up the ditch and onto the bridge. She slowly approached the policemen, who were very much occupied by something.

What where they doing?

Then she saw him.

She saw the man that had saved her. He was in the middle of all the policemen. In handcuffs.

He looked at her, and quickly turned his head away.
�What are you doing?� she asked. �This man saved my life! Me and my baby�

�Ptah!� laughed one of the policemen. �This guy�d much rather kill children then save �em! We captured him eight years ago. Killed his wife and children, he did. He�s supposed to be on death row, but he escaped earlier this evening.�

They shoved the man into the car and drove him away.

 

READER'S REVIEWS (6)
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"A bit predictable and DIVED isn't a word, so it makes you wonder how good the grade was on this one...besides, wasn't The Running Man some movie way back when?" -- Tyrant.
"i liked it! Good descriptions, good writing. very negative, i love it!" -- Daniel Gonzales, Whittier, CA, USA.
"Tyrant's both right and wrong, wrong in that "dived" is too a word, as in : He dived into the ocean. I haven't read the story yet so I don't know how the word's used, and it may be used wrong, but it's definitely a word. Tyrant is right however in that you can't use that title Eric, after all it was a major motion picture when I was a kid back in the 1980s, and Arnold Swarzenegar played in it for God's sake. Change the title at least." -- EC Allen.
"My suggestion kid, would be to change the title to "Running Waters", and name the man Chris Waters, thereby engaging to story points at the same time. I can't be wholey sure whether the story's a sadistic short story, or simply incomplete, but it is remarkably descriptive. I don't know if the younger generation is just getting better with writing or you're just a fine example, but it is indeed professional work, and I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it. Now to see if I can lend a hand. In story order: "to scare one another". The word "one" must be placed before "another" or you will leave the reader wonder "Another what?". The word "pondering" is fine, but you may wish to change it since pondering at the pond, sounds odd. I'd write: The possibility of drowning was preferable to capture. Amend the bridge slightly by saying it's a roadway or a highway bridge. I was caught a little off balance by the thought that it might be a walkway bridge. I saw the "dived" part, and as far as I'm concerned it's right, I won't get technically picky by saying it should be "dove" or something. If it sounds right, then it's right. Though I'd either eliminate "without hesitation" or "second thought" to prevent redundancy. All in all good work Eric." -- [email protected].
"Nice sentence structure and pace. Excellent job overall with detail and setting. Well done." -- no.
"Wow, I'm blown away. That was great. What a great idea! And it was certainly NOT predictable. Great descriptions, really. You're writing is a bit poetic and negative in a way as well. Excellent! I love how the ending is like a twist, that's a great idea." -- Christina Aspears.

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2000 Eric Allen
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
January 2000
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
2183
 

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