www.storymania.com
Storymania Logo

 

 

Short Stories




Mother Earth (Nae) by Rowan Davies On a dark afternoon in the dead of winter, one tired old lady looks down upon the world and ... [351 words]
Perspective Is How You View It by Cynara Moore - [0 words]
War Of The Writers by Michael Harris This is my first fantasy themed short story. I welcome any and all comments. Thanks in adv... [1,955 words]
Fighter by E Rocco Caldwell In a moment of weakness one can find strength to endure. [561 words]
Weeping Stones by Nand Kishore - [1,173 words]
We Are Climbing David's Ladder, Soldiers Of The Cross by Brotherman A story of the evil that men do when they lose their soul... [3,108 words]
The Tale Of Wee Tee by Brendan Flanery A fantasy story best described as a "caveman legend" involving giant mammals and the way th... [5,029 words]
The Strength Of Six Million by E Rocco Caldwell A young man is confronted with death but calls upon the strength of Six Million. [746 words]
The Saviour Part Two by David B Doc Byron The ''Saviour'' tries to figure himself out. [244 words]
The Saviour Part Three by David B Doc Byron The investigation into mysterious deaths continues. [287 words]
The Saviour Part One by David B Doc Byron A serial killer helps sinners redeem themselves in his own way. [385 words]
The Knell by Eyitemi Egwuenu [2,300 words]
The Gluggs by Robert M Tidmarsh A u s t r i a, in the centre of Europe, a country with lots of history and many unusual village nam... [2,597 words]
The Executive by Peter Wellington Andrew Porter is a wealthy, succesful and impeccably dressed executive who makes the mistake of i... [3,693 words]
The Evil Root by D G Williford Manna Madness runs rampant. [165 words]
The Cold, Bitter Taste Of Gin by Darcy K Metz A man in his mid thirties is watching the sunset one summer evening at his lakesi... [3,123 words]
The Castle by Robert M Tidmarsh ...... In the woods on the top of a hill, a dark castle peeps through the mists of the night and the... [1,078 words]
Sail Away by Kevin Myrick An autobiographical story that ends with a point about the quest for the meaning of life, and what th... [1,295 words]
Night Encounter by R G Spencer A short story. [1,023 words]
Malidor:Ruler Of The Dark Ages Part Two by E Daugherty - [420 words]
Love's Seal by Nick Green A short story. [1,942 words]
Lost Paradise by Robert M Tidmarsh The story that I am going to tell you is a story that could happen to you or to me, a story with... [1,002 words]
Loose Women by Erma Uppercase Ten year old Tim's, version spoken in his own words. [535 words]
Last Words
Joe Pinizotto And The Curse Of Santa Claus by Mo Paul A christmas carol with a touch of alfred hitchcock. [2,673 words]
Dreamlady by Robert M Tidmarsh Dreamlady, a young girl who lived in Hungary during the 18th century, a girl and her dreams, a girl f... [821 words]
Darkland Lost by Bradley Grimes A man is found after bing lost for some time. [1,219 words]
Colloquium...Part One by E Rocco Caldwell Inhabitants on a planet prepares to travel in time in order to save their own world [431 words]
Colloquium Part Two by E Rocco Caldwell Ryder arrives at Moon Base George W. Bush in the 21st century. [349 words]
Clean Things...The Conclusion by E Rocco Caldwell There's one thing with being right...being dead wrong! [734 words]
Clean Things...Part One by E Rocco Caldwell Unchecked desire can lead a man to the dirty things in humanity. [463 words]
Clean Things...Part 3 by E Rocco Caldwell Ryan is surprised when the person he believe did the murder ends up murdered himself. [578 words]
Clean Things..Part 2 by E Rocco Caldwell Brenda is horribly murdered and the police think it's Ryan who did the deed. [570 words]
Broken Melody by Eyitemi Egwuenu A STORY THAT TALKS ABOUT THE OSU CASTE SYSTEM IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN PARTS OF NIGERIA.THE TIME IS T... [4,888 words]
Space, The Final Finale -Repost- by E Rocco Caldwell What happens in space can be inside or outside the mind. [1,008 words]
The World At Four O�Clock by Byron Blake A glimpse into the exciting world of early morning radio news announcing. [903 words]
The Wannabe by Brotherman A story about hip hop fans who want to have everything but the burden. [2,866 words]
The St Francis Dam Disaster by Rowan Davies A story conjured from the greatest American civil engineering failure of the Twenti... [1,993 words]
The Road To Hell - Part Four by David B Doc Byron - [145 words]
The Road To Hell Part Three by David B Doc Byron - [305 words]
The Raod To Hell - Part Two by David B Doc Byron Leo meets up with an old ''friend.'' [192 words]
The Newb. Part 1 by Buxton Since the banning of all nuclear weapons, new ways have been created of winning wars. Sasu was... [674 words]
The Legend Of Mt. Kilauea And Santa Claus by Donna Nowak A story how Sants Claus saved Christmas from the mean spirited Mt. Ki... [453 words]
The Haunted House by Cristina Yacovone A mom,dad, and their son enter a haunted house. The ghosts want them out. My first story ev... [341 words]
The Brethren Part One by David B Doc Byron A lonely farmer finds his destiny in his own back yard. [384 words]
The Brethren Ending by David B Doc Byron - [478 words]
The Blood Taster's Club - Ending by David B Doc Byron - [428 words]
The Blood Taster's Club Part One by David B Doc Byron - [390 words]
Snowball's Tale by Sheryl Hanna This is a story about a white, Turkish Angora/Ragdoll mix cat. If he could talk this story is ... [1,123 words]
Shapeshifter The End by David B Doc Byron Uh uh...no way. Gotta read it!!!! [245 words]
Shapeshifter Part Two by David B Doc Byron - [219 words]
Shapeshifter Part Three by David B Doc Byron - [259 words]
Shapeshifter - Part One by David B Doc Byron - [412 words]
Shapeshifter Part Four by David B Doc Byron Billy decides to make a major ''change.'' [184 words]
Shapeshifter Part Five by David B Doc Byron Billy pays his strange new friends a visit. [207 words]
Semantics by E Rocco Caldwell A police interview. [305 words]
Path To The Top Of The M Ountain by Susan Brassfield Cogan You never know who is walking beside you. [500 words]
Our City's Finest by David B Doc Byron A cop hunts a serial killer? [408 words]
Mr. Nasty - Ending by David B Doc Byron - [437 words]
Mr. Nasty - A Crimehorror Tale Part One by David B Doc Byron A stupid redneck learns why alot of folks carry handguns. [391 words]
Mother - Trucker - Part One by David B Doc Byron A tale of revenge. [236 words]
Mother Trucker - Ending by David B Doc Byron - [237 words]
Mark Of The Beast Part Three by D G Williford The saga continues with a gal stuck in Armageddon. [174 words]
Madness In The Dark by E Rocco Caldwell Insanity creeps up the spine of a shunned lover during a blackout in New York. [660 words]
Loverdoll by David B Doc Byron - [400 words]
Like A Hot Knife Through Butter by Rae - [281 words]
Leah,Who? by Erma Uppercase Passing fancy running through my mind,this could happen. [359 words]
Hunt Party by Xero A morality tale - old man seeks solace with younger woman. [459 words]
How Is That I Tell You? by Byron Blake We all have messages of desperation that we wish to express at one time or another. If... [928 words]
Hedonism....Denied by Just A Guy A true story as best remembered. this is my first attempt at a short story so any feedback ... [1,739 words]
Go Down Dead - The End by David B Doc Byron Sampson finally realizes what it's been about. [463 words]
Go Down Dead Part Two by David B Doc Byron Sampson is forced to confront the living dead. [401 words]
Go Down Dead Part Three by David B Doc Byron Sampson's battle with the undead begins. [403 words]
Go Down Dead Part One by David B Doc Byron A futuristic western. [360 words]
Go Down Dead Part Four by David B Doc Byron Sampson Faith gets his ''faith'' tested. [362 words]
George by Janeth Garza - [1,480 words]
Elegant Provisions by Harvey Kennett Everyone is looking for the "perfect recipe"...here is a personal favourite...bon appetit ! [420 words]
Eating Babies by Harvey Kennett Forgive the title...it just seemed appropriate for this disturbing little tale... [1,074 words]
Blues For Julia Foster by Brotherman A short story dedicated to a girl who went to the wrong damm party. [4,184 words]
Birthday Boy by Harvey Kennett Younger children place a great importance to their Birthdays. An importance that adults should nev... [967 words]
A Guilt Trip Down Memory Lane by Darrell N Middleton -- Oliver They couldn't find out and I wouldn't tell. [600 words]

Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 [30] 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
TITLE (EDIT)
Last Words
DESCRIPTION
A short science-fiction story...
[1,178 words]
TITLE KEYWORD
Science Fiction
AUTHOR
Jesse Landon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
-
[December 2003]
Last Words
Jesse Landon

It was August 17th, 2088 when I boarded Chandra; a luxury orbital cruise ship. My wife Sarah and I were to celebrate our honeymoon on our first trip into space. We launched from earth in a space plane named Gagarin V. It was a smooth and extraordinary experience; to look out the plane window and see the bright blue sky fade into a blackness scattered with diamonds. Then the passengers ooed and awed at the sight of the two spoke-wheel shaped cruise ships spinning in perfect harmony. It was The Royal Emerald and Chandra; named after Chandra O�Brien, the first person to set foot on Mars. The only jolting moment was the docking between Gagarin V and Chandra. Our ears popped and suddenly a fresh-cool air breathed into the passenger cabin. We didn�t even need to collect our baggage. We were immediately shown to our suite where we were directed to wait for our luggage to arrive along with further instructions and rules for our experience.

The ship was magnificent and beautiful. It was littered with giant windows, giving view to a britght-blue Earth slowly rotating and circling upside down to right side up from your perspective. There were great restaurants, fun dance clubs, exercise rooms, pools, gamerooms (and weightless gamerooms), casinos, bars and private weightless rooms. The private weightless rooms were stationed at the center of the giant spoked wheel. Sarah and I had a great night in one of the private rooms. The walls were padded with black leather and dark blue carpet. It had an amazing sound system with an infinite selection of music. There were a total of twelve one-way octagon windows on three sides of the twenty-foot triangular room. Sarah and I discovered one of the fantasies people on Earth have dreamt about since the first rocket carried a man into space. The phrase "exploration in space" has never been the same. Needless to say, our experience on Chandra was more amazing than I could have ever imagined.

On our scheduled final night of orbit, Sarah and I were at an oldies-party in one of the dance clubs. They blasted music from the mid-1900�s and everyone danced and drank late into the night. There was a song playing where the lyrics repeated; dream-dream-dream-dream-dreeeeeam, when suddenly it seemed no one was dancing anymore. Everyone�s attention was to the giant window facing Earth. It was on the night side and was submerged in darkness. Only now there was light. Small speckles of piercing yellows and oranges lit up light stars all over the globe. Everyone knew, it was the global war that everybody feared for the last five years. It was happening now. The song continued as the DJ himself was transfixed to the horrifying scene. Nobody said a word, but many women cried and screamed. I kept waiting for the fireworks to subside, but they would not. I held Sarah, and could sense her crying. I couldn�t say anything that would make her feel better, for my heart�s pounding was enough to communicate a fearful mutual feeling.

We held hands as people started leaving the club. The walking turned into running and shouting among the passengers. Soon all music was off and all emergency lights were on. A voice came over the intercom system and reminded people to remain calm. But they would not remain calm, their Earth as they knew it would never be the same, and they may never be able to set foot on Earth again.

Days later the panic slowly turned into a depressed fearful state. People were urged to consume as little food as possible and the ship turned from a luxury cruise into a life support boat. People brought up the SS Titanic, and how similar our situation is. I talked to Sarah about this and she remembered that there weren�t enough lifeboats to save all the passengers. Sarah and I cautiously wandered about restricted areas in search of lifeboats. We found them, using a stolen access card from security personnel. There were a few and they were heavily guarded. They were all open for access, attached to the outside of Chandra, sitting quietly to the enclosed storage and supply area.

Weeks later, when Sarah and I were sleeping in our dark hissing suite, we heard a faint thunder and a light rumble. We scattered to the suite across the hall and watched in disbelief as the Royal Emerald was disintegrating into nothingness. The fire exploded into space and quickly dispersed. The debris seemed to shatter away. Soon the debris was plummeting upon Chandra. Sarah pulled me away from the window by my hand and started out into the hallway. As we ran down the hall where doors started opening, I wondered how the Royal Emerald could have been destroyed. Could they have been hit by a nuclear weapon? Was there a malfunction? The Royal Emerald was older and was considerably less technological. Either way, it was no more. Sarah dragged me down several spiral stairways and "personnel only" exits until we reached the guarded room and ducked down into an emergency escape module hatch. The hatch was already suctioning to an airtight seal when the six stunned guards turned away from an observational window. We sat and secured ourselves in the first two seats of twelve. Sarah peeled away a bright orange seal from the central control board between us and pulled out the orange lever. We were jetted back into our seats as we shot away from Chandra. Then it became weightless, and the hissing and loud venting noise remained. The small oval vessel misted off into the darkness of space.



We have been able to survive quite sufficiently for the past three months. At first we couldn�t sleep for a couple days, then the first time we did, were startled to a loud buzzing on the communication system. It was the final transmission from what used to be Chandra. There is a large amount of packeted food and drums of water packed below the twelve seats. There is a small bathroom and kitchen/disposal area to the right of the ship, all accessible through passage tubes just large enough to pass one weightless body. We left the lights off most of the time, probably in vain.

Eventually an atmosphere-alarm started to abruptly beep (as you can hear) and bright lights started flashing a constant strobe out into the void of space. I can�t see Earth anymore. It�s just another star. Sarah and I may be the only humans left alive, although she is now sleeping and I am too afraid to try and wake her. I�m talking into this emergency module logtrack, and I can barely keep my eyes open. I have this horrible feeling that if I fall asleep, mankind too, will be put to rest. If anyone ever hears this recording, please� give.. That�s funny. There�s some kind of bright light outside� I don�t have the strength to get up and see.. (scrambled static) Oh my Go- (high-pitched buzzing) It�s�



(blip)-"End of recording. Thank you for using Omnitec Digitalware."

 

READER'S REVIEWS (2)
DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.

"Very good story" -- Jeremy Sanlah, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
"This Story has such amazing detail and adjectives that inspire my own mind to breed images full of color." -- Anthony C Smith, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A..

TO DELETE UNWANTED REVIEWS CLICK HERE! (SELECT "MANAGE TITLE REVIEWS" ACTION)

Submit Your Review for Last Words
Required fields are marked with (*).
Your e-mail address will not be displayed.

Your Name*     E-mail*

City     State/Province     Country

Your Review (please be constructive!)*


Please Enter Code*:

Submit Your Rating for Last Words

Worst     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9     10     Best

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2003 Jesse Landon
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
December 2003
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
1996
 

Copyright © 1998-2001 Storymania Technologies Limited. All Rights Reserved.