Black Root Lane
Two friends wander somewhere they aren’t meant to be.
Thomas wanted to ask another question, but the further they crept down the lane, the more eerie and hushed the world became. Somehow Thomas knew that breaking the silence would be a great sin.
Bromance
Friends always cover each other, even if that means lying to ones own sister.
Five texts, two unanswered calls, three packets of Doritos, a salt and vinegar chip sandwich, two cold sausages, and half a litre of Mum’s favourite chocolate ice-cream later and I was starting to get worried.
Stand alone character study set in the Extinguish universe.
The Curious Case of the Cookie Jar
Detective Tim is on the case. His suspect? Young Freddie, who is moments away from confessing.
‘Mum! You’re ruining my interrogation!’
Stand alone character study set in the Extinguish universe.
Dosage
A young woman converses with a pot plant.
“Good,” said Eve. “George thinks he’s a houseplant. It’s laughable. He doesn’t realise he’s just crazy.”
The Drive-Through Exchange
A puppy dog learns a new trick.
He sits tall in the back, happy to be invited, not left behind. His pink tongue lolls out the side of his mouth. The window is down, and occasionally the flash of pink disappears so he can sniff at the air rushing through.
Experiment
A dialogue only experiment.
‘Oh, uh, sorry. Um, no banana bread, er … chips! Can I have chips please?’
First Kiss
My first kiss.
As he descended the stairs, getting further and further away from her, a voice hissed out from behind her.
‘What are you doing? Go after him!’
Guerrilla
An unfinished attempt at a micro fiction.
The next turn was three kilometres up the road. Just three. I’m counting the metres
The Implant
For an object that was supposed to be a symbol against pregnancy, against the very nature of sex, he turned it into something more intimate.
Late Lines
The anxieties that come with being late.
You decide you’re going to find out. On the way home, you make a pit stop for groceries and trail the Healthcare section absentmindedly.
Lighthouse
A micro fiction describing an experience climbing a lighthouse in the South Pacific.
The sign on the little gate guarding the lighthouse had claimed it was one of the tallest in the world. I had peered up at it as the wiry Frenchman had come to take our tickets, insisting “no shoes, no shoes” and pointing to the other pair of unclaimed shoes by the gate.
Literally
A young teen with a desperate crush on his best friend loses his cool in the middle of class.
‘You know,’ said a soft, sympathetic voice. ‘you should start your own gay rally. You’re really very good at it.’
Stand alone character study set in the Extinguish universe.
Mind Your Manners
Karma strikes in the favour of one unlucky commuter.
‘Are you alright Ma’am?’
She looked up into the face of the train conductor. She nodded, shrugging in a ‘what can you do’ manner. He nodded and helped her onto the train. He was a big man, his hand engulfing her own easily, but his eyes were kind as he smiled at her.
Mosh
The rush of noise at the centre of a mosh pit.
Still, it is not yet the peak of noise, which comes as the words spill forth from speakers bulging past their limits. The ground pounds, boots thump, ears pop from the sheer volume of voices screaming the lyrics – half wrong and half right and all the while elbows poke into backs and feet stomp on feet and reaching hands bump heads in an attempt to catch that one perfect picture and a smell of sweat and heat and musk pervades the air that in any other circumstance would not be acceptable.
Nature Prompt
Doodling about clouds.
Shifting from those soft, dismembered cotton balls to fierce towers of grey and green, illuminating and darkening all at once. Building a brief twilight. A glimpse into an other, an ether, a place that thrums and hums with energy and power
One Sentence Exercise
An exercise I completed at uni and quite enjoyed.
If aliens are a myth, then we are alone in the universe.
The Quiet One
Conversations between two friends, interspersed with the internal thoughts of the subject of their conversation.
I just hope he doesn’t try to impress me by unhooking my bra again. Not sure why he thinks that’s such an amazing feat. I do it every day.
Salt Water
A micro fiction depicting an experience I had snorkelling one day.
The blue stretches out before me, deceptively cloudy once submerged. Though from above it looks crystal clear and blue, beneath the waves, there is an otherworldly feel to the depths. Depths that began as shallows and slowly grow deeper and cooler, gliding over my skin like a soft, cold, kiss.
The Sandpit
Two fantastical children meet on the edges of a sandpit.
In a fit of anger, she stood and kicked at the Sand Castle. Sand blasted out from one of the buildings, and the castle tumbled back to the ground. Then, in slow motion, the fine grains picked themselves up and began to reattach to the sand castle.
Scars
A young woman refuses to let her scars define her.
A hate I kept locked away, refusing to let it control me. I never covered it up. Not on purpose. If the shirt I chose showed it off so be it. If the knotted mound of flesh where it started peaked out from the shoulder of my school shirt, well, so what?
Springs
A mostly dialogue story between two friends shopping for a new mattress.
‘Gees, touchy touchy. I suppose it doesn’t matter if it’s squeaky. Your brother has a squeaky one. Lord knows we’ve all heard those springs in action.’
Stand alone character study set in the Extinguish universe.
Strangers Meet
A bridge approaches her husband at her wedding.
Those in the crowed watched her approach, shifting nervously as she walked by. The mere gravity around her seemed heavy and thick. Her movements were at once smooth and yet stiff. She was as graceful as any predator and yet her posture emanated hostility.
The Trolley
Office staff are perplexed by the inexplicable appearance of a shopping trolley in their office kitchen. Exasperation ensues.
From: Sam Brown
Sent: Friday, 13 May 2016 12:55 PM
To: Administration <Administration@greatoffice.com.au>
Subject: Trolley in KitchenAnne, not sure if you know, but there’s a trolley in the kitchen?
The Waiting Room
There is nothing so anxiety inducing as waiting.
The nurse’s shoes make an odd sound against the linoleum as she leads you through the hallway. It’s all white. White walls, white floor, white ceiling. She opens a door and gestures you inside with a smile.
Watch Your Step
Three friends go stumbling about the bush.
Ahead, the fairy-in-disguise, danced along. She skipped across two creeks, her ease carrying her across the water with barely a splash, while Tim’s graceless and impatient nature had him stomping through the water without a care for the soaking of his boots. Two steps behind him, Ant cursed, slipping over the rocks and almost tumbling into the water.
Stand alone character study set in the Extinguish universe.
Wings
A woman stands on the edge of the world and watches the end approach.
They were a scar, a plague that wrought destruction upon all it touched. She stood, waiting for her penance, as the world burned. Millions of years of evolution brought to it’s knees in mere moments. The steam rose, the fire raged, and she waited. She stood, ready to face it—too proud to hide frightened and cowering in pointless, useless bunkers—she was ready meet her end. The end they had brought upon themselves.
Winter Storm
A sensory prompt written in fifteen minutes in one of my university classes (unedited, and for that I apologise).
The park was bare and silent. Snow floated in puffs and gusts and little swirls that spiralled around the few stragglers that were hurrying through the park. It blanketed the field, covering what only a few hours earlier had been green and bright in an all consuming white.