A collection of flash fiction works.
Each story is a stand-alone, unrelated to the next and always less than 1000 words.
A mixture of genres, but most works contain speculative elements.
Some stories may contain swearing or mentions of blood/viole...
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Tao stopped dead. His arm flinging out, bracing me across the chest. I froze mid-step.
"What?" My eyes darted to where his were fixed on the water.
"Don't move," he hissed, releasing me and wading back a few paces. I awaited instruction to do the same.
He reached below the surface and dredged up a small rotting log. Soggy pieces of bark flew off as he hurled it into the water a couple dozen paces ahead of me.
The splash was unprecedented—because it did not come from the log. A monstrous, fishy mass thrashed about, swallowing down the splintered wood without a care for what it was.
"Holy shit." I stumbled backwards, Tao catching me before I ended up with my ass wet. "What the hell is that?"
"Princess Gargantuan Fish." He kept a tight hold of my arm. Bubbles rose as it sank below the tannin stained waters. Once it had settled back into the sediment, I could barely see it. "They lay in wait for prey—The Wetlands are full of them."
I tugged at the straps of my waders and swallowed.
He let me go and continued walking, giving the fish a wide berth. "You understand why we can't travel after dusk now?"
I didn't answer, he knew I did.
"We'll have to find somewhere elevated before dark, keep a look out for trees. And follow my steps exactly."
The shadowy water stretched as far as I could see—and there was a worrying lack of trees on the horizon. Not watching where I was walking put me off-balance and I nearly tripped on a submerged rock.
The waters hadn't seemed so icy when we began the journey, but everything from my waist down had been numb for some time now and the cold trickled through the rest of my body as though it was carried through my veins. Putting one foot in front of the other was exhausting. The wetland tugged at my legs, hoping to wear me down and draw me under.
"There's probably still another two days walk before we even get a glimpse of the empire on the horizon," Tao said, sensing my exhaustion. "It's a hell of a long way to go just to get turned around again."
"They'll let me in," I replied.
"I hope for your sake that's true." He tapped his fingers idly over the surface of the water. "You don't really have what it takes to be a Wetlander."
The sun was sinking lower and luminous bait-fish glittered around our feet. The silver flashes of their glowing tails like underwater sparks. I watched them until they darted away.
