The shop had all kinds of things. Toys, tools, jugs and mugs. Masks from far away, colourful clothes, gadgets of all sorts. There, behind a basket full of cones and torches, something caught Ild’s attention. Two strange sticks with a little ball on the end of each one. The little balls emitted a green light. The shop keeper looked at him with interest him as he walked closer. -I see they have chosen you, He had only one eye and a big scar across his face. He lacked several teeth as well, probably for other reasons. He grinned, but it was no friendly grin. -Excuse me? -They’ve found you. -Wouldn’t that be rather I’ve found them? -Whatever you say, the shop keeper said. -They’re yours, no charge. He didn’t look like the kind of man who would give away things for free. -What are they for? Ild sent him a sceptical glare. -They summon things, finds things. Leads the way. There was a long silence. Ild was about to speak to break the tension, when the man continued in a sudden, fierce tone. -Take them! Get out of here! Ild grabbed the sticks, looking confused at the man behind the desk. This was all very strange, but he was intrigued by the two sticks, the strange words, even the way the shop keeper acted. -Er… Thank you. The shop keeper laughed when he walked out of the alley. He could hear his laughter stronger and stronger as he walked down the road, as if it was following him. He got home, looking at his new, glowing sticks. He liked them a lot. He waved them around a bit in the semi darkness, making lines and circles. A greenish cloud appeared, shining, like northern lights, like stars. There was a face, first diffuse, unclear. Then solid, still floating. -Come with me. -W…Where to? -To the lost city of balloons and wonders.To the city of Tor’ar. They walked. They walked for a long time, up in the mountains, between high walls. They walked on paths no one had walked in a long time, paths long forgotten. Balloons could be seen in the skies. A valley appeared, deep like an abyss, rocky, infertile. -Here we are. The other side was far away, the abyss was deep and wide. Ild sat down to rest. The hologram kept staring at the other side, waiting. Ild fell asleep. He woke up by the sound of metal hitting rock. An anchor had touched the ground in front of him. -Hop on! We don’t have all day! A balloon was waiting for them. The driver had a vest on, and short pants. His one eye was sparkling a glow Ild knew from before. A scar across his face.

Carried Away — Fictionspawn

One of the first adult horror novels I remember reading was Carrie by Stephen King. My dad had a copy (which I still have), and we watched the movie together too, though I don’t recall if I read or watched it first. I was probably around 11 or 12 at the time, which some people […]

Waiting for the Bucket to Drop — Writing Scared

Ling hid down by the river. Waited. Listened. All she heard was the breeze whispering in the treetops. She got up on her feet. She was the only one who had survived the attack, the shame ripped her soul. Her troop was gone. Her Sargent. Her mates. She didn’t know where she was, the map and the compass had been in the backpack. The sun was going down. Southwest. She knew the base camp should be to the east. Darkness invaded the forest, the bushes got denser as she walked. She heard the sounds of little animals jumping from tree to tree, birds flying in the leaves. They sounded unquiet, stressed. Tree-trunks were scraping together somewhere in the dark. There had ben gunshots, but she hadn’t seen any enemies. The troop had been separated by the dense vegetation. Then the shooting had started.  Between some bushes she hid to sleep. The night was cold and dark, the moon could not be seen. She hadn’t seen any enemy since the attack. Strange, she was deep into enemy territory. They should be swarming. She walked with caution. Further ahead there was some kind of movement. She went closer. It could be enemies, or it could be her own. Maybe some large animal. She was starving. She got down, crawled under the bushes. Got a view. There was a cluster of plants. Human bodies were hanging from the trees. Animals. The branches moved, but there was no wind. Roots unattached from the ground… (more)

War of the Woods — Fictionspawn

A while back I approached the UK’s Youth Nature Network, A Focus On Nature (AFON), after I saw that they were searching for contributions to their blog that centred around people who perhaps had a different story to tell, for example People Of Colour, etc. When they stated they’d love a piece I decided to […]

A Small Brown Elephant – My take on Diversity in Wildlife and how I got here. — Wild Heart

If you didn’t know already, I’m sort of a nature nerd. I watch endless hours of documentaries on animals, have seen everything David Attenborough has been in, and Jane Goodall is one of my personal heroes. Some animals, like dolphins and members of the cat family particularly capture my interest, but another group of critters […]

Death Spiral, Reviewer Edition — Writing Scared

A lovely pink December sunrise.

(c) K Wicks

Hey Guys! I am Max and I will be attempting to construct one of the articles in my “end of the year series” today. This series consists of Worst Books of 2020, Best Books of 2020 and Most Anticipated Releases of 2020. Today, I will be manufacturing the most controversial article in this series and […]

Worst Books Of 2020 — Maxxesbooktopia

The garden grew, distancing her from the outside world. She sunk into the shadows of the wild growing roses and the tall, majestic trees. Something, someone, lurked between the branches, in the darkness behind the leaves. -What do you want? she screamed, breaking the silence. Soft wind far above was the only answer… (more)

Another Prey — Fictionspawn