London torn. Night and day. Sinners and angels. Debut novel by Mark A. King, available now
Some of my short stories, as entered for competitions.
1990, London “This is so much more than that song.” “What song?” “Tom-ay-toe. Tom-ar-toe. Pot-tay-toe. Pot-tar-toe. Who the hell says pot-tar-toe anyway?” The Home Secretary knows better than to argue with the PM. Prime Minister Howard stands proud and addresses this sacred home of democracy. “Mr Speaker. They have gone too far. They’ve declared war …
…hide from the wooden hill, and the blunt edges of every step that I have been thrown down.…hide when he drinks, hide when he doesn’t, hide when I’m the object he kicks, punches and humiliates.…hide in the dark places in my head, for there are no places to hide in reality.…hide inside this house. I …
Continue reading "Hide-and-seek (2nd Place) – Flash Frenzy Round 34 | The Angry Hourglass"
After Pompeii, they banished me. I’d protected them for centuries, but humankind needed to find comfort, reason and blame. A god of fire and wing was an easy target.I watched fertile land birth a thriving city. I watched the sins of greed, the exchanges of coin for touches of flesh, and choice of ignorance over …
Continue reading "After Pompeii (1st runner-up place) Flash! Friday–Vol 2 – 39 | Flash! Friday"
The Daemons watch from the surface. They gaze through the water of their fountains like it’s a deep ocean.They lust for flesh, and crave uninhibited violence. They long to consume the souls of the weak and vulnerable.They puncture the membrane separating the worlds. They are not interested in the clean water where the sharks play, …
Continue reading "The Street Faerie of Kolkata – Flash Frenzy Round 33 | The Angry Hourglass"
In this competition, you are given a word prompt (below), an optional special challenge, 500 words and one day to complete it. Prompt (Items in brackets can be changed): I'm sorry, [sir], but I believe that's [my] [suitcase]. Special Challenge: Include a special recipe. Title: A recipe for (a) disaster “I’m sorry, buddy, but I believe …
The Apostle@Making_Fiction158 WordsMy Holy Bible clasped firmly in hand. I will only release it when they prise it from the battered husk that carries me, for my bodily vessel will soon be soaked in the colour of martyrdom. I will be just another boat perished on these foreign coastlands; another messenger of God sacrificed at …
Continue reading "The Apostle – Flash! Friday–Vol 2 – 38 | Flash! Friday"
The day a dog fell from the sky By Mark A. King @Making_Fiction 359 Words Sputnik 2. November 3, 1957 Laika, has had many names. Kudryavka is was one, but there were others. She is young, yet has already lived two lives. Tightly restrained by chains, she can barely move in the container. She …
Horse Chestnut Avenue was awash with activity; the prim residents were in a state of unbecoming panic, uncharacteristic chaos and pantie-twisting kerfuffle. The imported German cars were safely harbored under the corrugated armor of the garages, protected from the miniature mines that rained down from the trees. Those bombs born of the soil and the …
It’s called a care home. It’s never been a home. Care is but a mission statement, a corporate philosophy, a paper-thin reassurance to those that need to believe, who need to trust. The worker straps a pirate hat to me. I’ve learnt not to struggle with them, but sometimes my mind is absent. I immediately …
Continue reading "A story called “Home Page” – Flash! Friday–Vol 2 – 37 | Flash! Friday"
Two vials lay before me, the fate of Ireland in my hands.I guess it started in 1982, with that bloody awful Prince track, 1999.By Millennium Eve it was the theme tune. A party a thousand years in the making. Apocalypse – you’re having a laugh. Get the booze in! Have a few days off. Race …
Metropolitan Dreams 