My Words, My World

First drafts – A few pages in the large wilderness of the world of writing

Archive for the tag “dark fiction”

20 Sep 2025
3 Comments

99-word fiction: The Lighthouse

Another week, another 99-worder and another one for you to work out the what and why.

The lighthouse shakes as spray hurls against the window.

Jake sits with the room dark, save for the great lamp above and a single candle. A low horn moans into the night. Another wave crashes against the wall and booms in the darkness.

A photo lies on the table, its image dances in the flickering candlelight.

Two faces look out from the photo; one is his, the other a memory

Jake gives a thin smile, watching the smoke from his pipe coil up to the ceiling.

Now alone, he thinks about secrets hidden by the cruel and beautiful ocean.

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Posted in 99-word fiction, 99-words, creative writing, dark fiction, Flash Fiction, iceberg-theory, Short Fiction Stories, Writing and tagged , , , , , ,
13 Sep 2025
3 Comments

99-word story: The Empty Chair

This week’s 99-word story is called The Empty Chair. Why? Well, that’s for you to decide.

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You know the worst thing about an empty chair? It rhymes with “no one there”, or worse, “where?”.  

There’s a place at the table where normally there’s a place mat, napkin, cutlery. Maybe a glass for the wine. 

Instead, just a piece of table cloth with nothing on it. 

No sitting down to grace, not that we ever did. No talk about the day, the weekend or whatever. 

The habit of turning my head, forkful of food in mid-air and talking. Now I just stare, straight ahead. And wonder.

You see, it’s not the empty chair. It’s the waiting.

The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: the-empty-chair.jpg

Posted in 99-word fiction, 99-words, creative writing, dark fiction, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Short Fiction Stories, Writing and tagged , , , , , ,
30 Aug 2025
5 Comments

99-word story: The book

He closed the door and stood with his back against it. His head thumped as the voices on the other side became muffled, as had so much recently. He crossed to the table and sat down.

The book lay flat on the table, its thick binding rising off the surface like a construction. His trembling hands paused before they stroked the cover. He took a deep breath before his fingers gripped the cover and turned.

His fingers hovered over the photograph on the first page. His head dropped as he sat, staring, and the silence pressed closer around him.

Another attempt at minimal, using Hemingway’s iceberg-theory.

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Posted in 99-word fiction, 99-words, dark fiction, iceberg-theory, Short Fiction Stories, words and tagged , , , , , , ,
19 Jul 2025
7 Comments

99-word story: The Stranger – episode 15: the final episode

‘They’ll find you eventually,’ she said.

Headlights flooded the car’s interior.

‘I think you mean now.’

The woman turned. The car behind them accelerated. 

‘Floor it, she said. ‘We can still make it.’

The Stranger shook his head.

Another car blocked the road ahead.

‘Or maybe we should stop running,’ he said. “You wanted everything.’

She handed him a gun.

‘After seven years of marriage to you, I deserved everything.’

She lit the envelope and left it on the seat. They stood back-to-back in the street.

‘We’ve never been so close,’ he said. 

She smiled, then the shooting started.

The end.

The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: the-stranger-part-15-1.jpg

If you haven’t read the previous episodes, you can find them here:

99-word fiction: The Stranger | My Words, My World

Posted in 99-word fiction, 99-words, dark fiction, noir, Writing and tagged , , , , ,
05 Jul 2025
4 Comments

99-word fiction: The Stranger – episode 13

The Stranger looked in the rearview mirror. She was still there, two cars back, holding her place. Biding her time.

He wondered when—or if—she’d make her move.

The car behind him passed under the streetlights. His stomach knotted.

Two silhouettes, two hats, two lit cigarettes. Cops.

He understood why she was holding back.

The cops were laughing. Relaxed. They weren’t tailing him. At least, he didn’t think so. But maybe she did.

If he stayed here, he couldn’t get the money. If he made a move, so would she.

Did she know these streets like he did?

The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: the-stranger-part-13.jpeg

If you haven’t read the previous episodes, you can find them here:

99-word fiction: The Stranger | My Words, My World

Posted in 99-word fiction, dark fiction, Flash Fiction, noir, Writing and tagged , , , , , ,
29 Jun 2025

99-word fiction: The Stranger – part XII

The woman’s hands gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white in the dark.

She had wanted to catch up and overtake, her focus on the man two cars ahead — until she noticed the one in between.

Her skin prickled. Something wasn’t right. Hats. Cops. In an unmarked car.

Either they were just out doing the rounds or they were also following him.

She looked down at the gun on the passenger seat. Keeping her eyes on the road, she slipped it into her bag.

She had no choice but to stay where she was, for now.

And watch.

And wait.

The current image has no alternative text. The file name is: the-stranger-part-xii-1.jpg

If you haven’t read the previous episodes, you can find them here:

99-word fiction: The Stranger

Posted in 99-word fiction, 99-words, dark fiction, Flash Fiction, noir, Writing and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
15 Jan 2025
5 Comments

99-word fiction – Cannibal

I first noticed her tattoo; it was beautiful, a waterfall of colour. She saw me looking and held up her empty glass, waving it at me.  I bought her a drink.

“I love your tattoo.”

She smiled.

Beer followed beer then whisky followed the beer. I must have charmed her; we finished the evening at my place. That was three months ago, and we’re still here.

The tattoo is beautiful. I sit looking at its waterfall of colour and touch it, delicately. Her skin is cold to the touch. It’s the only part of her left in the freezer.

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Posted in 99-word fiction, 99-words, dark fiction, Fiction, Flash Fiction, Horror, murder, Psychological Fiction, Short Fiction Stories, Writing and tagged , , , , ,
12 Jan 2025
2 Comments

99-word fiction – Voices

I sit down on a stool at the bar. I order a beer. I watch the barmaid tilt her head as she tilts the glass.

Voices getting louder. Behind me, to the side of me but not in front where I can see where they’re coming from. I’m trying to understand if they’re talking about me.

They are, I can hear them. Now they’re trying to whisper but it’s too late for that. They’re provoking me. This happens everywhere I go and it always ends the same way.

I turn on my stool and look around an empty bar.

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Posted in 99-word fiction, 99-words, Flash Fiction, imagination, Insanity, Madness, Mental Health, Psychological Fiction, Short Fiction Stories, words, Writing and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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