Instant Story

Challenge #02521-F331: Fear Us

Gone are the days of monsters holding a village in fear, secure in their lairs, the biggest worry the occasional angry peasant mob rising up to pester them with torches and cries of being "abominations to God's creation".

The industrial revolution and electricity made humans far more dangerous and less fearful than they'd ever been. Inept mobs were replaced with trained police. Investigating detectives passed knowledge of weaknesses on to new generations of monster hunters...

There are not many monsters left in the world. Most people don't even believe in us at all! They think Hollywood just made us up to sell horror schlock films or... ugh... gaudy teen romance in some cases. Pitiful. -- Anon Guest

Once upon a time, we were monsters. We were the shadows in the night, we were the dark places where few feared to tread. We had names like werewolf, or vampyr, or troll. We were the reason why children went missing in the woods. You called us Fae, you called us will o'the wisp, you called us huldre. We were the creaking of old houses, the inexplicable rapping in the night. You called us ghosts, spirits, or poltergeist.

We call ourselves... fearlings. We live on the fears you create. We become that which you are afraid of. In more recent days, we have been cryptids, and slender men, and the poisoners of sweets for children. We have been the long-legged beasties crawling between the unobserved spaces. We have been the errant shadows in the corner of your eye late at night.

We do no harm. We wish to make that clear. We fearlings only feed on fear. There is no need to hurt or harm. You humans are very well versed in doing such things to and for yourselves. We have been unidentified flying objects, men in black, and yet the best yield we have ever had is from rustling in corn fields. We have never been the rapists at the bar, the stalkers in the night, nor the terrorists in the shadows. Humans are far too good at doing those things already. After all, we are the things that do not truly exist.

Support me on Patreon / Buy me a Ko-fi

Prompts remaining: 63 Submit a Prompt! Ask a question! Buy my stories!

Challenge #02520-F330: Teach to Learn

You know the one student that's always alone? The one student that, for some reason, just seems unable to make any friends? Often they're bullied while everyone else turns a blind eye even when they ask for help. A student can turn one of many ways in this kind of situation. They can turn into a killer, they can harm themselves, they can bottle it up and explode later, or, for the unusual few, it can make them even gentler even when

Challenge #02519-F329: For the Greater Good

Several Enforcers of Pax Humanis teamed up and took down a pirate's ship. They were tearing the ship apart from the inside-out when one hears crying in one of the cargo holds. Tearing the hold's doors off, they find dozens of children, human and haven-worlder, locked in cages with price tags already printed on the tops of them. Now they have children to care for, and the potential buyers? Were about to get a lesson in what it meant to mess with

Challenge #02518-F328: Specific Listing Please

Traveling with Humans was, or rather is, a dangerous prospect. Freelance Freighter captains quickly learn that it is usually best to keep your human away from anything that can, could be made to, or might explode.

Hauling volatile chemicals? Heck no!

Mining equipment? That's just ASKING for trouble!

Precious metals? Why not just let the pirates know you're coming and save some time?

Logging equipment? Like, to record data? Seems harmless enough. Even fledgling colonies need some way to keep track of

Challenge #02517-F327: Kintsugi Badass

The person was a bodyguard, and damn good at their job. However, others did not realize this when they saw the person. Sure the legs could have been replaced long ago with what they made from their work, but it was rather amusing when an enemy saw the bracings and the skin suit covered stumps, and assumed the lack of legs meant being helpless. -- Anon Guest

Sometimes, when the Human was in a good mood, they called themselves Brad the Broken.

Challenge #02516-F326: Once a Sword

Better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.

Humans, while striving for peace, prepared for war. -- Anon Guest

Let's go in the garden, you'll find something waiting... -- Terran children's song.

This is a gardening planet. Call it Agraria. It has been specifically engineered for farming food crops for Terrans by Terrans. The people who choose to live there are called Vegans and they are, by and large, peaceful. They do not eat animal sourced

Challenge #02515-F325: Pig Hero

I knew it was futile to ask, it’s nearly impossible for someone like me. But I needed to know, to clear the doubt in my mind, so I can push forward. With a shaken voice I asked, “I can be a hero too, right?” -- Anon Guest

The Great Golden Leader looked down at me, cloak and hair flowing in the wind. She was a vision of muscular perfection and might. Her magnificent dark skin marred slightly by a few battle-scars.

Challenge #02514-F324: Roll For Initiative

Ever wonder what it would be like to disappear into your fantasy and not have to return? Video games are like that, online role play games even more. It can be more powerful than any drug, and far more seductive. But what happens when the power goes out and the person is forced to face reality? -- Anon Guest

This is a box. This is a window. Turn it on and view another reality. There were other boxes like it, in days

Challenge #02513-F323: Sensible Steps

The two ships had collided as one had a severe navigational error and the other had been stolen by a youth who wanted to go out for a joyride. They crashed together on a planet that, for both of them, was just barely habitable. The surviving humans called out to the other ship and found it to be filled with Nox who were even younger than the human youths who were barely into their teens. Despite a rocky start, the two groups

Challenge #02512-F322: One Complex Thought Experiment in the Void

An empath and a sociopath trying to help each other interact with people. -- Anon Guest

Here are two humans. Call them Abe and Bee. Abe cares too much about others and other's feelings, to the point of neglecting their own. Bee doesn't care about anyone but themself. They are both abnormal Humans. They are both trying to get back to civilisation as they know it with a group of strangers for a crew on their kludged vessel. They're a rag-tag bunch

Challenge #02511-F321: A Pound of Cure

I told you not to come here during New Years but nooooooo “I want to experience the culture there” and now we’re running low on stress relief medication -- Anon Guest

"In my defence, the cultural displays looked very pretty and relatively harmless," said Prrit. Ze was currently huddled under a big, soft blanket and had mufflers over hir tympanum. "They looked so pretty and the music was so nice."

"Mus--" Human Dee tutted and tisked. "You had the offensensitivity filters

Challenge #02510-F320: Fractal Flaws

it just basically just captured lighting -- Anon Guest

Humans can freeze lightning. That was the original claim. On the edge territories, blocks of acrylic plastic or panes of glass are sold with 'frozen lightning' patterns etched impossibly into the inside of the structure. Some carry them in their vehicles as protection against plasma storms in Hyperspace. Nobody's certain if they work, but belief in sympathetic magic is a powerful thing.

The actual trick of it got out eventually. Of course it

Challenge #02509-F319: Berry Small Problem

It's inevitable that one person's treat is another person's hallucinogen, especially when it comes to dealing with various species in the Galactic Alliance. There is a plant that, for most Galactics, it's no worse for them than a human having some chocolate. In fact, it's sweet fruit is quite popular. However, if a human eats some, it's inevitable the human will sit for hours completely blitzed. So while it's a treat for some, for humans, it's a potential medicine to help those

Challenge #02508-F318: An Asynchronous Encounter in Ships' Night

You ever fall asleep on the couch only to wake up in your own bed? Ever fall asleep in your bed and wake up realizing you're standing in your living room? Sleepwalking can be from stress, it can be from night-terrors, it can be from many things. When they hired their young warrior / linguist, they didn't realize he sleepwalks. It wasn't in the file, after all, and this was the youth's first assignment. Though they would find him asleep in the oddest

Challenge #02507-F317: The Jewels of the Tour

A feathery flash of ruby red, then several bright flashes of green. These tiny birds flit amongst the gardens on the space station as the havenworlders watch them in wonder. They came from a 4.5 deathworld. These beautiful, flying gems. They are more delicate than the most delicate of havenworlders, some humans brought them here to the garden to act as pollinators and to make the place, "more like home,' she'd said. Little nectar-filled feeders can be seen swarming with

Menu

Flash fiction fresh from my fingers to your mind!

Challenge #02521-F331: Fear Us

Challenge #02520-F330: Teach to Learn

Challenge #02519-F329: For the Greater Good

Challenge #02518-F328: Specific Listing Please

Challenge #02517-F327: Kintsugi Badass

Challenge #02516-F326: Once a Sword

Challenge #02515-F325: Pig Hero

Challenge #02514-F324: Roll For Initiative

Challenge #02513-F323: Sensible Steps

Challenge #02512-F322: One Complex Thought Experiment in the Void

Challenge #02511-F321: A Pound of Cure

Challenge #02510-F320: Fractal Flaws

Challenge #02509-F319: Berry Small Problem

Challenge #02508-F318: An Asynchronous Encounter in Ships' Night

Challenge #02507-F317: The Jewels of the Tour