Dan Willmot

“Killing the Queens” by Dan Willmot

Note : I have no idea what this is, it started out as some form of murder mystery thriller which took a third person look at a series of university murders, but then it sort of turned into a manifesto about the sadistic nature of human society? Not quite sure if it conforms with the general specifications of a traditional short story or if it's more of a dark twisted fable, but at the same time I kinda like it so….. Enjoy, and let me know how bearable/unbearable the lack of consistent in depth narrative story telling translates into this odd...

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“A Sky of Fire and Blood” by Dan Willmot

Submitted to Contest #80

The suffocating fever of a thousand bodies wafted through the air. Baking the cobbled walls fringing the marketplace and mingling with the sun’s equally searing touch. Low to the ground, where a forest of glimmering silk togas towered over him, Cassius shifted from left to right foot in a joyous jig he couldn’t explain. The sun was glaring, scorching his bare feet, and the thin cord bearing his tray of wares was gouging into his neck painfully. But the bustling quality of the market was overpowering. The sent of fine wine and rich fruits t...

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“Coffee and Karma” by Dan Willmot

Submitted to Contest #76

Whinstons coffee shop had seen a great many schemes hatched under its roof. Quaint and unsuspecting, the single-floor building had provided the perfect place to talk over delicate matters without suspicion. In the faint glow of the shop's retro lighting, everything from arson to assassination had been discussed, planned, and dealt with under the guise of a friendly chat over a cuppa. Sitting tensely in the high-backed chair hunched over an empty mug, the young man, more like a boy really, mulled this over. Where he sat this very second, a h...

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“The Stone Heart of Ruthcarton” by Dan Willmot

Submitted to Contest #67

Benji stood stock still as the monstrous creature bore down on him. Its bulbous green skin glistened with acidic slime, fizzing in the sea breeze. He closed his eyes as a thick ropey tendril rose from the churning sea. The sea monster swung its boneless arm high into the air and knocked Benji to the ground. Cracks began to appear in his vision, and reality came flooding in.  Marcus Vanderver stood over him, his two chubby goons scoffing as he dusted off his ivory knuckles. He looked down at Benji with disdain as the boy lay gasping fo...

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“ Hidden Under the Floorboards” by Dan Willmot

Submitted to Contest #64

“The art of investigation is a fickle one. Many think of themselves as one of those marvellously witty detectives you see on tv. But few ever put their energy into the mysteries that matter. The legends of ghosts lurking in the dark and monsters out of sight. The cases that get you labelled as the craziest nut in town. Those are the ones worth taking. I may not be a detective by day, but every fibre of my being knows that it's what I’m meant to do. The moment when the last pieces of the puzzle click together, that rush of adrenaline coursing...

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“The Summoning” by Dan Willmot

Submitted to Contest #63

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire. Not a single wooden soldier had escaped Autumn’s chilling touch, so cold, it burned the branches to nothing more than twisted bark draped in all hues of red. The frigid concrete step beneath me froze my bare feet. While wisps of wind playfully tugged at the thin fabric of the long coat covering my pyjamas.  "Ari, get in here!"  My mom hollered from inside the house. I grunted and turned back inside, abandoning the peace of the neighbourhood in the early morning light.  ...

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“Lights Out” by Dan Willmot

Submitted to Contest #58

I have always liked the darkness. Maybe it's something to do with my overactive imagination but it has always fascinated me. In light reality is nothing more than what we can see and hear, but once the last slithers of light shrink away anything becomes possible. The murderous clown at the end of your bed becomes only too real, the creature lurking among the dust-ridden confines of your wardrobe seeks you out with gleaming red eyes. Every impossible danger is suddenly so very possible. Yet I’ve found something else with darkness. It brings a...

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“Cadet” by Dan Willmot

“ENDER WAKE UP,”  My heart is pounding in my chest with a terrible throbbing pain. I can feel Marks hand on my shoulder shaking me in my chair. But I don’t want to get up yet, I don’t want to face the disappointed faces of my fellow cadets.  How did they ever think this was a good idea. We’ve been at war with those blasted aliens for longer than I can remember. And nothing has ever worked against them, every child genius they train fails. I am no different, the visions revealed that pretty quickly. Ender Michel engraved right the...

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“Old Reunions” by Dan Willmot

Submitted to Contest #56

"Yo Carlo," I whipped my head around, frustration seething from my every pore. Why couldn't he just leave me alone, couldn't he see I didn't want to talk. The counsellor bounded on the heels of his feet as he heaved his heavy body over to me. He glistened like a pale jelly in the hot Arazionian sun. I sighed adjusting the straps of my backpack, there was no getting out of this. I wasn't even going to try, not with the whole playground as potential witness. "Carlo, you little angel," I snarled at that. Just because I was blond and small did...

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“Keeping Secrets” by Dan Willmot

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?”No. I know you’re meant to say yes when somebody asks you that but what’s the point. I know I can’t. No one can, we all cave eventually. Yet still, the insubordinate idiots that are my peer insist on divulging their every fear to me, their every embarrassing moment, their lies their regrets. Everything that makes them themselves they pour into my unwanting ears. Drowning me in a sea of guilt and fearful loyalty. Until I pull the plug, then the anger and seething rage bear down on me as their words tumble out of my mou...

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