Harken Void

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2020

Stories (99)

99 Stories

3569 karma pts

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“All Hallow's Eve” by Harken Void

October thirty-first, Halloween. The one night of the year when the ethereal and material realms come so close their boundaries collide. The one night people should stay indoors, surrounded by a circle of salt and warding symbols, praying that the wickedness did not find its way into the safety of their homes. Yet for the five, it was the one night in the year they got a break from being themselves.

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“The Forgiveness Permit” by Harken Void

Six thirty-one P.M. The end of another grueling day at work, which Marla couldn’t wait to drown in some cheap wine and TV drama. Luna was already dozing off in the baby seat, so perhaps she could have the evening free of baby emergencies. God knew she needed one. She turned left on her street and drove onto the parking lot. Over the months the lot became a sort of mental trigger for her. She knew that as so...

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“Speaker_2” by Harken Void

Lights were always on at Neo Sapience Industries, as work on developing the next generation of artificial intelligence never stopped. More than ever in human history, the work was seen as a high priority, both in terms of technological advancement as well as a lucrative business model, predicted to skyrocket in the future. Understandably, therefore, the lights were always burning on the development floor...

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“To Mock a Bird” by Harken Void

Nature has some bizarre creatures in her arsenal, but humans are by far her most baffling invention. They are the only creatures that can contradict themselves; that can lie, and believe their lies. Humans will purposefully act against themselves and convince themselves that they are doing great. It’s insanity. Imagine a tall tree that would refuse to grow upright, because it feared falling. One day it woul...

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“The Pass” by Harken Void

Tanek Strife-stricken watched the enemy encamped in the valley below. From his vantage point on the cliff above the pass, he could see their tents painting the once green fields in striking yellows and purples. Such beautiful colors, bringing such pain and misery to Tanek’s people. He stood there, on the barren rocks of his forefathers, listening to the wind carrying the flapping sounds of enemy banners up the mo...

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“Homo Sapiens Nescium” by Harken Void

Extinction. There’s a certain finality to the word, that summons a primordial sense of dread and doom to the core of our being. It means the end of a species. Not just the happenstance death of a few individuals you don’t even know, but the final, irreversible end of an entire world population of a species, meaning there would never be such a life form ever again. Uniqueness, lost forever due to the very tr...

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“Moments of Synchronicity” by Harken Void

The goddamned, blasted old piece of shriveled wood creaked so damn loud that Bartholomeus half believed it would start a fire under his ass. That would be something. A rocking chair, starting a fire and burning an old man to death because he couldn’t get up and leave in time. Well, it didn’t sound that Lucilda’s chair was any better. The damned old thing was creaking just as loud, horribly out of sync with his own...

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“Frequency of Insanity” by Harken Void

The day that humankind dreamt of for so long, and was so terrified of, had come with barely an announcement in the back-end section of some obscure scientific magazine. A frequency had been found. And hidden within it, extraterrestrial life. Things that are not accompanied with much pomp and glitter seldom catch the attention of human eyes, for they have been trained to ignore the mundane. It takes a lot of noise ...

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“Distractions” by Harken Void

Aaron planted his butt on the chair, feeling energized and determined not to get up until the day’s work was done. He had gotten up early, as he managed to most days now, and gotten through his morning ritual of workout, visualization, contemplation and a big yummy breakfast. He sat down, fresh out of the shower, ready to kick ass and take names. They say that it takes three weeks to build up a habit and st...

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“Ride of a Century” by Harken Void

Gunter threw another log on the fire and cursed every god he knew for sending the cold so deep into his bones. The fireplace brimmed with lively orange flames and the wool blankets stacked so thick over his body, that he could barely breathe under them. Yet, Gunter felt cold. He didn’t know whether that was from the freezing temperatures outside or the creeping of death. If you’re going to take me, you might a...

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“The Cabin” by Harken Void

Welcome to the end of your world. No need to worry - you’ve done plenty of that throughout your life already. This isn’t some doomsday apocalypse like you see in the movies or read about in books. The world is still spinning, all the things you hold dear still exist - only we’ve removed them from you for the next ten days. This end of the world will be for you only, your own personal experience. This is you...

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“Dirty Secrets” by Harken Void

“You did WHAT?” “It’s not that bad.” “No, it's even worse!” “I mean, it just sorta happened-” “Just happened? Are you serious?” “Oh, don’t be so dramatic! Like it could never happen to you if you were in my place.” “Of course it couldn’t! Are you even hearing yourself? This is crazy, you’re crazy!” “Uh, why did I even tell you…” “Yeah, why did you? You shou...

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“Aadi's Choice” by Harken Void

He had to do it. Aadi Rama had been working his whole life towards this. He had not only desired it for so long and with such intensity but had also sacrificed too much to let the opportunity slip his grasp now. When it came to fulfilling one’s dreams, no cost was too steep. Not even the cost of abandoning one’s deepest values. Not if it meant getting a dream fulfilled in return. Aadi signed the proj...

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“Family: The Unseen Pandemic” by Harken Void

In the beginning, there was everything. Then, a singularity appeared - something split off of that everything and became separate from it, individual. That something was you. Ever wondered why babies cry when they’re born? It’s the pain of being cut off from infinity of ‘nobody’ and becoming a ‘somebody’, someone in a body. It is worse pain than dying. Birth is a traumatic experience and we all go through ...

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“Not All Banks Are Equal” by Harken Void

Marty eyed the clock on the wall - nearly lunchtime. He had lingered long enough. “Yes, sir, I guarantee you, this bank is completely discreet. We do not share your information with anyone.” The man hesitated a little. He didn’t seem quite convinced. Just sign the damn thing, fool, Marty thought as he smiled through his whitened teeth. “I think I’ll take my business elsewhere,'' the m...

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Author bio

Greetings fellow human beings, cats, and aliens! My name is Harken Void and I'd like to give you a warm welcome to my profile page. I hope you enjoy my stories at least half as much as I enjoy writing them. Just pick a title that appeals to your literary appetite and leave a comment if you thought the story was good. Happy reading :) Harken Void is (of course) my pen name. I’m a geologist from Slovenia who is transitioning to the world of writing. My dream, goal, and purpose is to become a full-time author, sharing my thoughts and stories with the world. I prefer writing and reading fantasy, sci-fi, and philosophy/spirituality, but dip my pen into other genres too! Writing is my top passion, here are some others; hiking in the mountains, playing the guitar, listening to music (concert tickets please!), smashing rocks with my geological hammer, learning as much as I can about this mysterious thing called life, filming nature, proving people wrong and picking up trash that people threw in nature. AUTHOR'S UPDATES: I have an ongoing series titled 'NIGHTBORN' here on Reedsy. It's about a police detective and a young woman who gets caught in the middle of something beyond their comprehension; the coming of an Apocalypse. So if you like reading about vampire-werewolf-demon-monster type things, feel free to give the Nightborn series a try! REVIEWS: I appreciate honest and constructive criticism, so if you have the time and some magic of editorial reviewing to spare, I'd appreciate your thoughts/suggestions/tips on where I could improve my writing. Your comments have ready been helpful and I look forward to hearing what you have to say next! Also, you can ask me for a review! BUT BE WARNED, I have no patience for romance, sad stories, overly dramatic inner monologs, and religious preaching. I do, however, love and devour FANTASY, SCI-FI, PHILOSOPHY/SPIRITUALITY, and weird new writing styles (as long as they are readable).

Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #36

Dear Subconscious – read story