Joshua G. J. Insole

“The Babysitter” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Kedron opened the door to me and grinned.“Ah, Grace. Come in, come in! How is life treating you?”“Hiya Kedron. Yeah, not too bad, thanks!” I crossed the threshold and shrugged my coat off, a comical twist of the old tale. Outside, stars winked in the still night sky — thick and sticky, like tar. “How’s everything your end?”“Good, everything is good!” He shut the door behind me. “But, ah, I regret to inform you that Kshipa has begun teething.” Kedron folded his long, delicate fingers together and pulled a funny face. A mix between an apology ...

16 likes 4 comments 4

Read story

“Art of the Deal” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Cyril Hurlbutt woke up to the sound of water as it lapped against a shore.It took him a few moments to register what could be wrong with that. A pleasant sound, one which had always soothed him to sleep — ever since a small child. So, what, pray tell, bothered him so? Cyril frowned, one foot in the land of dreams, the other hovering above grounded reality. Eyes still scrunched shut, lower lip curled down like the pout of a toddler. The cogs of his brain — rusted and old, but still quite functional, thank you very much — struggled to turn. At...

14 likes 7 comments 7

Read story

“Steer Clear of Dogs” by Joshua G. J. Insole

The pink-haired woman in the black hoodie locks eyes with me. I glance down at her little corgi, linked to her via a bright red lead. The dog, too, stares at me with its little black eyes. As it spots me, it stops. It doesn’t move at all. It hangs back, shiny lumps of coal focused on me. Only when the lead that Pink holds becomes taut, as she keeps on walking, does the corgi move. One word to describe the dog’s motion: reluctant. I look across the street. All clear over there. I have time to dash over the road — dodge any cars that might...

14 likes 4 comments 4

Read story

“How Necromantic” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Blamore Rinc opened the cemetery gates, which squalled and sent a murder of crows to the skies. Tucked beneath one black-robed arm, Blamore held a book. The book. Bound in human flesh and inked with human blood. The face of the cover screamed out at the world. In a literal sense. The features browned and wrinkled with time. The holes where the eyes, nose, and mouth sat since sagged into deformity. The Necronomicon. A book some claimed didn’t exist. A book others decried for its “violation of the most basic tenets of human existence.” Well,...

13 likes 8 comments 8

Read story

“Adolebitque” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #104

“Are you coming tonight?”Deana looked up from the cow udder and bucket, upon which she had focused. Nelda Wilsone leaned from behind the corner of the Blacke homestead. One hand gripped a wooden beam and she dangled at a precarious angle. Deana wondered what it would be like if she lost her grip and tumbled face-first into a cowpat. And then chastised herself for such an awful thought. God would send her straight to hell for these mental images. Be good, Deana, she told herself.Deana scrunched her nose, and not because of the animals. “I don...

30 likes 5 comments 5

Read story

“Session” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #103

Cerise sighed when she spied Adelie curled up in the reading nook, eyes on the rain outside.Her heart sagged in her chest, a damp dress hung over a coat hanger. Limp. The air caught against her ribs, and for a moment, she couldn’t breathe. Framed against the washed-out backdrop of droplets, Adelie looked older than her age. For one frozen snapshot, Cerise caught a glimpse of the adult her little sister would soon become. A temporary maturity — achieved through grief. Every nerve ending and vein ached, and not only for their recent loss. She ...

31 likes 3 comments 3

Read story

“Grave New World” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #102

Jim extinguished the fire, even though the children grumbled. “Please, Papa Jim,” said a boy with dark circles around his eyes. “Just five more minutes. I’m awful cold.” He wrapped his arms around his knobbled knees and shivered as if to punctuate his point. Several of the others nodded and mumbled their concurrences. Jim sighed. His eyes darted to the ruined city skyline. Nothing but rubble and rebar. “Now, Boy—” he didn’t name them, it made it too difficult when they died “—you know I can’t do that. The spiders are attracted to the lig...

32 likes 3 comments 3

Read story

“Two Cups of Tea” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #101

As always, Leonard woke before his alarm and listened — whilst he lay there — to the creaks of the home. Before the bedside clock could bleat, he reached over and silenced it with a preemptive click. No movement from the other side of the bed, so he snuck out of the bedroom before he woke Myra. Dressing gown swiped from the back of the door — next to Myra’s fluffy pink one — and slippers slipped into. The stairs creaked beneath his weight in all the usual spots — the third, the fifth, and the ninth. The coffee-coloured carpet thinned out...

26 likes 4 comments 4

Read story

“Good Eatin'” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #100

At first, the smells had churned her stomach. Knees to her chest, back to the alley wall, Gigi Lamar kept the pressure on the wound. Out of sight from those in the street, she had this little section all to herself. Almost surreal, after the carnage she’d seen, the horrors she’d endured. Her home turned into a battleground, from which she’d fled. But this little spot of an alley, tucked away in the corner of the city? Safe. Even if for a short while. If only they wandered down here, they’d find her weak and vulnerable. She wouldn’t be able...

29 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“Seven Cs” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #99

The ship dips beneath the waves as the Sun dips below the horizon.At first, the water is nice and cool against your sore, red skin. You’ve spent a lot of time exposed to the elements — especially as the Seven Cs began to take on water. Shelter in the shade. Refreshed layers of sunscreen. Proper, regular hydration. These are the sort of things that take a backseat when a hole opens up in the hull. And so, the gentle lap of the sea soothes the quiet grumble of your frayed nerve endings. A wince flickers across your face — the blisters and peel...

34 likes 4 comments 4

Read story

“Contact Preclusion” by Joshua G. J. Insole

The nuke should have detonated in the air.I stare at the ceiling. Naked wires coil to a bare bulb, which fizzes and flickers above our heads. Not enough to illuminate the shadows that pool in the dark corners. Not enough to add warmth to the cold cement, three feet thick. Ice-cold, ink-black. Our new living quarters. I can’t quite bring myself to say it’s our new home. Nothing about this place is like our old house. A concrete refugee camp. That’s all it is. The metal poles of the cot dig into my flesh. The canvas — stretched taut like a ten...

16 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“There's Your Answer” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #97

Jacqueline Armstrong only looked at her phone for a second. Past eleven at night, she had the mountain road to herself. The twin headlights of her beat-to-hell SUV sliced through the gloom. She’d had the window down for a moment, so the bite of the wind could wake her up. The lake — which glittered in the dark, off to her left — wafted an algae perfume into the car. The radio, its lights like demon eyes in the dusk, glowed red. The DJ mumbled to himself and threw on another classic rock track, as the reception fuzzed in and out. Mmm-mmm....

26 likes 5 comments 5

Read story

“Ordinary” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #96

The black sedan makes no sound as it comes into view.The sort of car you might see parked behind any number of offices across the country. Its shape somehow conjures up all car manufacturers and none. Your gaze trawls over its sleek onyx curves. It could be a Mercedes or an Audi or a custom job from a nameless government-employed garage.It rolls down the street at the precise speed limit. Not slower. Not faster. Bang on. It signals when necessary, and stops at all the lights and crossings. It gives way to other vehicles but does not hesitate...

32 likes 5 comments 5

Read story

“Blatta” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #95

When I saw him, I knew I had to kill him.I crept up from the darkness. I stuck to the gloom — so that I didn’t reveal my location with a misplaced shadow. I took my time, moved with grace. No flurry of movement, no loud swishes of cloth. I swam through treacle, breath all but held, chest tight, hands wet with sweat.Not a big deal, most people would have done the same. It wouldn’t register a blip on the radar of the average mind. Wouldn’t weigh on a normal citizen’s conscience. It’s not like I stopped and debated it for a long time, weighed u...

26 likes 6 comments 6

Read story

“Sol Losers” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #94

The Sun bristled and swirled dead ahead, Hell personified in a sphere.“This is madness!” said Nancy Mendez. “We’re escaping one fiery hellhole—” she gestured back to the charred remnants of the Earth “—for another! Are you all insane?”“Lady,” said a rotund man with the face of a toddler. “We all voted for this.” He nodded, in affirmation, then took a sip from the straw of his coke. Bubbles thrummed in the container. “Democracy.” He squinted at her. “Are you saying you don’t like democracy, huh? What are you, some kinda communist?”The other p...

41 likes 6 comments 6

Read story