Joshua G. J. Insole

“This Place Is Dead Pt. II” by Joshua G. J. Insole

The bright sunlight shone upon Greywood Courtyard with a resolute gaze. Polly Wade stared down from the stairwell of 13A. In her white-knuckle grip, she held her drill, its battery charged. Impossible to tell where the grass ended and the concrete began. There were so many. A hundred, if not more. They’d occupied the quad for the better part of a week. Mrs Tyler’s assertion that they’d leave once they got bored had turned out to be false. Like most of what came out of her mouth. Stupid old bat. Her footsteps echoed as she made her way do...

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“This Place Is Dead” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #85

The pale blue moonlight bathed Greywood Courtyard in ethereal brushstrokes.Darell Porter eased the back door to 13B shut, a dull click as the latch caught. In his hands, he held his DIY weapon. A broom with a six-inch butcher’s knife secured to the end of the handle. A bundle of string and duct tape bound the blade to the tip. He’d used too much, but he’d rather it be too secure than not secure enough.From the opposite side of the yard came the rattle of metal. Snarls and grunts. The clink of a chain. Something scraped and slapped against th...

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“Perry & Izzy” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #84

Perry nodded at Izzy, who looked about as ragged as he felt.He waved her down, sucked in a breath and joined her. They clustered together over a cafe table to the side of the hubbub. The throngs swarmed back and forth across the plaza. Fragments of conversation bounced through the air. “Hey, Iz.” Perry nodded. “How’s it going?”Izzy raised her eyebrows, face ashen. She blew air out of her mouth, cheeks puffed out. “Terrible, Per. I can’t even do my job as I normally did.” She shook her head. “Life’s awful now.”“Tell me about it.”“I mean—” Izz...

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“Aitch Two Oh” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #83

It might have been the dehydration, but Innis wasn’t surprised when a shape swelled out of the ocean. The protrusion rose above the dingy’s inflated edge. The sunlight sparkled its way through the turquoise, diffracted a thousand different ways. At first, it was nothing but a smooth tendril, rounded and faceless. But as the seconds dripped by, features emerged from that liquid countenance. A nose. Two eyes. A mouth. Ears too. Locks of curled hair, which cascaded over a shoulder and spilled over a clamshell bra. All that same shade of aqu...

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“Regular Human Being” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #82

Under the fourth law of robotics, Crescere Corp let Ruben go once he became obsolete.Sure, they would love to grind him down and chop him up for parts. But that’s what the fourth law was for, wasn’t it? Equality. Rights for those with bytes. It was why the green dreamers warred with the electronic equalists. You can’t recycle that which has equal status.Of course, his real name wasn’t ‘Ruben’. And, to tell the truth, he wasn’t a ‘he’. It was a persona he adopted once he became a citizen. At first, he went by the name ‘Rehab’, which stood for...

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“Finding Best Route” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #82

The number at the top right-hand corner of the phone dropped down another digit.The orange bar glared from the dimmed screen, filled a sad one-fifth of the way. I groaned. “Oh, come on, come on!” I glanced around. The sweat on my brow chilled the skin. Copper stung the back of my nostrils. My stomach rolled over. Scientists could create a perpetual energy machine with my gut’s inner movements. And my heart fluttered like the wings of a hummingbird, nonstop.Someone barged into me and I staggered to the side. Right into the path of a group of ...

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“Ghosted” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #81

Somehow, Wanda knew it was Calvert.The knocks woke her up at 3:13 in the morning. She rose from the cushioned depths of sleep. A second later, Wanda dropped back down into the magical dreamscapes. But before sleep could retake her, a second knock came.Wanda’s eyes flicked open and a gasp escaped her dry lips. The shadows of the night slunk over the rumpled duvet, dark blue and moonlit. The alien coals of the alarm clock glowed dim red in the dusk. “Wha—?”Clunk-clunk-clunk.The knock again.“Cal?”The name blurted out. Before Wanda had even thou...

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“Spat From the Mouth of a Stone” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #80

It happened by accident.Man sat at the edge of the cave, the dense canopy of trees beneath. The greenery swayed in the breeze, and the rustle of their leaves whispered like rain. Some strange beast cried out into the evening. Its screech reverberated in his belly. The sun burned the sky a diluted blood-red, streaks of orange and pink stretched off into the distance.To his side, Boy and Woman lay. Woman slept — Boy could hear her gentle snores — and no doubt Man thought he was asleep too. Man would not sleep. Not tonight, at least. It wouldn’...

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“Daddy's Home” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #79

NowIt was three o’clock in the morning when Elsabeth realised she wasn’t alone.***ThenElsabeth frowned at the photograph the agent had slid across the table.“I don’t understand,” she told Harding. She hadn’t warmed to him, despite having seen his face every month for the past three years. Elsabeth had liked the previous agent better. But, as with all good things, Rowan’s tenure ended. Retired. Still, he deserved such peace, after having kept an eye out for her for over five years. He’d made the witness protection program that bit nicer.“I’m ...

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“Road Trip Playlist” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #79

The hands against the windows blocked the last of the day’s grey light as it tried to trickle in.The bodies writhed on the bonnet and the boot. Bloodied hands thumped against the barriers — their only source of protection. Vacant eyes and gore-slaked mouths squeezed up against the glass. If they hadn’t been dead, it might have been funny. Like kids on the school bus pull faces at neighbouring cars.At least they didn’t know how to open car doors. You had to be thankful for the little things.They both sat there, in their seats. Rita in the dri...

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“He Bites” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #78

It’s a Saturday afternoon when Rover asks me to let him go again. Silly Rover. “No, Rover,” I say. “I can’t let you go. The neighbours’ll complain if they see you loose.” “Please,” he says. There’s a sheen of sweat on his brow and a hint of desperation in his voice. Well, of course there is. He’s celebrated two birthdays in this basement of mine. “Please,” he says again. “I-I won’t say anything.” His tongue darts to the corner of his mouth. His eyes glance for an exit, but there isn’t one. And even if there was, he’s chained up down here...

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“Recyclable ” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #78

“Well, who’s laughing now?” I say to myself. I don’t say it to them, because they can’t understand words. At least, I don’t think they can.“Hey. Hey you. Yeah, you there. You’re ugly.”No response. None that I can tell, anyway. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I say as I remove the shaft from the one’s head. I have to put my foot on its neck and pull quite hard. I turn my head away — even though I’ve got a face mask on and a pair of ski goggles. You can never be too sure. They like to spray and splatter. Even though the blood should have congea...

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“Retention Labs” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #77

Louise Carlson stared at the computer screen, the CCTV footage frozen still. She chewed her inner lip. “HR is gonna have our heads on a platter for this,” she said to the empty office.Noelia leaned into the doorway. “Hey, Carlson, you figure out where our man is at yet?”Louise pulled a face. “Well…”“No luck? Hm. Maybe I oughtta phone the company, see if he’s ill.”“Actually, I found out what happened to him.”Noelia glanced up and down the corridor. She slipped into the room and pulled the door shut. “I don’t like how you worded that, Miss Car...

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“You Grow, Girl” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #76

“What on Earth is that?”“It’s a Garden, Georgina. I know we’re both getting on a bit — a bit long in the tooth — but it’s still early days for senile dementia, don’t you think?”“Oh, don’t be snarky!”“You know, grass, shrubs. A hedge. Flowers. Maybe even a tree. Lawn chairs, soil. A parasol. A little table, a tray of ice tea. Maybe a glass of gin and tonic for you, you old flirt. A garden.”“I know what a garden is, you old bat! I meant that. Phyllis, I’ve never seen a plant like it in my life! It wasn’t there last week, that’s for sure. I wou...

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“Conservation” by Joshua G. J. Insole

Submitted to Contest #75

Jameson followed Hendricks down the metal stairwell. The structure around them creaked and groaned with the strain. Their footsteps clanked and thudded. The sounds echoed and reverberated through the foundations. “I thought you’d have gone ultra hippie since we last spoke, with your dreams of peace and love and interspecies cooperation. Looking at this place looks like you’ve gone very corporate.” Hendricks smiled and said very little. She continued to lead Jameson down into the inner heart of the place. At the bottom of the stairs, th...

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