Joshua Insole

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (63)

63 Stories

1905 karma pts

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“Montis Absentia Pt. IX” by Joshua Insole

1“So, let me get this straight.” Steve’s nostrils flared. “You listened to that lunatic and decided you want to explore this place further?”Mary blinked and looked down at her hands. “I don’t see where else we can go, Steve.”“We can—” he jerked and then winced. Steve cradled his damaged arm to his chest, like broken porcelain. “We can head back to the road.” His forehead was shiny with sweat. “Go back in the opposite direction.”“Steve, look at us. We’re barely ...

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“Montis Absentia Pt. VIII” by Joshua Insole

1The wind whips against her face, cold and pure. Around her squawk her brothers and sisters, her friends and companions, her children. Somewhere in the flock is her mate — her companion of many years. Their youthful I-can’t-spend-a-minute-without-you intensity has faded, but their love has not diminished. If anything, the bond between them has grown more solid and stable.She flaps her wings, powerful and adept. Her trajectory controlled, her speed strong, her destination ingrained. She honks once...

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“Montis Absentia Pt. VII” by Joshua Insole

The man who staggered out of the shadows looked an awful lot like Rasputin.He shambled towards them, hands raised in a zombie’s posture.The man had grey and tatty clothes, little more than rags, which hung from his bones. He wore no shoes, and his feet scraped across the concrete, naked and raw. Beard long and bedraggled, hair matted and wild. His eyes shined like black coals in his pale, wrinkled face.Steve glanced at Mary. “What the hell is he? Mary, is he real? Is—...

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“Montis Absentia Pt. VI” by Joshua Insole

“Is this real? Mary, is this real?” Steve’s voice wavered. “Think so.” Mary’s voice was little more than a whisper. Her gaze remained fixed on the ceiling. They’d escaped to a stairwell and scampered down the crumbled steps. Overhead, dust and debris coughed down onto them. A pitch-black hallway stretched off into oblivion. The cold and damp air down here added an extra layer to the mustin...

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“Montis Absentia Pt. V” by Joshua Insole

1The air raid siren moaned through the fog. It was the death-song of a whale. It was the cry of a million mourners. Mary’s stomach churned and her skin prickled in gooseflesh. The town had awoken.“Steven?” He had to hear it too, he had to.The hospital rema...

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“Montis Absentia Pt. IV” by Joshua Insole

1A wind blew through the trees behind them and pine needles skittered across the asphalt. The sound was familiar. It was the noise of the year’s demise, of autumn, of Halloween. It was the sound of orange and brown, the warmth of a thick jumper, hands wrapped around a mug. It was teeth as they fell from gums. It was the shatter of glass. It was a million spiders as they scuttled on the ground. It was death.“Do you think there’s anyone down there?” Steve asked the thought that had crept up into her mind.

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“Montis Absentia Pt. III” by Joshua Insole

The two paths split, and the righthand branch — which led down to the cemetery — descended further into the nebulous fog, whilst the one they followed rose up an incline. A steep bank of mud separated the two, and before long, Steve felt waves of vertigo wash over him.Although neither one said it, both Mary and Steve were puzzled that they’d not cleared the greyness that encroached upon them. It pooled around them, thick as soup, swirls left in th...

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“Montis Absentia Pt. II” by Joshua Insole

They’d walked on through the fog for what seemed to be hours, but they’d not stumbled across the signposted town. Their footsteps did not echo, the walls of grey that pressed in at them from all sides dampened the sound. Steve still walked with limp, but he hadn’t grumbled about it at all. “A spelling bee?” Mary grinned at him. The...

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“Montis Absentia” by Joshua Insole

1The two sets of headlights intersected each other in the midnight’s blackness, shades of yellow and orange sliced through the inky gloom. The still of the mountain pass was shattered by the squeal of tires, the screech of metal, the sound of broken glass. There was a moment of silence, in which a preternatural hush fell across the ridge like a winter blanket, followed by the unmistakable — yet wholly alien — cacophony of two vehicles experiencing the profound effect of grav...

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“In the Dark of the Zombie City” by Joshua Insole

“So, the first item on our agenda is killing Ethan.” Lilly looked up from the sheet of paper on her judge’s desk. “Are we all in agreement?” A few glances were exchanged between the children seated in the crowd, but no objection was voiced. One of the boys shuffled in his seat, eyes wide. Ethan, who was gagged and bound like a trus...

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“Eye to Eye” by Joshua Insole

A glimpse was all I needed to recognise my childhood sweetheart; I’d never forget those killer’s eyes. I swallowed hard, my throat like sandpaper. That blood-pumping muscle in my chest began to thud so violently my whole body vibrated. She slowed and turned to face me. The whites of her eyes told me she’d not forgotten me either.Time slowed, the microseconds tick-tick-ticked away as our eyes locked. I willed her to turn back aro...

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“18.01528” by Joshua Insole

The old man spoke, pale blue gaze resolute. He ignored the barrel of the assault rifle that was aimed at his forehead. “We were neither prepared nor equipped to cooperate.” His voice was hoarse but powerful. He spoke into the bloodshot eyes of the kid who held the weapon. “I said shut up!” The muzzle wavered, the sweat dripped, the...

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“Lights Shined Into Pried-Open Eyes” by Joshua Insole

The plasma glow from the television was the only source of light in the apartment. All the curtains were drawn — they always were, day or night. Al glanced towards the obscured window of the lounge and searched for a trace of sunshine that might indicate the current time, but his gaze was watery and pulsated from hours of screen time. Al returned his red eyes to the display.The air inside the flat was lifeless, he could smell it, could ta...

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“In Circles” by Joshua Insole

I just woke up in this place, and I don’t know how I got here. I’m not alone, but I don’t know any of the people that are with me. We’re all dressed rather formally, so perhaps there was a party or a ceremony of some sort?The thing that really puzzles me is why we’re all covered in dirt.And why we’re just walking around the same plot of land, over and over, going round in circles,...

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“Where the Children Used to Play” by Joshua Insole

They couldn’t climb, so she knew she was safe, even if only temporarily. Mary let the sunlight fall upon her face, closing her eyes in the warming glow. She knew she should be doing something, as opposed to the nothing she was currently doing, but did it really matter that much, in the grand scheme of things? It wasn’t as if there were many people left to judge her, any more.The rough square that had been sawn into the ...

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Author bio

Joshua G. J. Insole is a British writer living in the Austrian Alps. An active member of several online writing communities, his preferred storytelling genres are horror and science fiction. Since starting in 2017, Joshua has won the Reedsy writing competition twice and has been shortlisted on several other occasions. His first book, 'A Chance of Rain', was published July, 2020. https://amzn.to/39Hz3e4 Winning Reedsy stories: The Things That Do Not Float bit.ly/2DawRQ6 Astro Naught bit.ly/2mnA0nl

Winning stories 🏆

Contest #3

The Things That Do Not Float – read story

Contest #8

Astro Naught – read story