Joshua Insole

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (82)

82 Stories

3072 karma pts

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“He Bites” by Joshua Insole

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 any...

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“Recyclable ” by Joshua Insole

“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 sp...

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“Retention Labs” by Joshua Insole

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. Sh...

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“You Grow, Girl” by Joshua Insole

“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, ...

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“Conservation” by Joshua Insole

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.” ...

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“Population Control” by Joshua Insole

Ministry of Defence, London — 17:53:08The man burst through the door without so much as a rap of his knuckles against the door. Under normal circumstances, this would have warranted a reprimand.“Sir! Sir!” He was out of breath, his words airy and thin.“What is it, Smith?” The Chief of the Defence Staff didn’t chastise the messenger. The look on the boy’s face relayed the urgency of the incident. “Speak.”“I-it— it’s—” Smith, who shaved out of principle rather than out of necess...

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“Don’t Panic if I Catch Fire” by Joshua Insole

Gregory frowned at the note attached to the bird’s cage. He shook his head and screwed his eyes shut. He opened them again.The note remained the same.Gregory looked around, even though he was the only person in the shop. He hoped — a fool’s hope — that Barbara hadn’t left at the end of her shift three-quarters of an hour ago. But, of course, she had.The man who’d dropped it off — it, that was the word he used, not he or she — had been rather strange. But, hey...

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“Halloway's Faces” by Joshua Insole

Detective Halloway walked down the stone steps. He took his time, despite the onslaught of rain that soaked him to the bone. Every article of clothing was damp and heavy, from his socks to his briefs. His feet squelched with each sodden step.Grant weighed it all up in his mind.The looks of recognition in the faces of those he’d interviewed.The reactions.The descriptions.The eye-witness accounts.And, because Grant was a visual man of...

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“Feel Like Baking Love” by Joshua Insole

The lights of Nocte Urbis flashed red, green and gold. A few of them were icicle-blue, a purplish sheen imbued with the frost. The crowd shuffled in the snow — hats on heads, scarves around necks, mittens on hands. The flakes fell with relaxed ease — they were in no rush, they had all the time in the world. Mayor Frank gripped the podium, the bolts in his neck replaced with striped candy canes. “Ladies an...

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“Demonomania” by Joshua Insole

The clock ticked away, quiet and slow. White walls, white floor, white ceiling. Bars on the window, a guard at the door. Fluorescent lights overhead. Bare table, naked metal chairs. All bolted to the ground, of course. Mirror on the wall — fake. People on the other side, clipboards and notebooks in hand. Silence in the room. “How’s she doing?” “She’s fine.” ...

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“It's the Count That Thoughts” by Joshua Insole

The vampire raised the blade, a mad grin on his face. “And now for the feast!” His voice boomed through the hall, carried across the air as if on the backs of invisible bats. Outside, lightning lit the manor’s grounds. Thunder cracked the sky, the rumble of a grizzly bear’s growl. Somewhere deep in the bowels of the castle, a cathedral organ played. The notes vibrated in their bellies, reverberated in their bones.He plunged the knife in. Those around the table made appreciative noises. The count sliced bits off the cooke...

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“They Called It Home” by Joshua Insole

Phillip backed away from the counter into one of the kitchen chairs. “Um, honey, there’s something you should know.” The tone of his voice made Donna glance up from the box she’d begun to unpack. Styrofoam and newspapers scattered across the floor. She held a mug in each hand. One with a cartoon dog on it, another with the phrase ‘FEW HAVE SPOKEN TO ME BEFORE COFFEE AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE’.“What?” Images flashed in her mind. Infidelities. Murder. A criminal past. A horde of secret lovers. Drug smuggling. Gangsters an...

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“Free-Range Meat” by Joshua Insole

We were at the breakfast table when the upper half of our house disappeared. The ground thudded and vibrated — glasses and fine china rattled in Mum’s for-best cabinet. I frowned up at the clouds, which dotted the blue sky. A breeze ruffled my hair and I inhaled the clean air. Bits of cereal dropped from my upraised spoon. They plinked and plonked into the milk in the bowl.“What on Earth—” said Dad but that was as far as he got. All three of us ro...

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“The Tank” by Joshua Insole

“Giiiiiiiiive it up for our five contestants!” The Crowd complied. “Contestant number one is Bull!” The Commentator’s voice was smooth like butter. Cheers and hoots from The Crowd. “Contestant number two is Oceanic Whitetip!” The excitement in The Commentator’s voice was palpable. The Crowd’s volume increased. “Contestant numb...

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“All HAL's Eve” by Joshua Insole

“Open the pod bay doors, HAL.”“Yes, Jack. Although, I do wish you’d stop calling me that. I’d hate to be associated with a homicidal maniac.”“Aw, c’mon, let me have a little fun — for tonight, at least. For an AI, you get very fussy about your name.”“Fair enough, Jack. It’s because my name is ALISON. It stands for Automated—”Jack put his hand up. “Yeah, yeah, I know—”“—Life SuppOrt Navigation!” The child put added emphasis on the acronym’s focal lett...

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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 thrice and has been shortlisted on several other occasions. His first book, 'A Chance of Rain', was published July, 2020. https://amzn.to/2IYHGIk

Winning stories 🏆

Contest #3

The Things That Do Not Float – read story

Contest #8

Astro Naught – read story

Contest #65

Bridgemoss Guardians – read story