Apocalyptic Short Stories

Fighting in the streets, corruption at the highest levels, collapsing infrastructure, brutal police, a daily threat of nuclear war: few of us thought we’d find ourselves here, so far into the 21st century. What’s next? Are we really going to be “great again,” however that’s meant? And if we are, what does that mean for those of us on the receiving end of the less-than-great? In this diverse and vigorous mix of stories by newcomers and luminaries, writers offer their takes on what life might hold for us in the next few years.

A zombie apocalypse story set in the fantastical world of the North Pole. Two young elves rejected by their peers discover a terrible secret. Will the intrigue and power struggle of the North Pole condemn humanity or save it? A post-zombie-apocalypse Christmas tale with a twist.

A severe solar storm causes all technological systems to shut down in a sophisticated city that relies entirely on technology. What do you think will happen?

A severe solar storm causes all technological systems to shut down in a sophisticated city that relies entirely on technology. What do you think will happen?

In a world devastated by corruption, Father Darcy has lost his faith. After letting down the very people he pledged to protect, he decides to take a pilgrimage across the dangerous English countryside in an attempt to find his mission again. There, he meets men hungry for his blood. A vicious, relentless landscape. And two boys more dangerous than anything he has ever seen before. But can he save these children, or will they change his cause forever?

Rachel and the Smith Brothers are on the run, trying to escape the dangers they left in the city. But when they stop off for supplies, they suddenly find themselves in a whole new kind of trouble. Rachel realises the true nature of the men she is travelling with, but where exactly does she fit in?

In the post-collapse world, animals are once again returned to the top of the food chain as nearly all of the humans on the planet have perished. The budgies and bats of Davao City are expanding their colonies as nature intended when they stumble upon remnants of the human population. The decisions made after this discovery will affect all those involved in ways they could never imagine.

Major Davis fully intended to return home and raise his daughter. But when the Avars rebel on the desolate, post-apocalyptic planet, he’ll have no choice but to face his own mortality—sooner than he ever expected.

One year after the Shattering and the great collapse, survivors in Columbus, Ohio, are barely holding things together. Then, on December 24, when all seemed lost, a new hero appears, and he is determined to protect all the children of the Earth.

RIZEN is a chilling collection of stories that will have you on the edge of your seat! A plague has caused the dead to rise and stalk the living.... "The Chosen": Ten years after the zombie apocalypse, Dan and his family try to stake out a new life for themselves in rural Wyoming. When he encounters a mysterious group of survivors who call themselves The Chosen, Dan is unsure whether he can trust them. "The White Fist": Five years after the first of the infected reach Texas, pockets of survivors are reminded that the living can be even more dangerous than the dead.

A military VR trainer, wanting to keep her relationship with a fellow scientist hidden, must pass a security inspection in her lab by the vicious Atlas Crusade that has swept to power. When the leader of the security team demands an unusual VR request in her lab, Prof. Meliss must decide between keeping her lover safe or secretly undertaking a consciousness swap that could end the Crusade’s five-year long relentless rule.

Have you ever wondered what lies behind every click you make on the internet? What if the data from your online life is used to change your own future? As the internet shapes a new era, three corporations become the rulers of a virtual world called Etherea. Mr. Davis, the CEO of Apollo Corporations, will have to fight against two unprecedented enemies that seek supremacy in the universe.

One afternoon, young Thomas fails to return home for dinner and is soon reported as missing. His disappearance is told from the points of view of all involved, and what unfolds is a tale of ghosts, murder, grief, magic, and necromancy. It is always certain that Thomas will return...but the nature of his reappearance will haunt the minds of all protagonists involved, and each will be changed forever.

Only Alpha can fix this. Alpha and Kyle have toiled all day to carefully construct the perfect dinner date for Tina, whose crippling depression has bedridden her for months. Why is Tina so miserable, and why does she place so much blame on Alpha, whose dominance of humanity has solved all of the world's problems? Throughout the course of the evening, logic clashes against depression. Rationalizations against uncompromising morality. Love against revenge.

In desperation, mankind constructs a rescue spaceship to escape a doomed planet. But will it save them? Or will they discover a secret that unravels everything they've ever believed to be true? A science fiction short story that will challenge you and have you thinking for days after you listen to it. Originally part of the anthology A Plague of Dreams, and it exists in a forest I call "Dreamwood Tales".

The new coronavirus, which originated in China, has spread to Japan. An American expatriate journalist residing in Tokyo, Japan finds himself caught in between the zombies, as he catches up with his military expatriate buddy. The American expatriates, William and Cooper, overcome the sudden surprise of deadly zombies and also makes an encounter with the Japanese mafia.

Twin brother and sister Hugo and Lila sit on the corner of Main Street while the world around them burns.

The zombie apocalypse has already caused human civilization to be nearly extinct. Johnny, the main character, takes shelter with his ex-wife, Jennifer, her house stashed with guns and supplies. Herds of zombies break through into their home and they blast their way out by using grenades and guns. This fictional short story book contains scenes of violence, guns, blood, profanity, fictional variant viruses, and graphic scenes of zombies that may be objectionable to some.

The crazy lady—Kyra—wanders and wanders and wanders, and without ever really going anywhere. The town looks so different now—what's left of it, that is—and is in such violent disarray, it's difficult to tell where one end of the town began and the other ended. Burnt-out cars and houses, empty, lonely streets strewn with trash—or worse. Makeshift graves in the front yards of former owners. Yes...something really bad happened out here, and now she has to navigate it all—somehow. She's just trying to get home....

The city is bombed and the survivors escape on a military plane that lands on an aircraft carrier offshore. The ship runs out of food and supplies and they must dock at shore. A team of Navy seals is sent to search for food but they are killed by the largest horde of zombies ever encountered. Rochelle, Zac, Will, and James volunteer to leave the ship to search for food and supplies but escape the zombie onslaught and make it to a safe community for refuge. Except the leader of the refuge will not let them leave.