Apocalyptic Short Stories

It was well after dark when Matt Matthews got back down to the headquarters camp, and saw the city stranger sitting there before the fire. He knew he was a city man after a single glance at the shiny, low-topped shoes and the reminiscence of a crease in the dusty trousers. Matt tossed the gophers and the two small coyotes off his broad shoulders to old Moe Arhelger, across the campfire, staring in suspicious silence from the stranger to Moe and back again. "Who's he?" he asked finally.

Join the postapocalyptic adventure as David and the survivors of a solar storm taking out the grid try to find the means to survive another day. Earth and space are about to come into contact in a way that's new to human history.... Are you prepared for the loss of all modern electronic technology? The sun is waking up from a deep slumber. NASA says in next few years we expect to see much higher levels of solar activity and to prepare ourselves for a century-class solar storm event.

A tourist is bitten by a rare monkey whilst on safari in Kenya. She is flown home but later dies from her infection. Soon after, the hospital is on lockdown following an incident with a patient. Within hours, the city of Leeds is being attacked by hordes of people who appear drugged up and deranged. Days later, the north of England undergoes rioting and cannibalism for unknown reasons. David Sterling, the British Prime Minister, meanwhile struggles to take a lead on the developing situation in his country.

The survivors of a nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that has devastated the electrical grid are trying to cope in a darkened world as society collapses. It's the morning of day seven in this post-apocalyptic world and from the news on the radio it appears WWIII has already begun. How long until the batteries in the radios and flashlights fail? How long until a light in the night or the sound of a generator running signals not hope and coping but a target for the desperate and unprepared?

Jack made the choice that few make, and now he is left wondering if he has thrown his life away or given himself a chance to make up for the past. But as always, it isn't just Jack that has been affected by his actions.

Sergeant is my first name, and it happens to be my rank as well. I was born into - and because of - this war...but that's another story. My particular interest in the military hovered near zero for most of my life, but like everyone else in my , we were drafted into service. There was never a time during the war that I didn't want to stay alive, either, so I fought. At first, I fought selfishly for my own life, and then for my squad and platoon, and finally for the individuals I served with. It was a circuitous route, and probably just a little self-centered, but it led me here.

As the well-tipped tour guide at a model town within a nuclear test site in 1950s Nevada, Darren Murphy has a job to die for. His work is easy and relaxed, much like himself, drawing envy from his wide circle of friends. But one fateful day, after one particularly late night in the burgeoning city of Las Vegas, Darren makes a huge mistake. "I'll try my best to get us all out of here before the next bomb goes off..." Murphy often jokes to his rapt tour groups. Only this time, due to a slip-up no one could have foreseen, his best might not be enough.

The stories in this second anthology explore the legends of the Outlands, beyond the border of humanity's immediate control, where strange and powerful creatures roam.

Since the zombie invasion, the island of Manhattan has been turned into a wintery wasteland. The Zombie King has arrived in search of a mythical Opener. A human who can create a bridge to the land of the dead and unleash all its horrors on earth. But, who is the mysterious Giant, and why can no one get onto the island of Manhattan? Then we take a trip to the carnival and learn the origins of the Dead-Killer and why he wants the Zombie King dead forever. And finally, where does the Vamp get her tattoos? And why are they so important?

Welcome to Mackurd. When the Collapse made the simple things complicated and the complicated things man-eating monsters, most people ran around like sissies and got eaten. This is not the story of those people. This is the story of unlikely heroes kicking undead pelvises and shooting monsters before their names become an issue, all while trying to keep the squad mascot from stealing all the beer. It's a short story of the Collapse, set in the world of the Black Year Series.

Seven short stories of the future: a robot is abandoned by his human buyer when she has second thoughts, a frustrated employee has a rude awakening when his computer starts managing his career, the caretaker of a lonely space station gets a shock when a couple of unexpected visitors show up, and more!

This is the first in a series of stand-alone, interconnected short stories for preppers. In this particular installment, a prepper survives a nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP), which has devastated the electrical grid. Cars and trucks can still move in most parts of America, but they can't get any gas. The threat of bioterrorism looms as the U.S. and its allies go to war and our technology-dependent society is stopped dead in its tracks. Martial law and global famine have begun. Can the characters survive?

The End. Those two little words can mean so much. But how will things end...and will it hurt? That's what we really want to know. Delve into the darkness and join us at the end of the world. From a blighted sky to an invasion from beyond, from untethered time to one person driven beyond the edge of sanity, from a child's game to an unseen apocalypse...it's all imagined here, and imagined darkly.

Things always go wrong when you try to be God. In the case of Reinhardt Base, the Coalition's attempts have now cost them an entire planet. Now the survivors are just trying to get out with their lives. Can they do it? Read Flight From Reinhardt today!

Beyond reality lies a different world where survival hangs by a thread. Be brave and enter that illusive, unknowable place. Travel with me through the worlds of androids hiding from their owners -- cave-dwelling albinos afraid of the world -- security robots with itchy trigger fingers -- aliens in disguise and on the run -- asteroid miners alone and injured -- and ghostly women who may or may not be real. You'll be glad you took the trip. Six stories, six unique and totally different trips to the other side of reality: DELIVERING DEATH THE GUY IN THE CABIN NEXT TO MINE THE NEW KIDS ON THE ...

Eric A. Shelman's short story, Last Supper, tells the tale of a man stranded in an abandoned building, surrounded by the walking dead. Out of food and low on water, he is forced to take action. His decision will utterly shock you. This is a story you'll think about long after you hear the last word.

Morganthal's exploration squad is being butchered by some kind of robots in planet Verdunne. She needs a reinforcement squad to save them, that's Major Ryvenbark and his 12 men. Ryvenbark finds the exploration squad on its last breath, but there is still so much to come.

Book Three of the Preppers Perspective series finds the survivors of a Nuclear EMP watching the world around them spin out of control. The grocery store shelves are empty with no resupply in sight. Societal breakdown and food riots are inevitable. The preppers have to now rely upon all their wisdom and supplies alone in order to survive possibly a few more days or meager months.

Killer bots anyone? What about an eco-Armageddon? And what really happened at Roswell anyway? From ancient mysteries on Earth to far-future conflicts on other worlds, this collection of sixteen sci-fi short stories from the author of The Anti Life Series and the Final Update trilogy promises to take you on an adventure. Whether it’s human-sized parasites, clone lovers, or intergalactic war—there’s something in this novel-length story collage for every science fiction enthusiast.

When the æristocracy decides to withdraw their blimps from the Venusian economy and head back to an abandoned Earth, the surf-turned-æristocrat Sir Thomas begins tearing down their entire economy in order to save millions of lives. A dystopian sci-fi about class warfare, The Blimps of Venus shows us the true motives behind eugenics and other evils.