He was a machine, that’s what people said. So powerful – and everything tested, tuned, synchronised. They said he was in perfect shape. He said it was all about the timing: it was in the mind, not the legs. You looked at him and wondered what thoughts went through his head as he crossed theContinue reading “100-word fiction: ‘He Rides Bicycles’”
Author Archives: MW Bewick
100-word fiction: ‘Breaking News’
He’s dead. On a business trip and just out of the shower, a dark haired man stopped drying himself. A newsreader squinted into the autocue and stumbled over some words. At a music festival, a hungover girl sat up quickly and poked her head out of her tent. In his bedroom, a teenage boy doingContinue reading “100-word fiction: ‘Breaking News’”
100-word fiction: ‘Those Eyes’
It was for the country, not any individual. He was a friend not an enemy. He was on holiday not business. She did not want money she wanted help for a personal project. He was a political ally not a friend. It was not a closed enquiry, it was open and transparent. It was notContinue reading “100-word fiction: ‘Those Eyes’”
100-word fiction: ‘They Came From China’
It was hot in the sun and there was no shade. Seven years passed while unspeakable horrors continued to occur. The men were interrogated, brutalised and brainwashed, caged half way round the world from their families whom they would never be able to see again. They had become a problem for the authorities. No countryContinue reading “100-word fiction: ‘They Came From China’”
100-word fiction: ‘What People Want’
“People are scared. This is what I know. People are scared for so many different reasons. People think they deserve so much. They tell you so, saying they are good people and hard-working. People want to feel protected. They will confide this. They say they need protecting from all kinds of enemy and hardship. PeopleContinue reading “100-word fiction: ‘What People Want’”
100-word fiction: ’34 Years’
The radio said the missile tests were a direct threat. There was rhetoric too: the nations of the free world would not stand idly by. In the street, a man shouted to neighbours that the sunshine was set to last. A couple were watering the pot plants in their garden. They’d now been married forContinue reading “100-word fiction: ’34 Years’”
100-word fiction: ‘On the Attack’
They were on the attack; shots rained in. Soon each side would assess the casualties, know who was defeated. It had all been going on too long; it felt senseless, stupid. Days ago he had felt optimistic but now reports were coming through on the radio about yet another loss. He wanted it to beContinue reading “100-word fiction: ‘On the Attack’”
100-word fiction: ‘Criminals’
Ah they can ahl ga an fuck emselves eh. They wuz ahlwez on the mayk anywez an if ye believed they wuz in it fer you then ye wuz an idiot eh cuz they’re ahl fuckn cunts. Divvent matter which wun uv em ye fuckn shout for cuz they’re ahl the fuckn same. They sitContinue reading “100-word fiction: ‘Criminals’”
100-word fiction: ‘Out to lunch’
Don’t worry, it’s on me, said the middle-aged man in the blue suit as the waiter came with the bill. I haven’t been out for a long lunch in ages. I’m breaking no rules and I should take advantage of my privileges: after all, they’re there to be made use of. My boss says thatContinue reading “100-word fiction: ‘Out to lunch’”
100-word fiction: ‘She smiled’
She was sat two seats to his left and he could tell she was doing that self-satisfied smile. She wouldn’t say anything more now; everything had already been said. First had come the sly criticisms, tempered with a few jokey remarks. A day later she said that nothing was meant, that they were still aContinue reading “100-word fiction: ‘She smiled’”
MW Bewick 