Grimdark Fantasy Short Stories

Ghost Snow

By Jamie F. Bell

The old cottage hummed with the barely contained chill of a brewing winter storm, its single propane heater fighting a losing battle against the encroaching cold. Outside, the world was rapidly blurring into a monochrome landscape of white, snow already piled against the sills, muffling the usual creaks and groans of the ancient structure. Inside, the quiet was thick, heavy, punctuated only by the crackle of the dwindling fire and the distant, rhythmic drip of a leaky faucet from the kitchen.

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Frost on Memory's Pane

By Jamie F. Bell

The city outside was a muted watercolour, grey and white bleeding into one another as the first serious snow of the year fell. Inside Leo's cramped, overheated flat, the air hung heavy, thick with the smell of stale coffee and something metallic from the space heater. He stood by the window, hands shoved deep into his pockets, watching the flakes accumulate on the ledge, each one a tiny, perfect star destined to melt into the grimy slush below. It was almost Christmas, a fact his bones remembered more acutely than his mind cared to acknowledge.

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The Tinsel

By Jamie F. Bell

The old house exhaled a sigh of perpetual cold, a thin layer of hoarfrost clinging to the inside of the kitchen windowpane. Dust motes, heavy and grey, danced reluctantly in the weak, early afternoon light that struggled through the overcast December sky. A large, battered cardboard box, taped shut with ancient, yellowed strips, sat accusingly by the hearth, its contents a silent, potent reminder of celebrations long past and wounds still unhealed.

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A Congealed Frost

By Jamie F. Bell

The chill of December had seeped into the old house, clinging to the threadbare upholstery and the dust motes dancing in the faint light. Outside, a late afternoon snow began to fall, soft and insistent, muffling the already quiet street. Inside, the silence was a different kind of heavy, punctuated only by the distant, rhythmic hum of the ancient refrigerator in the kitchen. It was Christmas Eve, a day that felt less like a celebration and more like a carefully maintained truce with sorrow.

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Ghost Lights

By Jamie F. Bell

The kitchen was always the coldest room, even with the oven on, a lingering chill that sank into the marrow. Outside, the early December sky was a bruised plum colour, already fading into a thick, starless night. Inside, the only sounds were the low thrum of the ancient refrigerator and the soft, almost apologetic drip from the tap. A half-eaten plate of toast sat abandoned on the counter, crumbs scattered like tiny, meaningless promises.

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A Cardinal's Stillness

By Jamie F. Bell

The morning light, thin and starved, bled through the kitchen window, painting the cold linoleum in weak, grey stripes. Outside, a heavy snowfall had silenced the world, leaving behind a profound, almost oppressive stillness that pressed against the walls of Juniper's small cabin. The air within was thick with the faint, metallic scent of an old, untended wood stove and the ghost of yesterday's brewing coffee.

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The Weight of Ghostlight

By Jamie F. Bell

The flat hummed with the sort of deep, unremarked cold that settled into bones. Outside, a heavy, dull light pressed against the windows, not quite morning, not quite night, just the inescapable grey of a solitary Christmas Day. Audra sat hunched on the worn sofa, a mug of instant coffee steaming forgotten in her hands, the only warmth a faint, metallic taste on her tongue. The small, fake fir in the corner remained unlit, its plastic branches catching the weak ambient light in a sheen that felt more like mockery than cheer.

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A Guide to Palatable Dissent

By Jamie F. Bell

The air conditioning whirred with an almost aggressive efficiency, a stark contrast to the thick August humidity clinging to the city outside. Inside Eva’s office at the Collective Arts Centre, the silence felt stretched, taut. Dust motes, usually so visible in the morning light, were absent, banished by meticulous cleaning. Everything was too clean, too still, awaiting the inevitable storm.

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The Resonance of Empty Chairs

By Jamie F. Bell

The air, thick with the damp scent of fallen leaves and the distant, acrid tang of woodsmoke, pressed against the windowpanes of the community hall. Outside, a bruised-purple twilight was bleeding across the sky, stripping the last defiant golds and oranges from the maple trees that lined the unkempt car park. Inside, the heating clanked to life with a rusty sigh, struggling to chase the pervasive autumnal chill from the large, echoing room. The fluorescent lights overhead, too bright and unforgiving, hummed a low, constant thrum, casting a sickly sheen on the rows of cheap plastic chairs that sat, mostly empty, awaiting attendees who might never arrive. Every scuff on the polished linoleum floor, every faded stain on the beige acoustic tiles, seemed to absorb the light rather than reflect it, adding to the room's deep, quiet exhaustion.

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On the Quantifiable Soul

By Jamie F. Bell

The only sounds in the room were the hum of the old refrigerator from the kitchen, the soft ticking of a clock that seemed to be mocking him, and the frantic, almost silent, tap of his own fingers on the keyboard. It was three in the morning. The city outside was asleep, but in the small pool of light cast by his desk lamp, Samuel was locked in a desperate, losing battle with Section 4b of the National Arts Endowment Fund application.

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Percussive Maintenance and Other Coping Mechanisms

By Jamie F. Bell

The warehouse-turned-event-space echoed with a special kind of panic. Half-hung fairy lights drooped like sad tinsel, the sound system emitted a low, threatening hum, and the air smelled of fresh paint, industrial cleaner, and Mannie's rapidly escalating fear. It was four hours until go-time, and the whole affair had the distinct feeling of a train wreck in slow, agonizing motion.

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A Calculus of Acceptable Losses

By Jamie F. Bell

The office smelled of damp velvet and cold coffee. A single fluorescent tube on the ceiling flickered with an incessant, irritating buzz, casting long, wavering shadows over piles of scripts and precarious towers of account books. It was a room that had seen too many late nights and absorbed too much anxiety, and tonight was no different.

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