Five Sentence Fiction

The Council of Serinæ

Silence engulfed the room, the hooded occupants each reaching up, fingertips toying with the thick cloth covering their heads. They pulled back, one by one, revealing themselves to each other for the first time in a century, when the last council had sacrificed themselves to save their kind. Gasps and distraught cries echoed in the chamber as their gazes fell, one by one, onto each other’s faces.…

A Tinker’s Folly

Seventeen strikes rang out from the blacksmith’s anvil. Seventeen angelic bells worth of energy poured into the man’s work. As he lifted the shield to inspect it, he saw seventeen faces staring back at him, each his own, full of joy and child-like wonder. He read the engraving along the trim of the shield, tears rolling down his face as he and it dropped lifeless to the ground. "I gift this to…

Dead Man’s Grave

The Twins hurried, mantras uttered with such erratic precision that even a strike of lightning would be hard pressed to keep up. The Hangman convulsed, falling back into the exhumed grave behind him, his spirit plummeting right back into the rotted corpse from which it was detached so many years ago. As the ritual came to a close, the corpse came alight, the silver infused copper dust and sprigs…

“You have it?” “Of course I have it, you imbecile. Now start carving in the sigils.” The twins worked quickly, fingertips gliding along the wooden table as deftly as a blind man would read brail. Within the hour the spirit arrived, executioner’s hood still drawn tight around his head, just as the day the two had killed him.

UPDATE: The weekends of Jan 16-17 and 23-24

There will be no weekend posts from Dakota on the mentioned Weekends, as he is recovering from a partial drive failure and in the process of re-writing a ton of stories. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that you understand.   In the mean time, Justin may post here and there.   Thank you, 5SF Crew

Arrival Imminent by Dakota Lewis

“Forty-seven thousand kilometers, sir. Shall we continue this heading?” Holding a hand to the hole in my side, I nodded, blood dripping into the large pool already on the floor as the view-screen began cracking. “We can not allow them to find Earth. Lock in the heading and get to your escape pod, Ensign.”

A Child's Journey by Dakota Lewis

We all watched as the timer counted down, lights flashing in unison with the LED displays. Engines revved, filling the arena with the pure blooded sound of sleek, Ion thrusters. As the clock hit zero, we were off, holding our controllers as the tiny cars flew around the room, spiraling out of control in the tighter corners. We didn’t have to worry about anything. Our ship arrives on Mars in four…

Death Rays and Roses by Justin Diehl

She was gone and Tania couldn’t stand it. All the years of adventures, hi-jinks, jokes, laughter, all gone in an instant. The Good Doctor’s blood was on her hands still, bits of bone and sinew pressing into her flesh, but it wouldn’t bring back the princess. She screamed, and her super powered shouts brought the fortress down around her. In her anger, she created a tomb for all three of them.

Operation: Fae by Justin Diehl

He reached for a fresh scalpel and the nurse took the one covered blood and visceral. The surgery was slow going with each cut seeming to heal half way through the movements. Only the dull iron tools were working, and despite the sedatives the creature still screamed. He’d never perform surgery like this in his life. If the thing granted him his wish when this was over he’d never have to perform…

Retaliation by Dakota Lewis

“Alright squadron, bank right and dive.” The words came over the com line as smooth as rough stone on rubber. Five fighters angled their ships and dove, speeding towards their target. “On my mark.” As the pilots readied themselves, a brilliant flash of light erupted from the ground, leaving only dust and ash in the skies. As it turns out, our publicizing plugin was having a bit of a flare up. It…

A Message of Truth by Dakota Lewis

He could barely make out what the writing said, the light shining through not aiding his endeavor much. “Damn it, Higsbi, I said angle left!” He shouted, the golem behind him shifting faintly to allow the light to pass through his crystalline body at a slightly more useful orientation. As the words became legible, tears welled in his eyes. “It’s blank..”

The Abyss, Empty Once More

“Once more?” I looked down at the chasm; it’s wide maw empty and ready. This was the turning point. What followed would be the catalyst of change and discovery which could define me and my future. “Push me,” I said and felt her delicate and firm hands touch my back and shove me forward.

The Fallen One by Dakota Lewis

“What do we call it, Sir?” The Ambassador grimaced, gazing out of the flight deck observation ports to the landscape below. “Name it after her. Even like this, she still has to be in there somewhere.” The scribe nodded, jotting down the name Jeia beside a sketch of the massive beast destroying the planet beneath them.

Piracy In Transit by Dakota Lewis

As the frost encased my cockpit windows, I sighed. I shouldn’t have diverted that much power from my sub-systems. The sound of rattling cargo filled my ears as the bay hatch opened, jettisoning my payload into the cold vacuum of space. “Take it, it’s not worth dying over.” I smiled as the enemy fighter scooped up the floating cargo, and once I’d flown far enough away, I hit the detonator.…

The Battle of Winter's Hollow by Dakota Lewis

They watched in awe as he passed through, hoarfrost encasing the barren branches of the forest in a frozen coffin. The sickly green glow of his eyes burned bright into the evening twilight, illuminating a wicked smile carved across his face. The horse he rode on erupted into a full gallop, the man’s head falling off only to be caught by the reflexes only an artilleryman could have. As Nicholas…

UPDATE: Ashes and Dust by Dakota Lewis

You know how back in March I said I’d be back in April? Well that fell through. Turns out I moved to Alaska on June first and never had time to jump back into the swing of 5SF when I had planned on. I’ve gone from being unemployed in Mississippi to working 10-13 hour days, five days a week here in Alaska. I get the weekends off, which is nice. I’ve accomplished more in my time here in Anchorage…

This is Part 6 by Justin Diehl

“What just happened?”

“Ronald? Oh god I thought you only did a small jump.”

“Jump to where?  Bradly what just happened?”