Apocalyptic Short Stories

No declaration of war or acts of aggression have been made against our nation. Our military is on the highest alert. We will do everything in our power to protect our people.... What I say next is of the most importance. We must remain calm. I cannot express this enough. This is integral to our future and way of life. As we get more information, we will be in contact with broadcasts like this one. Let me assure you, your nation and this government has made prior arrangements for this awful circumstance we find ourselves in. All will be taken care of.

Esmeralda, one of the human survivors of an apocalyptic war, now lives a precarious life as a servant to a family of zombies. She knows she’s better off than many other humans, who are imprisoned in breeding camps and slaughtered for food. Her masters treat her well, and their young daughter reminds Esme of her own little girl, killed during the war. But Esme can’t forget everything she’s lost—or the knowledge that her masters could turn on her at any moment. When rebels interrupt the zombies’ supply of human food, Esme’s position becomes even more dangerous. And this time, the price of survival may be more than she is prepared to pay.

A quirky collection of flash fiction based in the realm of post-apocolyptic fiction with forward by Daniel Humphreys. From the Pollenocalypse to zombies, you're sure to feel right at home with the end of the world.

From the author of the Hugo-winning Six Months, Three Days, a new wrinkle on the old story of three wishes, set after the end of the world.

It had been a long time since the wars had devastated the surface of the earth. There were survivors, but they were deep underground in bunkered cities. In the earliest days after the calamity, this was fine....

The Destroyer of Earth did not set out to be one. A perfect storm of catastrophes, a touch of hubris, and a lot of human ingenuity, and you get yourself deeper than ever. The button has been pressed, the world is in ruins. Will humanity figure out how to survive? What is Antigravel? What did you think was the road-stop for man to explore the empty reaches of space? Faster than light travel? Interstellar navigation? Time dilation? Puh. We beat all that by sheer force of will. No. It was micrometeoroids. Rocks. F--king space rocks.

Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific English writer of science fiction stories and novels and is frequently credited as being the father of science fiction. 'The Star' is the story of a shooting star which is discovered hurtling towards our solar system. It is on a collision course with Neptune. When the celestial crash occurs, the two planets combine into a gigantic burning star which is being drawn rapidly and irresistibly towards our sun. But on what trajectory? Will it hit any other planets on its way?

Post-war Denver is ruled by the powerful Guild, an egalitarian regime intent on maintaining order at all costs. But some of the citizens remember what it was like before the fall of the old world and will stop at nothing to bring back capitalism and democracy to their city. Meanwhile, Misha, a young farm boy with his head in the clouds, is lured in by the beautiful Kara. She holds the key to a secret that will bring Misha's world crashing down and has the potential to change his future.

With the advent of the new Generation "A", the line between child and parent is becoming disturbingly blurred. Something has gone terribly wrong with nature; it's almost as if humanity is broken. The question is, will we make it through this alive?

Seven characters find themselves trapped inside an elevator during a zombie apocalypse. The narrator, the last passenger to occupy the elevator, tells them that his wife, who was murdered by a zombie, told him as she died in his arms that she saw one of the passengers get bitten by a zombie before the person ducked into the elevator, but she died before she could describe the victim to him. The terrified passengers know that the victim will soon turn and attack them. They must determine who it is and kill him or her before it is too late - if they don't kill each other first trying to find out.

An apocalyptic story of New York... New York City is still there, but no one can enter. No one except the best pilot on the planet, his copilot, and a flight of hopefuls. Those who enter the city become geniuses or idiots... or worse. For ten years, Trevor Hollman has beaten the odds and flown the hopefuls into the city and the survivors back out. Today, he'll find out how it all began. If he can survive this journey Inside the Sphere.

In the Year 2889 by Jules Verne is a diary of the observations of Fritz Napoleon Smith, the editor of an influential futuristic newspaper. It is an action-packed tale of technological advances and science fiction scenarios. Some of the predictions were remarkably accurate.

If someone observed us from afar, they could claim that our civilization was a civilization of walls. That was its main purpose. Such observers would likely not be able to explain why. I cannot either. Walls do not protect. They just trap and kill. Three short stories about a dystopic future, about people turning into machines, about walls and fences, about the way history works. Three short stories about now.

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.

What happens when a small town, rural zombie ends up being sent to Washington DC as a member of Congress?

Don used to believe climate change - global warming repacked - would be the end of us. Give man enough time on the planet and we'll make it inhabitable for all creatures. Trying to force mankind into action, eco-terrorist altered the course of history by activating dozens of volcanoes around the world. Don survived the eruptions, but can he survive the fallout? If not, can he secure mankind's future?

In the winter of 1872, Captain William Trace and his men were ordered to investigate a series of unexplained attacks on local citizens in the remote villages of the wild and untamed Washington Territory. What Captain Trace found was pure nightmare fuel, and what had started as a simple reconnaissance mission had become something far, far more. For Captain Trace, the winter of 1872 was about survival, not just of the body, but of the mind.

It’s the hottest winter on record, but Raymond’s demanding, bedridden mother doesn’t mind. She likes it warm. Lately, however, control over the thermostat has become a nasty struggle. And each morning that she’s still alive is a suffocating new challenge for Raymond. How high can the mercury climb before he boils over?

Vidu, a used-car dealer and d-bag extraordinaire, had been aimlessly wandering the streets of Chicago with only one thing on his mind… and that was before he got turned into a zombie. Just when you thought you had seen the last of him, now you can find out what happened to Vidu after he left his friends behind during the pandemonium of Dead Drunk: Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse… One Beer at a Time. Humor, action, zombies, hangovers, gratuitous insults, and more Vidu!

It is known as The Descent. The event that brought on the fall of humanity and unleashed the violent, hungry Freaks upon the world. The mysterious pirate radio voice Doctor Midnite has called for the Regulars - the humans - who are left to "Take it back." Jonathan "Pops" Poplovitch and his team of "Exterminators" answered the call and attempted to take down the nefarious Admiral Shen, who'd set up shop in Columbus, Ohio. They failed.