9/11 Short Stories

My mom drove me to school, filling the car with an awkward and unbearable silence. The only noise was her thumb tapping the steering wheel and the annoying clicking of the signals. Since I am on punishment, I'm not allowed to have the luxury of Megan driving me. To make this car ride a little bit less awkward, I turned on the radio and blasted up the volume to the highest notch.

Everything went black for a moment and all I could hear was my own heart. When my vision started to return, I saw Kelsey standing over me and asking if I was okay. I couldn’t move my jaw without a

Everything around me began to blur, including the line between reality and something strange, a place where nothing exists. I could feel myself detaching, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. I was unplugged and could not find the cord to reconnect myself, my thoughts were screaming over one another and it became impossible to single one out. Everything was fake in that moment, my memories, my feelings, my family, my friends, it was all a hoax that I was stuck in, that I had to be released from. Feeling deceived and unhinged, I remained inert and supine in bed. I covered my face, which was daubed with my tears, and listened to my thoughts all telling me the same thing. I sat up and began to wobble towards the stairs. I heard my sister call out, “I’m leaving Emma!”, and my anxiety intensified. Everything blurred into a combination of panic and tears as my sister tried to calm me down. It took hours to bring me back to

"Did the hit you received yesterday knock out all of your brain cells?" She snaps, "You don't give patients false hope, not when it's a bad case like that."

"ME!" I fully came to consciousness with a scream and a realisation of the cold sweat that drowned my skin and the pain surging through my extremities. I loosed

The dog coolly watched the whole charade from the top of the hill and, having learned his lesson about going straight down, turned away from the steep hill and trotted down the service road. We half-walked and half-slid our way to the bottom, where he was waiting for us with his stupid dog grin.

Red light, bright as the midday sun, flared into existence. It began to flicker and waver. Small tongues of flame spread their reach, jumping from the floor onto the nearby curtains. It began to pick up the pace as it consumed more and more like a starving creature. In seconds, it had spread to all the curtains that spanned across the room-length window. Smoke filled the air, giving the walls a fine layer of ash and soot. In the bed opposite the window, a girl rested her head. Her eyes flashed open as she breathed in the heavy tang.

The sign blinks and beckons at Alyssa from behind the misty sheet of rain. In bright pink flashing fluorescent it says:

Raindrops ran down the window pane, creating streaks of water on the glass. A lightning bolt struck lazily, and a quiet roll of thunder followed. Fragile clouds let loose a few rays of sun, illuminating small parts of the city. The woman lounging in the window seat languidly drew a few finishing strokes on a piece of paper, then set the sketch aside, allowing her eyes to roam to the outside. She rubbed them gently, blinking out the dreariness that came with stormy days. No balloons today, she thought with disappointment. They were beautiful with their bright colors and elaborate designs.

For the next few days, Ariel did everything she was supposed to, meditation and group discussion with ladies who – like her – were having trouble conceiving. At the meetings, she was carefully detached and factual in her answers, publicly maintaining her cool. During this time, she avoided making eye contact with Brian and only spoke to him in the most cordial ways, only in public settings. Then, early Friday afternoon, Ariel got a call from her husband

I don't even remember what happened, I don’t remember something that happened a week ago.

It is a clear afternoon, nice and calm, but it is still dusty. My Ma and Pa was trying their best to gain money however it doesn't work out well overall. I sitting in my chair seeing nothing but random winds with dust. Then I suddenly jumped up. A roaring black wave of death came rushing toward me as if it wanted my soul.

There was a blanket of darkness in the room; as if someone had woven the sky into a dark cloth and spread it over the room. It was cold. Colder than the frostbite slowly inching up Robert Peary’s leg. An icy blue flame was flickering above the wick of a well-used candle. The misty shade of purple from the curtains filled the room with a bleak atmosphere. On top of a wooden drinks cabinet sat a wireless whispering in the background of the room.

It was silent, everything within our universe was still, it was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I was granted my one wish after I died, to have a conversation with the world. Suddenly a table appeared in front of me, causing me to jump backwards in surprise. And that’s when he walked up, a man with slicked back ginger hair and green eyes, a black dress shirt covered his torso with a pair of jeans to go with it. He smiled small at me before motioning to the table, running a hand through his hair. I gently pulled the chair out to sit myself down, watching his every move as he himself sat down. “So Ms. Cadence, you wanted to ask me a few questions?” The air felt thicker as I nodded, a weak smile playing on my lips. “Cadence speak up,

My stomach sank as the last question resonated inside me. Was I going to die? I felt too young to die. What did I do to deserve death?