Short Stories
Squid on the Beach
Ink: Queer Sci Fi's Eighth Annual Flash Fiction Contest (Queer Sci Fi's Flash Fiction Contest Book 1)
Other Worlds Ink 08/10/2021
INK (NOUN)
Five definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell:
1) A colored fluid used for writing
2) The action of signing a deal
3) A black liquid ejected by squid
4) Publicity in the written media
5) A slang word for tattoos
Ink features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.
Excerpt
The squid flopped on the sand, spewing black ink as it contorted. A dozen such creatures dotted the vista, their arms contracting and expanding as their life essence ebbed. I picked up the nearest one, its slimy skin slick in my hand, and managed to toss it into the waves.
“Gross,” Joanie said. She stepped on the next one, grinding her heel into it before lifting it off and wiping it on the damp sand.
I knew what they had once been. I’d dreamed of the primal ancient gods at night, those who only surfaced when the world was dark. They’d told me what they were going to do and spared me the same fate. She might not be so quick to destroy the beast if she was aware of what it actually was. Or maybe that was a fantasy, driven by the fading remains of a potential future for us.