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Gordon Lawrie

Light Candles and Carry On

10/3/2023

 
Picture
Sheltering in the hoped-for safety of the subway, the young woman and her sister huddled together as sirens sounded and bombs exploded in the distance. There was little point in worrying about a direct hit; what would be would be. Instead, they worked on their laptops, putting such dark thoughts away. Better to concentrate on their latest contract, to earn some money, and to pay taxes with pride towards the war effort.

​Suddenly, the lights went out. Yet another strike had knocked out the local power station. As usual, everyone simply lit candles and carried on. That way lay victory.


Vermin

10/3/2023

 
Despite the best efforts of coastguards, thousands of desperate migrants arrived across the English Channel on the shores of South-East England. Far from being sympathetic, the Conservative UK Government was prepared to turn them back, send them to Rwanda, and genrally treat them like sub-humans. All the time, egged on ny the right-wing red-top press.
The rats kept arriving. Each morning, thousands could be found in the coastline’s towns and villages. Overrun, the authorities took the drastic step of rounding them up, gassing them, then dumping the remains out at sea.

Then, as in most countries, loads of refugees began arriving, fleeing from warzones, drought-stricken areas and persecution. They kept coming. Each morning, more could be found on the coastline.

“Ah,” the authorities said. “We know what to do. It worked last time.”

There were protests. “But these… are people!”

​The protesters’ names were taken. They, too, were last seen leaving on the refugee boats.

    Flash Fiction

    Flash fiction is very, very short fiction indeed - short stories of any sort of length from a Haiku to ten minutes' reading. Good for when you're in a hurry. This series is a selection of contributions to Friday Flash Fiction, where there's a limit of 100 words. I try to make all mine exactly 100 words.


    Collections
    (FREE!)
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    If you enjoy these stories, why not download Gordon's first two collections of these, called '100 Not Out' and '200 Not Out'? Available for all types of e-readers including Kindle and iPad, for free. Completely free, no strings.

    Click on one of the images below...

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