TaleSnail - Write, Share, and Collaborate on Stories

“Laura, honey, are you sure this is the best idea?” The sigh at the end of my mother’s question echoes through the bare apartment.  Sure, the walls are a muddy brown, the paint on the doorframe’s chipping, and maybe there’s a little mold in the bathroom. But, it’s just outside the city, and it was the only thing available on such short notice. I nestle the last of my moving boxes into the closet o...

I guess this is it.  I run my hand along the side of the train, my fingers grazing the names roughly carved into the side. It’s tradition, I think, that you scratch your name onto the side of the train before you board it. There must be over a hundred names carved into the side of this train, all of them stepped inside, and all of them were never seen again. Those who chose to board were nicknamed...

My entire body is groaning in pain before I even open my eyes. My ears are ringing, but I can just barely hear the sounds of birds cawing as they circle above, and feel the sun scorching my skin. The light is blinding as I open my eyes, reflecting off the white sand around me. How did I get here? I lift my head up, shielding my face with my hand to take in my surroundings. My attention is immediat...

"Cowboy towns are something of myth. Something people dream of or dress up as. Some fantasy place people use as the meat of scary campfire stories. They were once real, sure. But even that fact is questioned as time moves on. Were vigilante shootouts and saloons with drunken golddiggers too good to be true? Well, allow me to let you in on a little secret. They are not too good to be true." These a...

Beatrice had effectively ditched her slippers miles ago. Strategically too, of course. Buried them in deep mud, so the bloodhounds couldn't track them. She would admit, the King’s resources were just as extensive as he had told her they would be. Still, she had more than a few tricks up her sleeve. You can't just go and attempt an assassination and a ‘kidnapping’ and not plan for every angle. Incl...

You won't believe my story… our story. As I’m writing this I know I should have more to leave behind, I should have a videotape or some sort of picture, but all I have is these words. It’s been two days since I emerged from the woods.  Me, Elijah, Riley, and Hayden grew up together, we went to college together, and we decided to go on a camping trip together. I’m the only one left. I would cry if...

It was a plan sure - but not mine. Not by a long shot. It had been a brutal affair. Listening to the world die. Listening to constant wind and crying out, the burning heat of flames and apocalyptic sirens. Now don't get me wrong. We all saw it coming. Like the most cliche ending to the most cliche story. People stopped fighting the disease and the crumbling government. People like me gave themselv...

“We are so sorry to inform you…only ten days left…”  The words echo in my head as I sit on my couch. It was such a normal start to the day today. I woke up this morning, dragged myself out of bed, and went on my morning walk. The dew on the grass didn’t look any different than it had any other morning. I passed all the same cracks in the sidewalk and the leaves were the same shades of brown and or...

Deep breaths. The blanket on my bed has been reduced to a crumpled mess in the grip of my hands. I know I should relax, but Cassie will be here to pick me up any minute, and I’m nowhere near ready. Although, as far as my outfit goes, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. Snug jeans and a flowy purple top. From what I remember, my hair is a darker blonde color, which I think should look good with the deep...

The drive was longer than anticipated, but thank goodness the freeways were wide open at two in the morning. Alexa peered over at her passenger seat, nervously gripping the wheel. Her eyes strained in the dark at the small brown paper bag. Street lights flashing by. No movement, The bag sat horrifyingly still and dead silent. She breathed a short sigh and turned back to the road. Her exit was comi...

Ninty Eight passengers. That's how many people the small mainline train could take. It was cold that Wednesday when those ninety-eight strangers pinched their tickets and boarded the train. Southbound for twenty-six miles, a mere thirty-five-minute journey - no more no less. That was the plan. Eliza, however, was not an accustomed regular to the train. She had taken the above-ground steamers befor...

Boarding was always a mad house. People scrambling around under cheap fluorescent lights. Gate agents turned into cattle herders in a matter of minutes. Not to mention the silent passive-aggressive line-cutting disagreements and the woman hollering at the counter because she had to check a bag. You can always count on a row of standby passengers watching from a safe distance. Henry had taken his p...

“Close it, we’re leaving,” Noa scolded Astra, and everyone else shifted uncomfortably. “Come on, don’t you wanna look?” Drea teased, pulling away from Noa a bit dramatically, Flinging herself back on the dumpster. “Could get you billions-” “If the whole city is looking for it it's not gonna be in the dumpster,” Cassian tried but she was already leaning in, rooting around the contents of the dumpst...

“What’s that supposed to mean -” “Well hello, boys.” Elric shot his gaze straight toward the sound of that voice. It can't be, he thought. Baffled at the sight of her. Sure enough, Leaning on the opposite wall, grinning ear to ear. She had the posture of a carved statue, the gaze of a lion. Elric could swear she could command the skies and read minds. Any sort of witchcraft. Those stiff elegant ey...

The file was on my desk before I had taken my second sip of coffee. The mug touched down just as the officer slipped away, almost as fast as he came. He shut the door. Suddenly I was alone again in the small consulting office of the New York Police Department, about to read a file for a case I did not have the time to take on. Any moment now the chief would probably walk in. Give me the same speec...

The desert surrounding the Nile is no place for the lighthearted. Let alone the majestic Valley of the Kings. Neither are what they seem on the surface. They are not just raw and ugly mined deserts with no life. No greenery or even variety in the landscape. No. Their beauty lies below. Beneath the rolling sands of time. The treasures of both historical significance and golden sarcophagi could be s...

Ally could still remember the day her friend bought that car. She remembered him driving it over for the first time - and she remembered her reaction. Seeing as how she didn't have a license, she kind of relied on him and that little car… but that didn't change the fact she thought it was the worst car she had ever seen. She told him it was a waste of his money but it didn't matter. Jake was in lo...

Kalyi Tan Ze sat alone on the forest floor, leaning casually on her usual tree, eating the pork curry wraps her mother had packed her earlier that day. She had slipped quietly out of the schoolyard and vanished in the nearby woods, savoring the blanket of quiet eerily surrounding her. Accompanied by towering Western Hemlocks and Birch trees she felt a warm peace. The bubbling creek nearby let her...

The house was a shade of blue that should be reserved only for the bottoms of pools or the sides of fishing boats. It covered the whole house, roof to foundation, save the bright electric yellow shutters around every window. It was a shotgun style home in the deep deep marshes of the Florida everglades. A home not meant for the faint of heart. Great grandmother Aida lived in this house. No one kne...

Stealing space food was an activity that, years ago, Ren never would have imagined participating in every Saturday morning. At least, he assumed it was Saturday. He accidentally overslept on launch day and miscounted. It was either Saturday or Wednesday but there was no way to tell. He devoted all of his time and energy to staying hidden, an art that was proving easier and easier as the days went...

It was, at first glance, a simple task. Some would say it ranged between child's play and a teenage boy's dare. Something that could be easily completed but once attempted, you would be quick to realize it was a mistake. It was some club Piper was peer pressured to join. She hardly remembered what it was even for or who was in it anymore. All she knew was she had gone too deep - and now the night...

Not So Abandoned After All Greenfield mall was the crown jewel of the little town. A population of just under ten thousand, and they all used that mall at least twice a week. It was a bustling hub of all sorts of shops. Little boutiques and the chain stores the town and tourists craved. It was said you could find anything, from hand-cut soaps to boots to designer bags. Of course, the small farming...

The waves were not exactly cooperating as she tried to scribble in her dive book. Then again, they rarely did. She was anchored about a mile off the coast. A dinghy and a girl just bobbing in the vast planes of blue. Tethered to land by nothing but a mostly dead radio and paper map stashed in a zip-loc bag. While finishing suiting up, Julia Rossen waved at the occasional whale-watching boats that...

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Jack who had always had an interest in solving crime. He was tall and lean, with short, dark hair and a sharp jawline. He worked as a pool boy at a luxurious hotel, named The Grand Riviera, located in the heart of the city. The hotel was a grand, white building with a Spanish-inspired architecture, featuring red tiled roof and elegant archway entrance....

It wasn't as fun as she’d hoped. In fact, it was a little unnerving. Walking through long narrow hallways of glass and cages listening to the sounds of unseen critters chattering through the night. While passing the gator pond Jay shone his light through the water and two glassy white eyes beamed back in a shroud of black. They all jumped. It was decided - no more lights into the aquariums. And as...