by Coby Rosser Sounds emanate from just beyond the thicket of trees enveloping the clearing on which your campsite rests. You hear those noises. Twigs snapping. Ululations of nocturnal creatures. Wind rustling leaves. But you just roll over, snug in your sleeping bag, content in the safety of your warm firelight. Fire is your luminous […]
by Tim Tobin The desert sun burns my skin even as my teeth chatter. Life drips from the two bullet holes while the shadows of death sail across the sun, swoop on thermals and wait. Hooves shatter the quiet. Hope! But my murderer steps down to mock me. The hiss of a rattlesnake spooks the […]
by Leigh Kenny The hike was gruelling, the woods unforgiving. Jessie huffed and grumbled as she walked. She’d started complaining early into the trek. Conor rolled his eyes, tired of her already. “At least you don’t have to do the return trip,” he snapped. Silence. Conor froze, realising too late what he had said. He […]
by C.L. Sidell I recite the phrase while plucking the dandelion’s petals, one by one. “What are you doing?” Chandra asks, reaching for a wine glass. It’s a lovely day for picnicking—birds tweeting in a slight breeze. “Consulting,” I reply as the last petal detaches on ‘not’. “But…Travis, you know I love you.” Wordlessly, I […]
by Corinne Pollard I raised my knickers, my bladder no longer full, while the lilac heathers bobbed in gratitude. Ready to continue our hike, I spun round, but his tallness and backpack had vanished. I yelled his name, but the roaring wind snatched them. Dark clouds were massing as my feet grew heavier. Follow us. […]
by Kristin Lennox The sun slunk over the horizon, blood-orange and violet flame, flooding the sandstone formations with morning majesty. Wind whispered across the still-grey canyon floor, rustling through dead grasses, around cactus silhouettes. Jake never tired of the desert sunrise—O’Keeffe, come to life. It’s gonna get so hot, though. “Yeah, but it’s a dry […]
by Russell Nichols Don’t look down, you repeat to yourself, abseiling deeper into the mouth of Olympus Mons. The static rope feels thin as spaghetti. Which is exactly what you’ll look like if you take one wrong step. The tour guide—included in the caving package—hollers: “See anything?” Don’t look down. “You hear that?” “Hear what?” […]
by Liam Hogan The mosquitoes ignored Claudette. They feasted on the rest of us, whining in ears as we slumbered uneasily beneath nets. We begged for her insect repellent, her face and arms porcelain white, and were dismayed to discover she didn’t use any. One night she cut her finger on broken glass. What reluctantly […]
by Andreas Flögel Oh, Darling, now I understand your love for nature’s beauty and loneliness. Sparkling dew drops on the grass, the song of birds, rustling trees. I was a fool to miss out on that, all the many weekends, when you took your hiking boots and knapsack to enjoy the outdoors, while I stayed […]
by Lark Richmond Garbage bags, duct tape, and a saw in a black bag in his trunk. Millie was right. She’d sent me terrifying stories about camping dates gone wrong, but she couldn’t change my mind. Peter was kind. I had been so sure. But this bag proves otherwise. Grabbing the hammer from his murder […]