THE FACELESS MAN   A woman splashing in the water. Darkness. She’s struggling. I can’t get to her. She lets out a scream and I know it’s her. It’s Bronwyn. She’s dying. A man behind me. I turn. I can’t breathe. The man’s face is missing. It’s replaced with what looks like a blank canvas. He extends a hand and points. He’s pointing at a dock going into the water. It’s the pier near the lake. He whispers something to me that I don’t catch. She screams for help.   I’m covered in

PERFECT HOUSEMATES By Nick Lachmund “When I think of fear, two truths come to the fore. First, that most fear is the fear of unknown. The second, ‘better the devil you know’. But what if that wasn’t true. What if our worst fear was the one right in front of us. What if we’d been in danger this whole time, and never knew it until now.” I read the quote and I laughed aloud. It reminded me of my stupid fucking housemate who has no idea what I’m really like.   Brooke I thought he

ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD BY NICK LACHMUND   I don’t remember exactly when dying became a fantasy. It wasn’t on the day Jen left me, but it wasn’t long after. Three years of dating and two years of marriage gone in an instant. I assume that’s why the idea of an eternal sleep feels so comforting. No more worries, no more pain and no more thinking about her. I can’t think of anything better than that.   ‘It’s not fuckin’ turnin’!’   That’s Pete, my oldest friend. He and Steve, my

I was never fond of arranged marriages. When I was a child my father told me that he had promised me to marry another king’s daughter. I was terrified. I was never a believer in true love or soul mates or any of that nonsense. But I felt that I should marry someone whose company I enjoyed. At least, I felt that way as a child. But then again, when I was a child I believed in monsters and fairy tales.  As an adult, I don’t believe in much anymore.   As I stand at the aisle awa

MATEZ BY NICK LACHMUND   My wife, Sonya suggested I join Matez. I told her it was a stupid idea but, in all honesty, I had been trying to make a new friend since we moved here five years ago. I’m not sure why making friends in your thirties is so much harder than when you’re a kid. I was always popular at school but now I don't have any close friends. I let Sonya talk me into using social media to reach out to someone. After creating an account on Matez, it only took a week o

SUNDAY By Nick Lachmund It’s Sunday so I don’t have to work. I sometimes enjoy my day off but I often spend it drinking and trying to forget about going back to work the next day. My neighbour, Stan, usually drinks with me when he’s not out chasing tail. He’s about 20 years younger than me; probably about 25. He still believes in the dream of meeting a woman and having a relationship and kids and all that shit. He has no idea that they don’t give child licences to the lower c

Publication details: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31427659-burn-thrive-burn THE COMPANY By Nick Lachmund PART ONE Ben Sharpe was 22 when he finished his Commerce degree and entered the company’s graduate program. He was placed in the ‘Accounting’ department. His dad had always said that working for a big organisation opened a lot of doors and Ben figured that the promotions were likely to come quickly if he worked hard. He enjoyed the work and, at times, found it chall

PATRICK (YEAR 10 AT KOOKABURRA COLLEGE, 199_)   Year ten is a year of transition. During the year, a number of students will leave and enter the workforce by choice. Others will limp through, only to be asked not to come back the following year by honest teachers. Patrick Redford recently became the latter. As we join him, he is drinking his ninth beer, standing on his own on the outskirts of an end of year party at a local park. Most of his year level are present but they pr

Alexander: 1917 1 As the people starve in the streets and are slaughtered in a foreign war, the House of Romanov sleeps soundly. Nicholas the Bloody seems indifferent to the stench of death and starvation that covers his country. But soon that will change. The workers are following our lead and taking to the streets. Our Emperor’s buildings burn and his soldiers continue to join our movement. Nicholas must stand down or his blood will be shed. Three-hundred years of Romanov t

I’ve often wondered what it would be like to go back there. It’s been years since I set foot on the soil of my hometown. It’s a place unlike any other to me. It’s a place filled with memories, good and bad. It’s a place where I had more ‘firsts’ than I have had anywhere else. It’s a place where I long to be but it’s also a place that scares me. What if I go back and it doesn’t feel like ‘home’ anymore? What if I return and I don’t feel a connection to the town? What if I retu

I wake with a start. The first thing to hit me is the smell. The stench of piss and shit is so strong that it burns my nostrils. It smells chemical, almost metallic. I start to breathe through my mouth. I gasp and supress an urge to vomit. I can almost taste the bile trying to make its way up my throat. I swallow hard.   Next thing to hit me is the headache. My head pounds like a jackhammer. It’s dark. Where am I? I try to move my legs but before I can stretch them out my sho

No sign of the Evil Overlord tonight. It might be my night tonight. The Dwarf Princess is missing as well. She’s probably hiding in the Enchanted Woods again. She has always been better at hiding than me. It looks like it’s just the Wicked Enchantress and me tonight. Definitely my kind of night!   She almost traps me in the Underworld Gardens, the Mooreland Maze to be exact. I narrowly escape her clutches and flee to my private Lair. She wouldn’t dare enter my Lair! Or so I t