Why freeshortstories.net?

Waiting for the bus or simply looking for something short to read? Freeshortstories.net is a collection of short stories with different length and in different genres. Scroll through our stories and pick the one you like. New stories are added frequently, and if you would like more stories in a particular category, or anything else comes up, make sure that you contact us.

• The Inventory of Lost Futures
  The first future went missing on a Tuesday. No alarms sounded. No skies cracked open. The world continued exactly as it had the day before, which is why it took so long for anyone to notice. Evan Marek noticed because Read more…
• The Day the Stars Filed a Complaint
  The notice arrived at precisely 09:17 UTC, embedded simultaneously in every broadcast signal, data stream, and optical channel humanity possessed. It did not interrupt transmission. It replaced it. For six seconds, the world saw only one message. FORMAL NOTICE OF Read more…
• What Went Missing
  The day gravity went wrong, the news called it a calibration error. By the third hour, people were calling it something else. Jonah Pell was in line for coffee when his feet stopped trusting the floor. It wasn’t dramatic—no floating, Read more…
• The Last Backup of Earth
  When the sky went gray, everyone thought it was weather. That was the first mistake. Dr. Elian Cross was three levels underground when the alert chimed—a soft, almost apologetic sound, like the system didn’t want to bother him. He looked Read more…
• The Silence Between Pings
  The first thing Mara noticed was the quiet. Not the absence of sound—there was always sound aboard Relay Station Icarus—but the absence of pattern. No status pings stacked in her peripheral display, no gentle cascade of telemetry confirming that humanity Read more…
• The Obsidian Compass
  Rain slicked streets echoed with the rhythm of hurried footsteps as Rylan darted through the narrow alleys of Drovemarch. His coat flapped against the wind, soaked through, but he didn’t slow down. Somewhere in the heart of the city, a Read more…
• The Crystal of Lyrith
  The wind howled through the cliffs of Mirath, carrying the scent of salt and danger. Alaric tightened the straps of his pack and glanced at the jagged path ahead. Somewhere in these mountains lay the Crystal of Lyrith, a gemstone Read more…
• The Jade Key of Shal’Thar
  The rain had been falling for three days straight over the city of Korrath, turning the cobblestone streets into slick mirrors. Liora hunched under her hood, eyes fixed on the marketplace stalls. Merchants shouted over the storm, but she wasn’t Read more…
• The Lantern of Veyra
  Rain drummed against the wooden roof of the inn, but inside, the fire crackled warmly. Kael adjusted his satchel and glanced at the stranger seated in the corner. He had arrived without fanfare, as if he’d been conjured by the Read more…
• The Midnight Bazaar of Kaelith
  Rain slicked streets reflected the lanterns’ glow as Nyra ducked into the narrow alley. Her cloak clung to her like a second skin, soaked through, but she didn’t care. Tonight was the night she had been waiting for. The maps Read more…
• The Compass That Refused to Point North
  When the compass needle began to spin, Elias knew the desert had finally decided to acknowledge him. He stood at the edge of the salt flats, boots crusted white, scarf pulled tight against a wind that carried no coolness, only Read more…
• Between the Pages
  The rain fell steadily over London, turning the streets into silver mirrors reflecting the city lights. Clara Evans pulled her coat tighter around her and ducked into the small bookstore tucked between two cafés. The bell above the door jingled Read more…