The Monday War
His eyes watered. He was staring at the sun. The sky was clear blue and the water the same.
12 stories
Nuclear Apocalypse Stories
A nuclear apocalypse is an end-of-the-world scenario driven by atomic weapons, thermonuclear war, radioactive fallout, nuclear winter, or the political systems that make such destruction possible. These stories often focus on the instant terror of the blast and the longer aftermath: poisoned landscapes, ruined cities, scarcity, mutation, bunker societies, military secrecy, and the moral burden of surviving a war designed to end civilization.
Read original nuclear apocalypse short stories on this page from world-class authors, selected from the Ash Tales archive.
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Hell Truckers
He turned another card. A dog-eared Jack of hearts with a shit-eating grin pencilled crudely onto the vellum. That was a problem, because he already had a Jack of hearts, and he liked the look of that one much better.
The Ridgeway
Four days out and running low on water, but he didn’t care. He stopped at the crest of the hill to catch his breath.
The Danger Is Still Present, in Your Time, as It Was in Ours
They watched the kid dig with manic intensity. The pile of dirt next to him had grown to maybe half his height. Some of the soil would tumble back into the hole with every frantic shovelful. The kid didn’t care.
The Sea Lords Script
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: After nearly a decade of analysis, the Linguistics Department of Gabonium University cracked the enigma that is the Sea Lords Script and presents this report to the Most Exalted One, ruler of the Nobel Empire of the Last Peoples.
The Poppies' Secret
“Ada, will you sit down?”
This Is Not an Exit
The café is cold and blanketed masses huddle over steaming cups of weak tea. The bomb blast took out the windows, even in this hamlet miles from the target.
Before the Bomb
As I study her sitting half-undressed on my cot, I realize I recognize her from before the bomb. Or I think I do.
Mooners
NOT EVEN AN HOUR INTO MARE IMBRIUM’S two-week-long night, Commander Gordon Gooch III was snoring through the end of the world.
There Is No Happy Ending for Us
Micah looked up and saw the contrast of blues on the horizon.
Old World
Warhead Saul's Last Leg
Interstate 90 was a shooting gallery.