The Fiction Vault
Jason Edmund's fiction, flash fiction, and short story newsletter introduction.
Welcome to the first edition of The Fiction Vault newsletter. I aim to create an online space where readers can enjoy a selection of fictional stories. In the process, I trust that we can develop an Ubuntu spirit— a feeling of shared humanity.
The idea behind the newsletter
When I joined Medium two years ago I was open to exploring creative writing. I found the writing process rewarding and therapeutic.
I fell in love with creative writing and built an online mini vault filled with stories.
I decided to join Substack to explore the work of others and share some of my fictional stories with you. I believe I am part of a larger writing community.
A community that supports and learns from each other.
Newsletter Frequency
I intend to post a Fiction Vault newsletter twice weekly, one on Mondays and one on Fridays, as of next week. Each newsletter will consist of 2-3 fictional short stories of different lengths.
Below is the first short story I share with Fictional Vault Readers. For the next couple of weeks, the weekly newsletters are free. You are welcome to sign up if you like the stories.
Below is a Science Fiction style short story set in the year 3022. I trust you will enjoy the story I included in this first newsletter edition.
Tunnel World
A Short Story: Living on Planet Earth in 3022 is not fun
Elaine enters the dark tunnel cringing with pain dragging herself snail-slow forward, toward the flickering hazy light.
Every gasp of air through her protective suit’s breathing apparatus hurts like hell. Her lungs are on fire. It feels as if a searing bullet is bouncing around in her complaining lungs.
Elaine pushes forward with unwavering courage, knowing that every gasp of air brings her one step closer to the Tunnel World’s door.
“Are you ok,” her friend Andy asks worriedly opening the 2-meter thick lead door to their underground tunnel home. “You are limping and it looks like you are struggling to breathe. Let me help you.”
“I’ll survive,” she answers. “I did not pay attention while searching for wood outside to cook our evening meal.” The dry scarred trees outside the cave’s dreary black landscape make excellent fuel.
“What happened?” Andy asks.
“I slipped on the dust that covers the Earth.” She refers to the charcoal grey thick volcanic-sooty-like ash layer covering the world outside their home. “My breathing mask got caught in a tree branch ripping it off my face.”
“You breathed in the atmosphere’s polluted toxic gasses from the extinction era 25 years ago?” He inquires fearfully. An atmospheric catastrophe wiped out 98% of all mammal life on Earth and polluted the environment.
“Yes,” she replies tiredly. It was horrific for them to see the mayhem created by the dense greenhouse gas clouds from pollution swirling like tornadoes.
The Earth’s atmosphere heated up to dizzying levels. To worsen matters the air was dense with pollution gases making it impossible to breathe. Luckily they found an unused radiation shelter built inside a cave to live in. They share it with 5 other small families.
“The high acidic content of the air must have stabbed and burned every cell on its way to your lungs,” Andy explained. His pale blue eyes filled with concern.
“Living on Planet Earth in 3022 is not fun at all,” she whispered hoarsely. “If humans only listened to warnings from scientists a millennium ago.”
“Yes,” Andy replies, glancing at the large terrarium they constructed around the filtered spring inside their cave home.
“We only have one Earth and we manage to ruin it,” Elaine exclaimed softly.
The tunnel door to the cave slammed shut behind them with a wheezing sound. The only noise is the reassuring soft humming of the air filtration system between the outer and inner doors of the cave.
Elaine looked at Andy. “I love you,” she whispered as she collapsed onto the cold hard floor into a coma.
Please note:
This story was previously published in 2022 by the author.