What's The Worst...

A short story... in parts...

What's The Worst... Chapter 04

On the TV the morning news presenters were doing their very best not to get any actual answers out of the politician of the moment; both Ira and Dorothy had agreed that these few minutes of coverage w

What's The Worst... Prologue

Trisha lay on her back, probably. She felt neither comfortable, nor uncomfortable; it was just like, well, nothing... she was just there.

What's The Worst... Chapter 01

“Ira, breakfast’s ready!” she still savoured his name on her tongue, it still sounded exotic, even after all these years.

What's The Worst... Chapter 02

The street was wide; the pavement was separated from the road by a three foot grass verge.

What's The Worst... Chapter 03

Trisha looked toward the clock again. She could still only just make out the time through a blurry haze of tears and lack of focus. She growled and cursed, “Aarrgghh, these bloody lenses…”

What's The Worst... Chapter 05

Town centres are never really quiet these days, except for that brief pause in the early hours between the end of the night and the start of the morning.

What's The Worst... Chapter 06

Dorothy had recovered quickly from her turn. She’d explained to Ira in the past that they were like the memories of a dream; fleeting, impossible to grasp and hold onto.

What's The Worst... Chapter 07

Kevin just happened to be standing in the front window at the time. He’d seen the young man coming stumbling down the street.

What's The Worst... Chapter 08

The bus swung into the stop, first the brakes hissing and then the hydraulics of the lowering front suspension.

What's The Worst... Chapter 09

Trisha hadn’t really taken much notice of the little old lady coming up the stairs; she hadn’t really noticed her pause and then choose to sit a little further back in the bus, but she couldn’t

What's The Worst... Chapter 10

He couldn’t remember how he had come to be sat on the bench. He remembered the voices, whispering and the laughing, the way that it had made him feel, angry and alone, but now he felt tired.

What's The Worst... Chapter 11

The weather forecast had suggested that the day would be a pleasant enough autumn, some sunshine, a little cloud, a stiff northerly breeze, but no rain, or snow.

What's The Worst... Chapter 12

He opened his eyes; realised that he didn’t know how long he’d been lying there. He stretched out, sat up and looked around.

What's The Worst... Chapter 13

The girls had split their fliers, drunk their coffee, discussed distribution tactics and considered a number of other delaying tactics but now they realised that they had to make a move.

What's The Worst... Chapter 14

The noise pressed down upon him. While he sat there, the insistent ebb and flow of people continued around him. Now there was no avoidance, they were close. His bench was no longer his own.

What's The Worst... Chapter 15

Clare didn’t quite dance her way through the passing people… but she certainly had a knack for travelling easily amidst the general flow of the busy high street.

What's The Worst... Chapter 16

He continued charging, stumbling almost blindly forwards. Away from the location of the initial fracas, he appeared as nothing more than a deeply anti-social young man in a hurry to be elsewhere.

What's The Worst... Chapter 17

Clare had moved significantly ahead of Trisha now, still beaming and spinning, almost spraying fliers out like a lawn sprinkler, but not one missing a valid target.

What's The Worst... Chapter 18

Clare spun and turned as the crowd before her parted.

What's The Worst... Epilogue

Dorothy sat next to Ira as she often did in the evenings. It was a comfort to feel the warmth of another.