Tom waited impatiently at the metal doors for the countdown to reach zero. The lights had all been turned down in anticipation, as if for fireworks, or for a comet to pass, and the numbers above the doors glowed red. From here, Tom and his roommate had listened to the riots on the streets below. […]
The Quarry Journal
A journal of creative writing by students at Macquarie University
Decontaminate, Natasya Currie
There are bodies on the sidewalk. Quinn’s eyes dart to them briefly. The closest of them, a man dressed in a tailored black suit, lies half-curled in the foetal position near the bus-stop. Another woman has collapsed two metres away from him, a half-eaten muffin fallen from her outstretched hand. A speckled finch cocks its […]
Swan Lake, Swarna Pinto
If you keep walking west along the Woodend Road, passing newly built double story houses with double garages and flower pots at the front, you will come to Blue Gum Tree Lake Reserve without noticing my house. It is the last house on the street and is hidden behind large weeping willows. Overgrown apple, plum […]
Night Market, Ry Feder
Circle The markets glimmer in the dark like firelight. It’s the fairy lights draped over each booth, Jamie thinks, and the lanterns that criss-cross the paths between them. Individually, each bulb is small. They don’t produce much light. But together… massed together, they’re breathtaking. It’s a nice metaphor. Jamie mentally notes it down to use […]
The Old Dog, Aislinn McKenzie
A strong breeze was blowing from the ocean, spinning the washing line into a frantic twirl, as if the old bed sheets and t-shirts were some elaborate patchwork skirt. The house groaned and whistled, and occasional pelts of windblown sand or the scraping of branches would rattle the windowpanes. An older woman struggled to attach […]
Afterlight, J. A. Phelan
WELCOME TO THE RiteWell!™ DATABANK> You have selected the following transmissions for mass erasure> CONTINUE? TIME: 3.2MPTS DATE: 980.76.34.7 USER: Navka TorlandRACE: Estian (see more USER data)CATEGORY: Audio Transcript > Personal > journalism > press releases for workTITLE: Kion and Estian Peace&Prosper Alliance Announcement BEGIN TRANSMISSION / > …okay… so… I’m […]
Hikikomori, Alice Maher
Hikikomori was awarded 1st place in The Quarry – Future Leaders Creative Writing Prize 2020 HaibunThe title Hikikomori refers to a Japanese social phenomenon whereby adolescents (and some adults) withdraw from the outside world to seek extreme isolation and self-confinement.A Haibun is a Japanese form combining short prose with poetry; in this case, a haiku. […]
Until the Light, Thomas Dennis
A bleak morning shadow loomed over the city; countless sleepless lights lost within silence. Once, every candle and streetlight would dance in a warm blaze; twirling to a jumbled, disruptive symphony… But that was a long time ago. ‘That time again?’ Darren snapped up from his boots, smiling slightly at the young woman standing over […]
Helios and Luna, Harry Trethowan
The screech of the apartment complex’s 6:00 AM siren pierced through concrete walls. It signalled to the room’s singular resident he was permitted to wake. The steel door constraining the man inside the room clunked as magnetic bolts slid back into its frame. It was an empty gesture on behalf of the Government in control […]
The Hosts, Selin Aydogar
Mask on, spray, wipe, repeat. The television on the wall sits above me playing the News. It’s always the same old thing and I prefer not to watch it, but the customers always rather watch the news than some random movie. ‘Another fifteen people from Shadow Falls in Sydney taken to ‘The Island’ today. That […]