The Skull and Other Stories

By Matthew Stukus

A collection of science-fiction short stories and fantastic weird tales certain to transport you to other worlds!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Matthew Stukus
• Release date: Mar 21, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463295021

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The Skull and Other Stories

By Matthew Stukus

Published by Matthew Stukus at SmashWords

Copyright 2020 Matthew Stukus

Table of Contents

The Skull

The Biographer of Demons

I’m Glad I’m Here with You

Oran of Iona

The Dead Hand

Remember Them

I Used to Have a Lot of Friends

The Apotheosis of Di Xin

The Virtual Audience

Witness the Future

The Skull

Many years ago, while traveling towards a village whose name I can no longer remember, a young merchant found himself trapped in a sudden thunderstorm.  As the tempest roared and howled and boomed around him, he saw the opening of a cave, just large enough for his horse to fit through.  He dug his heels into his horse and galloped towards the entrance of the cavern.  The rain poured down outside the cave, but the merchant and his horse were safe and, more importantly, dry. At least for the moment.

The storm continued to rage and showed no sign of ending before the day had first, and so the merchant decided that he would spend the night in the cave, and to that end, began to explore his cozy shelter.  In the darkness, he stumbled and fell onto the ground.  When he looked back, he saw a discarded skull, smooth and white, its flesh devoured by time.

He shrieked and scurried backwards, distancing himself from the remains.  The skull stayed still.  Realizing his over-reaction, the young merchant approached the skull and picked it up.  He shuddered. How awful… You poor fellow.  What evil befell you?  Were you, like me, trapped here by a storm?  Did you meet your demise in exile, banished from your native land?  Perhaps you were pursued by your fellow man, and came here to hide from them, and could not escape.  Or did you fall ill, and expire here alone?  How unfortunate that you passed away.

The dark, empty sockets of the skull stared back at the young merchant, looking deeply inside of him.  After a moment, he set it down carefully, facing the cave wall, and retreated to the opposite end of the cave to prepare for sleep.

As he slept, he dreamt.  And as he dreamt, the skull appeared before him and spoke.  "Do not presume, o mortal, to speak of things of which you know nothing.  How do you know it's bad to be dead? Not a word of truth about