Writing Darkness

The Works of Zachary Robert Long

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Author: Zack Long

The face of a cat, mouth opened wide to reveal fangs, emerges from darkness

Mrs. Tinkles
by Zachary Robert Long (4979 words, estimated reading time: 25 minutes)

Posted on October 2, 2024April 8, 2025 by Zack Long

Samantha is going to fucking kill me, Chloe thought as she stared into the gaping hole beneath the sink. “It was just the pipes,” she whispered. “It had to be the pipes.” But she knew that wasn’t true. The pipes made tons of noise, but they never sounded like a meow before. She’d been in…

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Overhead shot showing police examining a dumpster

Like Any Good Husband
by Zachary Robert Long (981 words, estimated reading time: 5 minutes)

Posted on September 11, 2024 by Zack Long

Exhibit A: Letter from envelope addressed “Stephanie” Exhibit B: Letter from envelope addressed “Police”   Exhibit C: Envelope left untitled

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A tree-line at night, everything appears foggy and cold. A bright white light shines from the distance, suggesting some sort of presence just out of our sight.

The Discordance of Anima
by Zachary Robert Long (2153 words, estimated reading time: 10 minutes)

Posted on August 21, 2024September 27, 2024 by Zack Long

The night held the world in a darkness that felt never-ending to Billy’s ten year old brain. Curled up in his tent with a sleeping bag and a flashlight and his Deadpool comics, the chill dark air tasted like freedom. Freedom from bedtime. The kind of freedom adults get. This, he thought, this is what…

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Close up on a man's boots next to a shovel, the background shows skeletal trees.

Now You Dig
by Zachary Robert Long (3349 words, estimated reading time: 16 minutes)

Posted on July 13, 2024August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

When they got there two sets of hands were pulling her out of the black Nissan Pathfinder and into the light of the setting sun as it reflected off the shards of rusted metal throughout the scrapyard. Her pale blond hair was disheveled. Her mouth was covered by layers of duct tape. Her left eye…

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A 19th century wood-carving rendition of Elizabeth Gaunt being burnt at the stake

A Conflagration of Euphoria
by Zachary Robert Long (1322 words, estimated reading time: 6 minutes)

Posted on May 8, 2024August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

The screams of the women found no purchase on the night air as they were marched to their deaths. From among the crowd that lined either side of their walk were flung insults, rocks, and excrement both animal and human. A missile would strike home causing one or another of the women to stumble, eliciting…

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An acrylic pour, a handful of colors colliding in patterns determined by randomness

A Speck of Paint
by Zachary Robert Long (2547 words, estimated reading time: 13 minutes)

Posted on March 19, 2024August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

A river of viscous red waterfalls to an ocean of blue, green, red, and white with specks of yellow and fiery orange making themselves known. As the river runs out the red mixes into the ocean of colors with long tendrils that seemed to be reaching out into a void, this being where the colors…

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An old man appears to be looking out of the gap between two boards or out of a window. We can only see his eyes, but we can tell his expression is menacing.

The Anger of Old Man McKinsy
by Zachary Robert Long (2687 words, estimated reading time: 15 minutes)

Posted on February 12, 2024August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

The cool breeze carried with it a voice that spoke of regrets. The regret of the sun slowly whittling away the sleek ice. The regret of the rabbit as the wolf takes its life in a quick lunge. And the regret that Ash held for the way his relationship had turned out. Spring was almost…

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A circular pattern that suggests we are looking down into a hole or perhaps into a tunnel. It appears to be cut out of rock or dirt, but it is too dark to tell for sure which.

The Hole in Jacob Roebuck
by Zachary Robert Long (1251 words, estimated reading time: 7 minutes)

Posted on January 26, 2024August 26, 2024 by Zack Long

Jacob Roebuck looked at the scab on his leg and wondered what it could have come from. He had no recollection of ever hurting his leg, yet on his leg was a blackish-red splotch that meant he must have done just that. He worked at a computer all day and then sat around his apartment…

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Skyscrapers as seen from the ground.

Splat
by Zachary Robert Long (3192 words, estimated reading time: 16 minutes)

Posted on October 31, 2023August 31, 2024 by Zack Long

32. During certain moments in life, the human brain changes our perception of time. One common example is the feeling that the work day is dragging on, you keep glancing at the clock but that last hour just doesn’t end. Time dilation is often referenced in trip reports on LSD and other psychedelic drugs. It…

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Blood-colored raindrops splashing against puddles on the ground.

The Church of Cleansing
by Zachary Robert Long (1996 words, estimated reading time: 10 minutes)

Posted on September 3, 2023June 5, 2025 by Zack Long

“And nay, Brothers and Sisters, shall we deny that the time is soon,” the man at the altar roared as he wiped blood from his hands. “For we know the truth. We know what the future holds and we shall be the ones who inherit, for we have seen that truth with our own eyes.”…

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First, I write down all I know about the story, at length and in detail. Then I sink the iceberg and let some of it float up just a little

— Ingmar Bergman

Recent Posts

  • A Meeting of Like-Minds
    by Zachary Robert Long (4004 words, estimated reading time: 20 minutes)
    “All I’m saying is that that Martin writes better characters. You feel for them even though they’re assholes. Jordan’s character’s are wet noodles.” “That’s totally unfair....
  • Built-in Headrest Provides Added Comfort
    by Zachary Robert Long (2975 words, estimated reading time: 14 minutes)
    Daylon’s understanding is that when the average person looks at a computer chair they see nothing more than a place to sit; most likely while using...
  • Ruby Laughs
    by Zachary Robert Long (1304 words, estimated reading time: 6 minutes)
    (Ruby Laughs is a sequel to A Good Mother) She lays on the motel water-bed, her pregnant belly undulating with each breath, and though her face is...
  • The Way It Squirms
    by Zachary Robert Long (2100 words, estimated reading time: 10 minutes)
    The lump in Steven’s armpit stayed the same size no matter how many times he told himself it wasn’t there. Staring at himself in the bathroom...
  • The Skin Came Free
    by Zachary Robert Long (1441 words, estimated reading time: 7 minutes)
    The skin on my hands has been coming off lately. It starts by the nails, sort of folding back. Not quite tearing but slipping away. I...

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