The Substack Zone: The Sun and the Moon

FORGED Series Prequel: In Homage to The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone redefined storytelling, drawing audiences into the unimaginable. Now, 66 years later, top writers, artists, and musicians are stepping into its eerie glow with a fresh twist. Ready to see where they’ll take you?

Liz Zimmers | Edith Bow | Sean Archer | Bryan Pirolli | Andy Futuro | CB Mason | John Ward | NJ | Hanna Delaney | William Pauley III | Jason Thompson | Nolan Green | Shaina Read | J. Curtis | Honeygloom | Stephen Duffy | K.C. Knouse | Michele Bardsley | Bob Graham | Annie Hendrix | Clancy Steadwell | Jon T | Sean Thomas McDonnell | Miguel S. | A.P Murphy | Lisa Kuznak | Bridget Riley | EJ Trask | Shane Bzdok | Adam Rockwell | Will Boucher

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This short story is available in the anthology, The Midnight Vault, along with 28 other amazing stories. Or upgrade to a paid subscription to read my story here!

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AUTHOR’S NOTES

Welcome to the world of the FORGED series. This prequel is set thirty-three years before Shattered, book one, to be published by Provender Press in 2025.

After the Great Changes ravaged the world, changing geography and the political landscape, the Pacific Northwest banded together to form a new nation, the United Pacific Territories.

It’s not hard to imagine a culture that is reliant upon and dedicated to the pursuit of science above all things, where, after years of seismic activity and natural disasters, society shifts reliance upon hydroelectric and other green energy sources. Metropolitan areas are abandoned, condemned as unsafe for habitation. The construction of new dams causes former cities to flood and new urban centers, UCs, to spring up around these power-generating sites.

Yet humanity is consistent, and even in this dystopian future, young adults face challenges and struggles that mirror those in our present society.

CONTENT NOTICE: drug abuse, death, anxiety disorder.

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Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash. Logo by @shanebzdok. Edited with Canva.

The Sun and the Moon

Thursday 16 June 2101 16:16

The cursor blinked, mocking him. The flashing vertical line on the otherwise blank screen taunted him and his inability to pull words from his brain or form coherent thoughts. His inability to answer the stupid, fucking essay prompt.

Besides being one week from his application deadline for early admission to university, he was also one week from his sixteenth birthday, which meant one week from his mandatory VasROC sterilization procedure.

All these looming deadlines were chasing him like a patrol drone but with no possibility of escape.