Curation // by special quest Ari Switzer

a story about an archivist hell-bent on reclaiming a story

The story must be reclaimed.

The Archivist reaches honed talons into his victim's mouth.

It must be reclaimed.

With practiced precision He clips through dense muscle, severs nerves. No more words.

It must be reclaimed.

Into the Archivist's mouth, another tongue in its rightful place.

It has been reclaimed.

The story is His now. Only His.

Onto the next.

Ari Switzer (they/them) is the winner of the microfiction contest that The Shortest Story co-hosted with The Story Engine. They are a writer, horror aficionado, and unknowable abomination who you can follow on Twitter!

Short story written by Ari Switzer

Story prompt taken from a photo by Denny Müller