During years i have read lots of post-apocalyptic stories which can fill a quite large bookshelf. But every now and then i have also stumbled into short stories that deal with apocalyptic themes. These are my three favorite post-apocalyptic short stories.

Soft (F. Paul Wilson, 1984)

Soft is one of my earliest reads in post-apocalyptic fiction, yet it has stood time as one of most effective short stories i have read in this genre. The story of Soft takes place short after horrifying new disease which has caused most of the world population to die (or at least wish they are dead). But few people are still alive and the story follows a story of unnamed man and his daughter Judy who are battling the disease. 

What i still find horrifying in story is the disease itself. There are lots of stories including super flus and zombie viruses but the disease in Soft is particulary nasty. It breaks all the calcium in the bones, finally dissolving them and leaving the victim to die as a puddle of soft meat (get where the title comes from?). The idea of horrifying, unstoppable disease eating slowly your bones mixed with sharp writing makes Soft one of my most liked short stories.

This Years Class Picture (Dan Simmons, 1992)

Ms. Geiss is very dedicated school teacher who is responsible for teaching fourth class. Every day Ms. Geiss teaches her class with love and care. Love and care and tiny bits of human flesh because all her students are dead and turned into zombies. Ms Geiss’s days are filled teaching her beloved class and fortifying her school against the shambling dead outside. But can one person stand against dead horde and protect what she loves the most?

This Years Class Picture is very smartly written story about dedication, love and courage. Being both hilarious and terrifying, the story gives a fresh view on already gnawed genre of zombie fiction. And rarely you get a Remington wielding 60 year school teacher as a protagonist of the story!

I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream (Harlan Ellison, 1967)

The war is over. Supercomputer AM has destroyed human race, all but five of them. For 109 years AM has kept these five specimens as a captive deep beneath earth in massive complex, unleashing it’s endless hate for human race in form of sadistic torture. AM has made it’s human captives virtually immortal, allowing AM to continue it’s endless cycle of torture. Can they escape the cold grip of AM? 

I Have Mouth And I Must Scream is dark and depressing story of desparate situation against overwhelming enemy where death is only escape. Although written in 1967, the story of self-aware machine is more current topic than ever in era where artificial intelligence is reality. There is also computer game version of the story made by Cyberdreams in 1995

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