The first had been a rock from the garden but it hadn't even quivered. The second had been a coin. The only thing it did was give off a noise like a muffled metallic scream. That shook me. For the third I chose a stick. It had twisted and curled, writhing…

I don't know why I bother

I struggle thrash and flounder

I pitch my tent at Deva Station

They're streaming me the information,

And on the darker side of the stream

I glimpse the ones who made the team

The roots of lilies clutch my feet

My kind of girl has…

Sheridan lay on the hill amidst the sound of crickets and cicadas, the recently mown grass pricking through his T-shirt, and pointed upwards at the clear black sky.

The heavens shone down upon the lad, matching the intensity of his gaze. He could always c…

Troubled, Rnfl made a seventeen point turn and vanished into the underbrush, nearby the combover. They were troubled. Oh, wait, I said that already.

Strain as she might, Tamsin couldn't catch the voice she had heard previously, the one speaking of a power…

Watching from a distance, Cornflap studied the perplexed deerling, not even a yearling yet. With their many years of experience, Rnfl was no nearer an understanding of what had happened than the fawn, but they felt sure that the sphere from a few installm…

Tamsin knew sleep could bring healing, but surely this was something more. She'd had cuts and scrapes and, moreover, she had been desperately hungry and thirsty. She felt full and satisfied now and did not even feel the need to move her bowels. Had she fo…

It was a long time before Tamsin's young soul could decide whether it would stay with her, or depart for another home, but in the end, it decided that Tamsin deserved another chance.

With some pain and regret that she could not really understand, in the m…

Tam's head lay at the base of the slope, eyes half open, dazedly gazing at the gathering of turtles. They were moving more rapidly now that they were on a level surface. Moonlight and the softly glowing orb shone and sparkled against their glossy shells. …

Struggling with a new sense of purpose, Tam struggled to attain a precarious upright stance. She had no notion if she could talk with them, and she had no voice to use now. She doubted she could even communicate with the tiny turtles. Instead, she took a …

There once was a forest dwelling little baby deer, all alone and frightened in the snowy wood. She was barely able to walk. She was shivering and weak, and all she wanted to do was to lie down and sleep. She hadn't the power to keep going. She had lost he…

I have what I need. I have what I need.

The mantra was not soothing me. If I had what I needed, then why did I feel so empty and alone?

Just avoid the situation, I counseled myself.

But the truth is, I don't want to. I want to be liked, loved, appr…

A tundra of clouds whizzed by as I watched from the airplane window. It was a stunning show, a glimpse of heaven. But, the radiant clouds did little to soothe my nerves. For the first time in years, I was going home. No, not home.

Back.

A bit of turbul…

I can picture exactly how it would be.

I'd somehow come face to face with the embodiment of him. I'd run into his embrace. It would last a satisfyingly long time.

After some familial chit chat and idle distractions, probably involving a meal and an acti…

"This damsel in distress had two heroes and she brought them both home." I explained.

"Was she Mormon??" a very puzzled Amanda asked. She was my closest female friend and I hoped she could follow this plot.

"The Mormons gave up that polygamy thing long …

My soul is restless tonight. I've forgotten what that feels like. I want to move, to run, to jump out of my skin, my comfort zone, and do and see and FEEL something else.

I've been stuck in a daily grind for so long, a perfectly even keel of sleep, work,…

I watched the message go out and switched into a wider communications view, scrolling through the new options afforded by military-grade clearance. One of them was Nyquist's command channel.

"Loading dock secure. Commencing fuel and munitions load."

"OPs…

The question of "us" was solved by the materialisation of a pair of guards from behind CDR Nyquist. They were bulked out by tactical suits in Navy blue, with stripes in Marine green. Both had their visors down and weapons drawn.

"Commander, assault weapo…

My eyes narrowed. A tell, which I self-consciously tried to hide behind a quick flip of my hair.

"As I communicated to Navy Systems Command, shakedown trials are tentatively scheduled to start in three months' time. Please -"

"Ms Sayre, I do hate to rep…

The party was for Valerie. She was departing for warmer weather. It made sense. Despite being a programmer and board gamer, she loved to surf.

Me? I was a quintessential nerd and living proof that making a girl laugh, doesn't mean she will be attracted t…

Basil finished the first circle of words.

The chant wasn't fast. It couldn't be rushed or muttered. The pronunciations had to be precise.

When he finished the second circle, the base of his neck seemed to grow hot,

He stood up straighter and began the …

"Brush him off, I don't have the time. I need to go and talk to Edwards from Bay Three. They were meant to be finished months ago and I'm taking hard questions about where their destroyer is."

I dropped the call and pulled a jacket over my jumpsuit, smoo…

My cell hadn't rang in days. I no longer cared where it was.

I lay looking at a wall four inches from my face trying not to think. The thin covers kept me warm enough and as I stared at the wall, committing my entire being into a single-hued landscape of…

The shirt.

Worn and tattered, red and plaid.

Elbows ripped out from years of wear.

Chipped buttons, hanging by threads.

Always paired with blue jeans.

Dark brown boat shoes, too.

It was never put away.

He was perpetually inside of it, giving it life.…

I gazed up nervously at the shotgun hanging on the wall above his bed as he held me in his arms and told me he had "anger issues." Perhaps I shouldn't be here, I thought. However, there was so much pain in his voice when he spoke of the past. I wante…

The glowing lights of my destination blaze fearlessly on my horizon

Clearly defined against the dawn of my new day

Glorious in their attainability

Except

I keep wasting miles

meandering down roads with no outlet

taking left turns at intersections whe…