The walls never change. A sterile, indifferent white; not comforting, yet not hostile either. Completely neutral in the observation of the clinically insane. Of course, he wasn't denying it; that’s what he was, after all.

James smiled. The chair was almos…

When you get to the main stairs, you see a cloud of black smoke rising before you. Moving cautiously closer, you see flames leaping up the stairs!

Good grief, this will never do!

However, though you are frightened of the fire, you see that it is still on…

Aria jumped and slid down the roof, doing another small hop to get over the rain gutter, and landing on the soft, wet grass. She gently shook off some of the water, wet from chasing the monster through the sprinklers. Her least favorite part about fightin…

"Autumn now," Grandma spat, rocking in the tired oak chair. A graying cat sat in her lap, wide eyed.

Sure enough, the trees had become rusty red.

Grandma's children affirmed her assessment with a grunt. They were rooted here by obligation only, and pass…

Egg shells feel like feathers - softly, gently ground beneath behemoth tongues. Leviathan laughter echoes.

Abstract butterflies take the brunt, wings turning to kaleidoscope dust in the nuclear wind.

Eyes see strangely through scorched sclera, strands o…

Hunter didn't know where she was. It was hard to make anything out. Impossible, really given how exceptionally dark it was. There was nothing but the cold, wet floor underneath her, almost slick from condensation. Walking around proved useless, as it se…

I talked to my boyfriend about my feelings of jealousy for my best friend's relationship.

"I get that you are protective of him. You've been really close for a long time."

"We were close, then we got together. It's all I know. It's a pattern, one that …

"Morning, Aralis!" The blonde girl bounced into the shop, effortlessly slipping behind the counter and slipping an apron over her head.

"You're late," the other teased.

"By like, two minutes! The shop isn't even open yet!"

"I know, I'm teasing. Jeez Kri, …

One minute.

It struck me, toward the end, that every disaster movie had been too optimistic. Deep Impact thought that we'd have around three years to save the world. Armageddon predicted a few weeks. But Asteroid 409233 Megiddo was discovered and tr…

"The cooks will not take such abuse from the swabs!" Chef's face was red, and he slammed his ladle into the round table.

"Your soup is little better than our mop-water!" screamed the chief swabbie.

"My steersmen and engineers can't stay awake, living off …

The name given to the ship of Gwen and Bass is The Sound of Silence. In drawing the picture, I took inspiration from the Simon and Garfunkel song, and from the story of Sleepless Domain

The Inner Barrier is from the night that Alchemical met the ele…

The day of the Cow Rite had arrived, like a lover who had blacked out overnight and had finally come home from the pub. As the day dawned, a mauve haze like a spill of off-coloured milk on the dairy floor of the horizon, the fields blossomed with daffodil…

Venus, powers in space, wind and light, lit the candles in the room and swung the door open, 20 feet away, "Well, dear sister, the party isn't until the shop is closed tonight. We open right about... now."

Fashionably retro 70s era, her go-go boots clom…

The trail here narrowed and dropped steeply down; one side a sheer cliff cut by the rapids and the other side a wall of rock. The base of the trail widened and flattened beside an old, sturdy pin oak tree.

From here I watched a family carefully pick thei…

The house appeared abandoned. It was spacious, boasting of what looked to be a dozen rooms, but falling apart. Broad windows, glass gray with dust. An iron plate set into the brick walls proclaimed the house as belonging to F. The massive front door was b…

As soon as you get to the opening of the back stairs, you can see that it's no good. The ceiling has fallen down and there's a pile of burning textbooks blocking the entire stairway. You'd better

go back to the elevator, or try the main stairs

The flash of… cameras? Visual capture devices, brighter than the lean lines of the universe speeding past in technicolor. The roar of voices like the atmosphere, vivid, orange, and angry.

Amplification.

Alien.

“My name is Champion-”

Human. Translat…

As water flowed, it washed me all away:

The elements that made me what I am;

My hopes and visions, first. Behind them swam

Awareness, leaking ’til there’s no today

My pride in my accomplishments went next;

My puns, non-sequiturs–my treasured words.

Rel…

What is that truck doing?

The truck was large. The flat bed had fabricated wooden sides. It backed up to the barn, and in full daylight, no less! Surely, my late father would not have allowed strangers to traipse onto his property. Since it was mine n…

You cruise to a gentle stop at the red light. It's the end of the work day. You're looking forward to leftover lasagna, two hours of Netflix, and if the heat sticks around, a shower before bed. Traffic has been lighter than normal for a Thursday which is …

This is a lot simpler than it feels. Now that your emotions are well vented, let's set them aside and looks at the fundamentals.

First, you care. Otherwise you wouldn't be upset. Caring is good so long as it promotes useful action.

Second, if this particu…

Everyone, at some time, has played the "What if I were immortal?" game. Pondering how it would be to see loved ones grow old and die, or how it would be to live through history being made.

Well, I am immortal. And I don't mean Highlander movies immor…

There are comedies, there are tragedies, and there is Fate - who enjoys a laugh as much as the next man, and has a lot more power to make it happen.

That, and a sort of quiet fuming, was what was on my mind when I stepped out onto the glass concourse. I …

Dinner was terse.

Another Tuesday night, another dinner hosted by my parents. Generally, I looked forward to our Tuesday nights. My parents were both good cooks. I loved both of them, though it took me a long time to grow up and appreciate them.

Financi…

The first day I saw it, it was just a little spot. Right over my left ring-finger knuckle. I thought maybe I had not washed well, or I got some ink on it from work.

The next morning my whole knuckle was green and looking a little fuzzy. I considered a tr…