Before I had known her

Before I could see

Before we had met

Before there were three

Before she had run

Before she could tell

All had been good

All had seemed swell

and then...

Clearly I saw it

Surely I could see

It covered her face

The way she smiled…

I ignored the vibrating cell phone in my pocket. My eyes were still locked in helpless battle with the vixen's golden glamour. She had released my hand with the ring only to take my waist and lead me to an open section near the speakers. I didn't register…

Sadie watched Tenever trudge upstairs, spreading a collection of maps and notebooks across the dining table. Astarlane's grindstone faded into the background while she carried out the convoluted process of making a best guess at the next day's route.

Haz…

The mark was a sign of sin. Every person was born with it on the back of one hand. Through generations of living, a book was conceived to describe what actions caused the mark to fade, and which caused it to darken.

The holiest became priests who held the…

Story is marked as mature

Aidra played gently with the necklace she was wearing. A beautiful, raspberry-colored gem made up most of the pendant, held in place by ornately woven strands of silver, a small ring connecting it to a thin silver chain. The boy who'd given it to her said…

Aery Bergun was a soaring construction braced against two sides of a narrow canyon. An arch constructed out of huge lumber spars spanned and supported the width of the Aery, which looked more and more precarious as the Silver Skies made its approach.

I…

"Popcorn!" she announced, hurdling over the back of the couch, microwave bag securing the salty, buttery snack from spillage. She landed next to me.

"Ready?"

"If you insist," she sighed and pulled open the top of the bag.

"Star Wars is a classic and yo…

This time last year, I kissed you for bringing me a sandwich at work. You had already begun educating me on the vast world of classic rock, starting with disbelief when you found out I had no idea who the Grateful Dead was. Then Lou Reed died, and you gav…

'Why are we here?'

'I dunno'

................................

"So, my intrepid friend. I think I'm quite ready for another adventure. Care to follow me once more down the rabbit hole?" Phoebe asked her friend across the table. She watched over the rim of her glass as Casey downed her fourth ale of the night.

Casey …

He wastes no time. Already the moonlight has crept across the box, and if he misses this opportunity, it will be weeks before another presents itself.

He slips his tongue between his teeth -- and bites down, hard, severing the flesh. He takes the torn ti…

Sonia hesitated, glancing around. Every single person in the small shop was looking down, or away, or busy.

Go, they said silently. We must know!

She dusted off her apron, wiped her hands and followed him out into the street. There was a moment of …

At first it had caused surprise and alarm; now it was simply part of the normal flow of life. At around midday, two trucks full of guards would materialise in the square. Quietly and efficiently, they would fan out with their weapons drawn.

After the fir…

Coffee collects on the tongue. Fingers press the tired eyes; their hand slides over the nose and onto the cheek. Digits extend over one eye, the other eye opens.

Attempting to Establish Connection to Remote System

A swallow. Status grids; motionless, …

The rain trickles lightly down your umbrella

Your steps in perfect sync with the beats of my heart

Ah what a scene

Your perfect figure against this dismal landscape

Grey concrete pillars and abandoned stores

The depression of recession still apparent

Yet…

Same city, different station.

Enter Nick Llewellyn, coming into stage right at about thirty klicks an hour. He's looking at his hands, and turning over in them a sheet of pink paper.

He's been fired. Specifically, he's just been laid off from his job, wor…

Complicated and stressful,

Every day is more than you can handle.

They show on your face,

All the thoughts you've come to hate.

Like a disease with no cure,

Controlling everything you do.

When the days end

And the dark descends,

You settle into your refu…

Story is marked as mature

“This place looks like it got puked on, Viv.” I chuckle to myself, putting on my sunglasses so I can take a better look at the rotting lumps of detritus that once was a city.

I can imagine Viv’s smart aleck comeback about not hurting the city’s feelings…

I dreamt you cried for me.

A few heads turned to look at her. She ignored them, focussing on Nick. "Put this on," she said, handing him an identical suit.

"What the hell?"

"We don't have much time. Quickly!"

He looked at the hazmat suit, dropped it, and ran to the front of the bus.…

An adolescent boy, nude but for a spotlessly white loincloth. Great feathered wings sprout from his shoulder blades, so perfectly clean and glorious that anyone who saw them would be instantly blinded. But of course there are none who can.

He stands in t…

You don't run from police, not even drones. They also do a comprehensive body scan, so I had no choice but to stash the chip with Acrylic's memory. Faking tying my shoe, I furiously dug a little hole with the key and buried both in the sandy soil beside t…

The sky over the city was still pitch-black, even at five in the morning, with forty-five minutes to sunup and a clear sky. They made their way to a parking garage downtown, a few blocks from the scaffold-ridden visage of the Megaspire, with forged securi…