I keep only one mirror in the house and I'm not entirely sure why. I should have destroyed it when I destroyed all the others. It's an antique hand mirror that's been in the family for four or five generations at least. Perhaps I value that link to my pas…

The cabin boy, now Master of the Ship, walked alone

stepping over the glass-eyed corpses of meat and bone,

men who had once been, the only fathers he'd ever known.

He cried for his own loss and the light-lost souls forever gone.

The ship shuddered and cr…

The ship heaved high, breaking through the waves,

the dark hell of night's clouds and the sea's spray

Stars cloaked by a devil's veil were hidden away

and the once mighty captain was lost and afraid

The crew revolted pledging their wails to the winds,

pa…

I was wishing for October today:

Summer heat in the crooks of my arms;

On my cheeks and my neck,

And the weight of long evenings heavy

In my hammering head.

I longed for the cool of the Autumn time,

For the turning leaves and their crispness

Beneath my b…

Hurrying to the bathroom, I felt like I was going to burst. I prayed that no one was in it and reached for the handle. It was open. I locked it and rushed to the toilet, dropping my pants as I did so.

I had to bending down to raise the seat up. My face…

The lantern swung indolently from its fixture, casting skulking shadows around the stone cell. The only sound was the steady drip, drip of water between the stonework, falling gently onto the figure strewn out on the cold lockup floor. The woman bore mark…

There's a side hallway ahead and to the right, leading to classrooms.

There's a set of stairs on the far end of the hall, opposite the classrooms hallway, leading both up and down.

You can see a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall, and several …

"Night, Larry," called the shift manager. Larry was the last to leave. He pulled off his white cook's hat as he pulled on his long duster coat. Turning the collar up he dissolved into the crowd heading toward the subway all intent on getting home to a hot…

The two fighters were clumsy. They didn't know that before but they knew it now. Winning a fight was something they'd both taken for granted. With size and power on their side, they hadn't bothered to learn finesse. Mastering a fighting style took time an…

"More on the rise of red algae and what that means for the apocalypse at 6, but first; Why should parents be watching their pediatricians closer than they watch the presidential election?"

Steve threw his half-eaten biscuit at the TV, "Oh for Chr---, J…

He gazes up from his desk

At the pencil-slanted rain

A myriad little stories

Creeping down his window pane

As his hand fondles his pen

Potential from within

He wonders what to write

What they will think of him

Too many to catch

With his flimsy net

Ideas w…

"Excuse me, little boy." Tommy jumped at the sound. He thought he was alone in the backyard. He turned around, seeing a large, heavy set old man behind him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," the old man said, smiling.

Tommy looked over his shou…

Story is marked as mature

The man was always watching. Bryant almost couldn't leave his cubicle as he always felt those eyes on him.

It started the very day the man was hired. Bryant was asked to show him around the building.

"So, is this your first job in the big city?"

The ma…

Story is marked as mature

I drink wine from cereal bowls.

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

Sun up, tools down for the day, it was a good time for a walk through the oaks. A learned man might sink down with a book, but a man of little learning who needs to settle his thoughts must leave that job to nature.

He took a leak against a tree. The st…

I do believe the time has come to hope

I'd love it if my friend came back at last.

If I am wrong I'll wash my mouth with soap,

And banish expectation to the past,

But still, if I could nourish once again

The happiness that once was his and mine,

Wi…

"And on that day, I will be here to turn you back. This truce will stand, this war is over, whether you wish it or not." I approached the god-post and jammed my blade into the wood just below the loathsome face that peered back at me.

"You are releas…

Tenever didn't hesitate as muzzle flare lit up the surrounding trees. He threw a hand straight forward over the barrel of his weapon, his mind searching for familiar strands of reality to pluck at. His fist opened and a flash of prismatic light erupted in…

You reach the landing for the second floor. The fire is building up higher. If you stay here, it'll surely reach you soon. But you're not a fool!

You go into the hallway just outside the landing.

She had a flicker of sadness as her ship pulled away from Lorentz Station.

She didn't pay it much mind though as the adventure ahead was far greater than anything she could have imagined: A posting on the USS Elena Pitjeva. It was the first Orion class s…

"So, I heard you were in town?"

He could practically hear Mike Green's intense grin over the phone. In college, she had been his best friend. Shortly thereafter, they had parted ways - Gonçalves to Freetalk, Green to some analytics firm bound by sheafs of…

I was surrounded. The priests stood before me, frowning. The crowd packed tightly behind the wall of guards. My family's faces had aged without grace and their hatred of me had only fermented with time.

I drew a breath and felt the sun hot on my skin.

"I …

Tenever grudgingly released the spell in his hand, but readied his wards all the same. They were complex, interlocking affairs with Byzantine safety procedures and a hellish rate of drain, but they were effective.

"Guys, this is Eraeon of the Firsts. Era…