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 …

Klaxons. Klaxons everywhere. Truly this was it.

It was the dead of night, of course. They never attacked during the day. That was too obvious, and we'd see them coming a mile away -- on a cloudless day. (And even on overcast days, they always mysteriousl…

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…

“You have the wrong man.” he said, slowly putting the bowl down and setting his hands flat against the counter.

“You don't recognize my voice? Maybe I can jog your memory. How about these words: no, don't, stop, please, you're hurting me!” She echoed her…

"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…

A parishioner had requested aid against the Dead. The task of returning the dead to rest was so far beyond import that it lay somewhere in the realm of the sacrosanct. Orthael inclined his head in acquiescence and summoned Judgement into his grip, though …

"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…

They approached the other side of the clearing and it was Orthael's turn to rein in a jolt of shock. Shrouded in his sole focus on the Fire, he had held only a loose grip on the details of a martial engagement. Instinct and Judgement, rather than consciou…

"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…

She was waiting for me the next morning, sitting at my table with a bowl of hot porridge and a packed bag. A small bag, I thought. Either she was leaving it all behind, or there was little to leave behind anyway. I rather suspected the latter.

My pastry …

A yearning pit of doom. This place felt like death. Empty. Desolate. Yes, someone or something had killed everything that was good here long, long ago. Privately, she knew what it was. She could see it. She could feel it. She watched as the creatures walk…

My 15-year-old son hugged me yesterday

My teenage daughter begged me for a bedtime story

My husband and I started sleeping in the same room

-

I've lost my racist grandmother's ashes and my tax reports

the dress that made me look fat

I have no dishes to cl…

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…

Fiore grabbed her sword's hilt and started silently pulling it from the sheath. She just needed to get this over with. Then she could move on.

The small fawn girl noticed her and ran over. "F-Feeor-- um... Flora! Look what I found!" She smiled and held up…

Story is marked as mature

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…

Rita jumped back, only getting the front end of her skirt lightly singed. "You're blue. Why the heck do you have fire powers!?"

"You're the one who wanted to fight," the blue girl taunted.

"First, I thought you had water powers, and second, I was playi…

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…

I changed in the years of my exile, and though no one in the streets recognized me beneath the beard and rough clothes, I had found my home with little effort. Heavy leather gloves with large stitching were the only reason I made it inside the gates. Ever…

Stella trundled along the brook's edge, gazing behind her all the while when she could. The moon, the MOON! It was always there behind her, even when the brook changed directions like an eager puppy on its first trip to the park after a water-drinking con…

Eris stepped out of the dank cavern and into the cool night air. A gentle breeze blew past, carrying the sounds of the nearby city with it. She smiled, looking down upon the city, with all its bright lights and busy people.

Oh, if only she ever came here…

Pink hair again. It hadn't been pink since ... that time when ... and it all went normal again. I was normal. But not now. The dream tore through my mind, Aether burned into my skin, the skin changing, turning, petrifying. Pink hair falling. Eyes followin…

"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…

Hair dark and damp were stirring in the wind

and I sat on a rock and looked at her

naked back as night made his descent.

The reddening sky background to flocks of gulls;

no voice, nor song of other son of Man

was to disturb our tendersome farewell.

"what are taxes"

"DNA is vital"

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