There was something about his eyes. Not dreamy or wistful. Not deep and romantic, or glassy and vacant. Not even something about the color, an unremarkable gray. It was hard to put your finger on, the thing about his eyes.

They were...oh, bother. Pe…

Trinity Keane tallied up her advantages. There were few of them, given that she was being chased by the police, but she noticed one - they don't know about my eye. That meant the fog wouldn't work on her.

She veered expertly, avoiding obstacles marked i…

Captain's log, ship's day 8483

Our number is 88 now. Lisa gave birth this morning.

Backyard Bob got the power back on and I have made the decision to switch on the receiver. It is a considerable expenditure of power, but with much of the ship missing th…

She's incredible, he thought, she's amazing, self-sacrificing, an incredibly kind person.

He's wonderful, she thought, he's so funny, carefree, a really great guy.

"Hey, it's been a while," he said, "How are you?"

"Pretty good," she said, "and …

I hadn't heard from you in several days, my dear close friend. Sunday when I thought of you I was suddenly sure that I would hear from you later that day, and that you had decided that it was best to stop all contact with me, that you could not feel any m…

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…

There was a big thunderstorm in the night, starting at around 00.00. I thought the lightning was the brightest I'd ever seen - like it was day for a second.

I turned off all the lights, pulled up the blinds, opened the window and just watched for a whil…

I don't think I answered her, but she figured out all the same. Both dead. She held me tightly, trying her best to comfort me. I remember her meeting up with the others, faintly. Those who escaped the attack. I can't say I remember the rest very well, but…

Rebecca, distressed, started ripping up the seams she had just completed, her mouth pursed and disapproving. "No, that'll never do," she fussed. "The edges aren't matching up and it just looks so sloppy. I'll just have to redo that whole stretch. Hand me …

The larger man seemed to immediately forget about me, going back to waving the knife at the smaller one, so I deemed it suitable to have my swallow. Sally at the sandwich place really did wonders with salmon and king prawns, I reflected, wincing as the sm…

Tenever took the first watch, stretching out in the ruined woodwork of the upper floor. Through the blackened crater, there was a good view out over the Hills. His rifle lay within easy reach.

He sat, silent, reflecting on how things had changed. Once, t…

Every night is the same.

The sun descends below the horizon, leaving the sky a desolate black. From within the village, the cries of the frightened form a chorus that pleads for light. They are waiting for the gondolier.

He is not as swift as he was …

She mourned him. Not even the real him. She mourned the loss of the fantasy she'd made of him.

In her dreams he said all the right things, had all the right moves, shared the same jokes, had the cutest smile and softest touch. She happily stayed in bed …

The hallway wasn't long enough to break into a full run and Lenn barely registered the pictures of strangers that lined both walls as he went by. Guided by the only light coming out of one of the three doorways at the end of the hall, he felt like the cap…

The morning did not improve Sadie's mood. There was the rare luxury of hot instant coffee with milk powder, but that was where the positive outlook ended.

A thin mist blanketed the surrounding Hills, reducing sunlight to a faint glow and visibility to a …

"The average human being is about 40 percent mitochondria by biomass," you said. "Mitochondria are wicked tiny, but their job is to produce energy, right. Like, tons of it. Well, it's tiny in our perspective, but if you were their size, it's like a ligh…

Liz' thoughts were interrupted by a flash of fire and a dragon's roar.

Across the small park, a winged beast, its crimson scales glittering in the midmorning sunlight, loomed over a trio of fantastical figures standing knee-deep in the sea of swirling gr…

The battery of sensors in the hood of the police car tracked the signal, the shining beacon of radio waves emanating from the van. It plotted the location onto a GPS map in the dashboard.

Meanwhile, a small army of police waited behind the barricade. Near…

Bundled up against the autumn chill, Liz wandered the city streets, alone with her thoughts.

Stopping to let a train of delivery-bots cross the sidewalk, she glanced around, noticing again just how empty the streets and walkways were on a Saturday mornin…

It was the captain.

"Captain. What a pleasant surprise."

"Quite so. There is a communication for you, monsieur. My communications officer tells me that it is addressed to your good self."

"Thank you, Captain."

"Monsieur."

"Yes?"

"You are not going t…

We talked every night. We wrote letters. The distance never diminished our love for each other. We had it all figured out.

I flew out to see you on Valentine's day. You baked me a cake for my birthday. We had Thanksgiving dinner with your family. …

How sullen is eternity! It sits sulky through the years,

Softly murmuring of boredom to a crowd of heedless ears.

Satisfaction needs a structure. Stories must begin and end.

In between, we need a climax, where we lose or gain a friend.

Life is not some mi…

Its face was playing tricks on me.

It has been 7 years floating inside this heap. Sometimes I forget that it isn't really a face. It's a control panel. The dials, however... & the read outs? They are definitely face like. It's not just some goofy "space …

Malika felt no joy at the destruction she had wrought, only a grim satisfaction. She had spent enough of her anger to bring it back under control, and in the process she had cleared much of the surrounding forest of the evil that had once lived here. It w…

The festival passed by absent either girl's presence, as neither felt particularly festive. When the time came for Taka to return to her studies, she did so eagerly, searching for any distraction from the painful fissure in her heart.

When her own gempuk…