HOW FITTING TO BLEED HERE

TO COME HERE IN DRUNKEN STUPOR

ONLY THE FINEST OF INK TO

NARRATE THIS PATHETIC STORY

~

So this is my story? Fine then. It starts here.

A young man sits cross-legged with elbows on his knees, hunched over a tiny lined book…

He knew it was coming for some time, but was not expecting the email when it arrived in the inbox the previous night. Once he found out, he let the idea sink in for a day, then fully faced it in conversation with his older brother, who is cautiously hopef…

I just want to run away now

Not even truly angry anymore

Just exhausted and hurt

There's been wounds on both sides, yes

But not once was I malicious

Or intentionally hurtful to you

I tried so hard to be

The person you needed.

Well.

The one you said you ne…

The first police presence came in the form of a formation of drones, small and silver, hardly visible in the morning light. They flew from their base, along Hyacinth Street, and collectively pulled into a dive as they approached.

An unobtrusive antenna at…

Are you happy? You look happy. I'm glad.

I mean, it hurts a little deep inside because it used to be me that made you happy but still, I'm glad.

You deserve to be happy. You're wonderful.

I remember that I was happy during our short time together but…

Story is marked as mature

Story is marked as mature

Ryle appeared at my side in an instant, exuding a casual menace. His eyes were a searing inferno, a promise of violence that made others much more interested in listening to me.

The captain was affected, but not cowed. Not bad.

"You are a passenger aboa…

Things are only ugly when they have no purpose.

And even then, useless things can be beautiful.

I knew one once—an undisclosed, discolored discard—

who was beautiful despite her lack of worth,

and isn't beauty inherently valuable?

One can argue either way…

Sadie nodded at Gulmar, but her instincts were still fired. She turned - and threw herself backwards to avoid being hit by the wide sweep of a massive sickle-like weapon that she identified as a khopesh as she landed and rolled to avoid being trampled.

A…

I can't stop feeling her face.

Not seeing, feeling. We were so close so often that the shape of her face against mine took on more meaning. The impression derails me during work hours, plagues me at night.

Today I couldn't handle that memory, so I picked …

It feels like hatching.

Closing my eyes and letting the words flow from my fingers like they once did is terrifying, but some part of me is starving and certain that the alternative means death. My creativity is at stake.

I'm answering the call of a 9-…

The Old Man, holding his gaze on the computer screen, raised his hand and curled his finger. Come.

Vargas didn't need to be told twice, but he hesitated nonetheless. Is this a trap? he wondered.

He steeled his nerves and brought forth the briefcase. "…

Last year I wrote an essay on edible fish; during a performance of an Elizabethan play this evening, I suddenly got the news that I had won a huge award for my Cod piece!

I'm spiraling. Spiraling down.

I don't know what is at the bottom and I don't care.

I relax into the current trying to hold me up. I close my eyes and feel weightless as long as I ignore the sting of rushing air on my skin and the strain of fabric pull…

Marcos massaged his temple with a thick thumb. "Good party last night."

I offered him some of my Water Plus. "You never know which one will be your last."

He didn't grimace or laugh, just nodded as he accepted my canteen. He knew the stakes. We all did.…

There were things we worshiped before the new gods. Things of the dirt. Things of the dark. Things that moved and swarmed and crawled in the spaces beneath our feet. We feared them, even as they ignored us. To them, we were the worms. And less than worm…

Story is marked as mature

Suspects entered the building at 10:19. We arrived twelve minutes later...

"It's locked!", said Matt Quyen as he gingerly tried the office doors.

"Move away from the glass," said the team leader, "We're going to smash it." The squad backed up as the cap…

The child sits at the base of the tree, silently weeping. Her arms are crossed over her upraised knees, her face buried in her arms. Tears fall from her cheeks, staining her pants and the soil on which she sits. A few even land on the tree roots.

A gentl…

Roll, Roll, ROLL down the hill

'how far along are we?' Asked a small voice in his cart.

'about a mile.' The farmer answers.

Oh no! a road block!

'Just where do you think you're going in such a hurry,' Says the guard.

'Escaping the city! The army is coming…

Story is marked as mature

Each morning, the master wakes us before dawn. We are given a bowl of cold gruel to eat before being herded into the Great Hall. That is when our work begins.

All day long we sit folding paper cranes. Our fingers move with the precision and control of…

If only, if only, the broken mom cries

You chose to look up and not text while you drive

My shattered bones ache, but my heart always screams

My time with my daughter now locked in my dreams

-

Beware the invincible, foolish, and young

Their mistakes are s…

"How do you feel about me?"

Ahh, I wondered when you'd ask.

You are fun, in a stimulating way. You're a thinker. You sharpen your wit every time I see you. As we spar, I get a better sense of your reactions and humor.

We have surprising similarities,…