I sobbed. The Dragon saved me from myself. I got lost in the fog. I was stopped by the wall of despair and I caused the explosion that gave me the pieces to build my fortress, all so I could stay hidden deep inside myself. The Dragon refused to le…

I can surf around but social media sites are blocked

I guess it's not too bad, it's just they won't let me sleep

trying to stay awake somehow

wish we could chat here or something, ask for a care package

there's a window but it's all like desert outside p…

There was a short click on my headset. Captain Resa didn't even twitch, eyes glued to the laser designator's sight. The radio clicked again, then buzzed with static-laden speech.

"This is Uriel 3-1, checking in. Flight of three F/A-18Es, on approach west…

I'm lonely, I'm lonely

I'm drifting away

If only, if only

Friends weren't far away.

I've wandered much longer

Than I thought I would

Forever I ponder

If my choice was good

I want so to reach out

And touch someone's hand

Before thoughts can leach out

The…

Sigh. Scream. Cry. Maybe wordlessly, certainly breathlessly. My jaw is locked, my lungs crunched up like paper bags. My fingers dropped off one by one. By rights, my brain should have shut down too.

And yet it moves.

Matter in motion. And a universe wit…

Wallowing in loneliness and sadness, I sank in it, deep, up to my chin. Candles burning in effigy surrounded a warm bath of my misery.

I thought I had gotten past this. I thought that the first time you took a piece of my heart and smashed it that I had …

"Mayfield? Let's have the suits, and a weapon for the lieutenant please."

"That's not necessary, there are suits -"

Nyquist's other guard appeared from nowhere, passing me a dense package that was far heavier than fabric. Seeing my reaction, he comm'd o…

Gulmar vaulted over the rocks, and the orcs shouted some kind of activation rune. Tenever looked at Sadie, who nodded, and the wizard muttered something in Elven that made Eraeon glance sharply up -

The teleport formed them into a close circle around G…

Banging exploded across the breadth of the door as people tried to break in. My worry was fleeting. It wasn't impossible to break down a VouchSafe steel door but you'd need specific tools to do it.

“Let us in, you bastard!” Voices shouted in waves, muffl…

I miss people I shouldn't

I miss people I can't have back

I miss people I don't want back

I miss people who no longer exist...

Their bodies walk around with strangers inside

And I wonder if anyone misses the old me's that died

The next year passed in a blur, the two friends and lovers filling it with all the experiences they could, knowing that Keshintai was nearing the end of her studies. This would mean they would see each other far less often, so they made up the difference …

The orange girl watched as the city burned. Smoke billowed high into the sky, and people ran screaming through the streets, trying desperately to escape.

She wouldn't let them.

With a swift motion of her hand, she made more flames, blocking paths.

"Nerim,…

I've stopped looking

At the mirrors in my house.

My wife has to tell me

When my hair is becoming

An awful tangled mess,

Or when my face looks

Like I've never held a razor

A single time in my life.

They just feel offensive,

Reminding me over and over

That…

The record turned, the sound of white noise held my attention more than the music. I wanted to drown in it, like waves of the ocean. Suddenly it was too overwhelming, the music, the ocean of static, my restlessness. I turned it off, the record needle gri…

I need some music

Some music for food

To fill me up

I’m in such a mood

But I’m too far down

To pick out a song

And if someone helps

Just to move me along

I’d thank you to spin me

A tune that will lift

Me out of the doldrums

A personal gift

I’m stuck he…

"Your mother teach you any magic, boy?" Thomas scowled again, and Eric thought, He sure does get that from his mother.

"Some. What do you need."

Eric look at the grounds they were on. Just big enough for what he needed. "I need a summoning circle." He…

"Would you like to be a magical girl?"

The ad popped up on her screen for the third time. "Why won't you bug off?" she asked, clicking the ad blocker to attempt to block it again.

"Please wait. I need your help," pleaded the cute little mascot on the ad.

…

Inside the safe was a rack of thin metallic briefcases, bearing coded nameplates.

Badger, Dragon, Efreet… Raven.

I tugged on the case, but it wouldn't come free. Then I noticed the warning placard inside the door of the safe.

"NOTICE: Secure Files wi…

He felt the barrel of the shotgun against the back of his head. He never even heard the old man approach.

"Boy, you have 30 seconds to explain why you're in my house," Eric growled.

Thomas cleared his throat. "I'm your son."

The pressure on the back of…

The faintly glowing creature approached the girl sitting at her desk, frustratedly typing away on her keyboard. It leapt lightly onto the corner, peering at her work.

It sat, curling a dainty tail round itself, watching as she continued typing, jumbled me…

We weren't ready for the aliens, but should have been.

They first got our attention with a series of six X-ray bursts out beyond the orbit of Neptune, one for each of their massive ships. Each was so bright, it took hours to tell that this wasn't a comet…

Story is marked as mature

Joy, like meat and potatoes, is the good food of life. It nourishes and strengthens, improving the mind and the will - though its effects are perhaps slow and difficult to observe. It is best noticed by its absence.

When the joy is gone, however, when sa…

Anxiety cripples

Even the strongest brain.

Anxiety says “go back in the house.

You are never going to be good enough.

What if you fall?

What if you pass out?”

What ifs an endless stream.

.

Here I am,

My feet pounding the ground

Trying to be louder than t…

My Roller Coaster Buddy,

The man who’d “bomb” my hair,

A man of integrity, kind and fair.

Who loved to tease,

Who was silly and always had fun,

Everyone has a favorite memory of “Brother Murphy”.

To everyone he would meet,

He’d give them a …