Grosser looked away. Averting his eyes didn't help. It didn't stop Marnie from flinging his accusations at poor Julia. The woman had seemed near a breakdown after the expedition's second night.

“Where did it go? What did you do with it? Cause I'm damn s…

The story first appeared in an issue of National Geographic. It chronicled a journey taken in the 1970s by a small band of backpackers. While travelling through the woods of southeast Alaska the group stumbled onto a ghost town.

The community appeare…

I can feel it happening again.

It's been a while...

Of all the worlds - I've lost count - that have truly captured my soul, only two stand above the rest.

One is a world of masks, the other is a world of monsters.

The rest, whether created by others or my…

"I ask you again," Malika said. "Who be you, and how be it you come to be here, just at this very moment? Be you a final test, holy man or not, to confirm my resolve, to baptize me in the fire of purification against the forces of Ashmar?" She could feel …

Birds, hundreds of them, squawked and chirped in a frenzied cacophony. Bigger ones used their wings to violently bat against their cages. I'd never seen so many in one place, much less in doors. All manner of birds in cages lined the cavernous hallways fo…

Captain Iremond paced the length of the bridge. He knew it wasn’t good for the crew’s morale but he couldn’t stop himself. Today he was in charge for the first time. He’d be a fool if he wasn’t nervous. Even if everything went to plan, men were going to d…

Story is marked as mature

I can see the stars, but I don't have the fuel.

My trajectory is set, but I'm gazing off to the side.

I'm going somewhere, but not where I'm looking.

The possibilities are limitless, but my choices finite.

I started too early, and I'll be too late.

W…

The man strode rather than walked into the forest. He had the mass of his Church behind him, and so he had nothing to fear. The creatures of the night howled and cried to each other, but he was unmoved. His defenses were stalwart, and any attack would bre…

Crush fresh melancholy with a pestle dusted with self doubt until a paste forms. If paste is too watery, add more self doubt until desired consistency.

In a small bowl, whisk your favorite sad melodies vinaigrette with two handfuls of uninterrupted time.…

The forest lay in perfect stillness around her, the bodies of the beasts she had slain strewn haphazardly all about. She stood, head tilted forward, listening for the next attack. It never came. She held the sword aloft, the blue raging flames towering ov…

The little girl entered the forest, armed with nothing but her courage, her grim determination, and the rusty sword strapped to her back. There were monsters in those woods - she could hear their howls, their cries to one another - but she was not afraid.…

Matthews woke up, head flat against his desk, arm curled around a bottle of apricot brandy. It was the scream of the work whistle that did it.

Moving nothing but a shaking hand, as if it were the spider-hourglass emblem of his Ministry of Spies badge, he…

Story is marked as mature

I carried my father's post on my left shoulder as I walked back to the front of the property. I took care to avoid the golden post, though I knew it would not harm me. It was merely an omen, a message from the gods, but it was better not to tempt fate. In…

"I can't get back to the tunnels. We have to find a place to crash." Hard Drive said when the top sealed over the convertible. He made a few hard turns, zig zagging through town to try and lose the last drone. It crashed into the side of a building with a…

It's one of those mornings--an anything-is-better-than-pretending-to-sleep-while-I-actually-just-worry sort of morning.

It's the third morning of its kind this week. I'll be into work two hours early. Again.

I've flipped through the radio stations, a…

"Hey," came a less than confident voice, "How about you stop, or else...you know...the fighting, and stuff."

Three surly thugs looked from their would be victim, a timid businessman, to see a lone figure clad in impossible armor standing under the street…

Onwards and forwards, path guided by faith, Orthael strode on. He did not see where his feet fell, he did not know where the end of his journey lay, he did not drive the weapon that tugged him onwards on its lethal dance. The golden light at the tip of th…

The guard in front of the incubator chamber checked Alan's ID carefully, moving it to see the holograms dance. Mother as always hired the best. For herself.

“Sorry for your loss,” the guard said.

“She'll be back soon,” Alan replied, staring at the seedp…

With a speed and grace divine, Orthael spun to receive the blow to his shield. His foe held close, as if embracing a lover, hissing wildly.

The shadow was humanoid like its puppets, for it too had once been a man. It was a flickering silhouette of a thin…

"Not who you were expecting?"

The snake dropped from the branch, out of view before emerging mere heartbeats later - as a wolf. Its cold yellow eyes weighed heavily on Rahmi's neck.

"I doubt there are any other shape-shifters here, so I'd wager you are e…

I'm trying to care less about what other people think of me: trying not to perpetually perform for an imagined audience, trying to forget all the invisible eyes on me.

4am in the dark lair of my study, two locked doors between my face and the world...

…

It's a site issue - Ethel hasn't been able to figure it out. We were trying to upgrade the code to a more modern system which wouldn't have the same issues, but... life happened.

Sorry :(

(Posted as a story because I can't comment on your story or send …

It's so frustrating not knowing why things are the way the are. I'm on a familiar street. I think it's my own but it's hard to tell. It looks and feels like I should know it but there is no sense of recognition. It's night time and the street is dark, alm…