Story is marked as mature

Have you ever wanted to fly?

Well let me tell you how to jump.

The weightless and dragging feeling.

When will the wind catch?

Do I want a bird, plane or Aladdans carpet to catch me?

Which could save this moment?

I didn’t want to fall through air, but soar…

No one intends to get addicted. At least that's what they say. The manufacturer says that it is an unintended consequence over which they have no control. They encourage prospective gamers to “play the game responsibly”. They even include the phone nu…

Three strangers crouched around a small fire, warming their hands. Despite that earlier two of them had come to the third's aid, they were keenly aware they weren't friends but momentary allies; strangers linked by their strangeness. None of them were su…

After lunch we had recess. As we exited the doors, most excitedly bolting for the best kickball and the honor of choosing their teams, a small group of boys hung back behind me. I was walking, not running.

The yard teacher had stepped into the middle of …

A flight of fancy.

I was walking listlessly one day and passed someone's private boat in their driveway. The boat was covered by a tarpaulin, light blue. I've seen cars, motorbikes, and even buildings covered with cloth, too, at times. For their protectio…

The heavily-rusted sign over the garage read "HAL'S AUTO REPAIR", and the address above the front door, which read "462", was missing bottom half of the 2. Spraypaint coated the lower half of the decaying brickwork on the ground floor wall.

Hard Drive ho…

I read until the words swam before my eyes. I found myself spinning the promise ring I kept on a chain around my neck. Dayne, where are you? I prayed. Please, be safe.

"Find anything useful?" Harlan leaned around a freestanding shelf, awakening me fr…

I said nothing to the god, merely turned my back to it and stepped to the golden post from which the spectre of death continued to emanate. The fleshing blade was still in my hand, and using the curved tip of that sanctified steel, I drew the point along …

In the entrance hall of the building, Beckton stayed as flat as possible against the wall and risked a look out of the open doors.

It was chaos. Cars were on aflame, filling the otherwise overcast palette with fiery yellow and rich orange tones. He could…

I looked up at the sky & saw a belt of densely packed stars banded across the blackness of night. The galaxy they represented felt so far away, though deep inside i logically knew that i was a part of it.

I wondered where exactly I fit in, though & the a…

Candle scent and fire warms

Blankets soft and cheerful talk

Sweetened words and loving arms

Safe indoors from winter's walk

Eyes grow heavy

Sleep's embrace

Lulls us to another place...

...

Wake

alone

to muffled snores

House has gone to bed

All asleep b…

Looking both over her shoulders and glasses, she raised her penciled eyebrows.

They'll hear

The pounding heart inside

My chest

Always beating

Never rest

And my breathing

Hoarse and gasping

Terror rasping

From my throat

Fire burning

In my face

From what she wrote

They'll see it flare

They'll see it there

And I, betrayed

Can't hide a…

Far from cities, streets or cars

In a dark and silent mood

Roger sees a thousand stars

Exit suddenly a wood;

Fireflies dance before his eyes

Light and bright like magic sparks:

You can see that Roger cries.

I want to stop feeling.

As much as I have become aware that humans are not machines, that there is an element to our existence that exceeds simple mechanical repetition, I have never more wanted to embrace the cold hard unfeeling metal and soulless drive …

Story is marked as mature

When he turned 100, the town wanted to honor his war effort and asked him what he wanted. “I want to see my Betty again” was his reply. With an outpouring of love, the statue of the woman in her young wartime years was built, just as he remembered her. Un…

I wonder if I'm unwanted. Am I the problem? I've always tried to make things better but I feel like I'm trying to keep the heart beating on a dying Clydesdale. Substitute any other majestic animal you want. For me the Clydesdale carries mass and dignity i…

Story is marked as mature

He licks his lips in anticipation, ignoring the searing pain of his torn tongue and the coppery taste of blood in his mouth. Carefully he reaches forward with both hands and takes hold of the box, gripping the top four corners between his thumbs and foref…

The box rests on a small, round table, perfectly centered on its rough surface. The man who purchased it stands across the room, leaning with one shoulder against the wall, staring at the box without really seeing it, lost in contemplation. Before him lie…

She came to him in a dream, like she always did. She was assigned to him and the dream state was the quickest avenue of communication between realms. She didn't usually have any sort of proper message for him, she was just there to, essentially, comfort h…

He aligned the glyphs in his head in a manner that he thought made sense. He drew them out onto a piece of paper and realized that they didn't.

He had been having trouble deciphering this language for months. Being the head of linguistics for the univers…

She was startled to notice they weren't icicles but tears. The Ice Queen didn't understand this emotion of "sadness." She'd certainly heard of it before, but she was quite certain she had never experienced it. Everyone said her heart was as cold as ice, b…