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 …

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 …

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…

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…

"And how will you do that?"

"It is a particular truth about secrets, Astarlane -"

"Please stop calling me that."

"- Astarlane, is that when you stop and look in just the right place, they betray themselves."

He stopped, and looked around. Just like th…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Beckton was waving a pair of troopers up to a delivery van that was missing most of its roof when he saw Osterley leap out from behind it and hare off up the street.

"What's that girl doing, sir?"

"That girl is Agent Osterley, Private Grouse. With me,…

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 sat on the bench in the park. It was raining and the clouds were dark. Faint rumbles echoed in the distance from a direction that she couldn't discern. The storm clouds were heavy enough that the sun was but a memory to her and she'd honestly lost tra…

Story is marked as mature

Tom looked around, but did not see anyone.

The voice said "Tom, enter the building in front of you and walk upstairs and to apartment 509." Tom did so.

"There is a large cardboard box sitting right before the apartment door", continued the voice. "I wa…

He sat in his car, parked in front of a small white house in Podunk, Florida. He had never been here before but he had been assured by the clerk at the sole convenience store on the edge of town that this was the house occupied by the woman who had just w…

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…

Osterley approached Newkirk as he placed a sheet of waxed canvas on the floor and unscrewed the cap from a small metal cylinder. She didn't say anything, but smoothed out her skirts and knelt down with him.

The wizard handed her the canister, which she …