Story is marked as mature

A shameful smile lurks in the corner

of every fold of fat

and widening waistline

gleefully posted by narcissists everywhere

To serve as personal justification

for one more cookie

Nervous but needing to do something a bit dangerous, you decide to take the fire extinguisher off its hook and carry it with you. But where will you go? Back to the window, or to the end of the hallway ...the one with the classrooms to one side and th…

After browsing for almost twenty minutes, the customer looked ready to leave. Eric put the phone down, and walked over. "Sorry, sir," he said. "Can I help you find anything?"

"I don't think so." The man looked around one last time. "This establishment do…

Story is marked as mature

I sat in front of the television. It had been a long night & a long day full of things in my head that most people probably wouldn't be able to fully understand.

That was ok though. I wouldn't want them to be able to understand what I went through every …

The Priest lifts the lid away from the box and sets it to the side. The smoke inside the box swirls before him like an angry storm but remains in place for the moment. He dips a finger into the smoke, drawing out a long tendril of grey vapor. Then, with h…

The reeds outside swayed, swept by a breeze that I couldn't feel. The candles never wavered so it wasn't just me. The two mountains known locally as the Two Sisters stood high and dark against the star-filled night sky.

“Why do we still wait? It's dark e…

He pushed the door open and stepped in without ceremony. There wasn't much to see - a dusty cloak, warm and practical. Nice boots, made well and well worn. The shape of a weapon underneath as his cloak slid back.

But that wasn't what caught my attention.…

"HELP! Help! Help...."

There is nothing you can do for whoever was calling out. It's probably too late already. You never realized that you weren't alone in that building.

Feeling obscurely guilty, you stumble to your feet and move away from the rema…

"How do you know if you like someone?"

The question hung in the seven-hundred mile space between us. Even though it was almost three in the morning, I turned the question over and over in my mind. The first couple of answers were almost trite in their …

One of these crazy old nights, before the sun comes up. The wicked wind whispers and moans.

A boy with fiery eyes is waiting for an angel in white.

He found out a long time ago what a woman can do to your soul, but this voice keeps whispering: "She was j…

The orc rangers looked at each other. Sadie could understand that - she could hardly believe what she'd just seen either.

Gulmar broke the silence, grunting in approval.

"Fire and greensmoke! That," he grinned, "was a sight to behold. She is worth holdi…

After digging all day yesterday and into this morning, I found it, 76 feet down.

The sudden daylight and air seemed to revive the being; the mental ringing increased shrilly.

"You can't!"

I lost touch of the page, stumbled as though from a great fall. The assorted people in the room stared at me as though I appeared out of thin air. Picking myself up, I met their eyes, pleading, "You can't go by any name you've had through you…

Reaching the line of fire in the hallway, you prepare to toss the water onto the flames. As you do, you smell the odor of gasoline, which you had failed to notice before, probably because you were too frightened.

You fling the contents of the bucket on t…

Story is marked as mature

I remember that night vividly.

Do you?

I remember what you wore: a black t-shirt with a short denim skirt and a matching denim jacket that was covered with buttons of all your favorite bands. All ska and punk.

I remember how you smelled. It was exactly…

"You can do it." My brother's voice carried more necessity than encouragement. He rescued his daughter from a toppling stack of boxes. She screamed despite being uninjured.

"What was that?" my sister in law called from upstairs in alarm.

"Nothing to worry…

Having failed my dears, I sent myself to the corner as punishment. I've been there more than a year.

Maybe they're now safer from me, but I'm not safe from them, and they're still not pleased.

But I was thinking. I've been saving my energy all this time. …

All signs pointed to a rather violent end. The lights were off, the windows smashed. Curiously, the internet had been disconnected. Why would someone disconnect the the computers if they were going to blackout the house? I suspected that the intruder was …

What did weevils do, Curly? I hear you inquire.

Do they truly, maliciously fight fire with fire?

Can I trust an exterminatress with such dire

And harmful suggestions to be on the level?

.

Well I tell you, my girly, that what I maintain

Is true to the …

There! in the glist'ning starlit sepulchre,

Floating along by the gaping aperture--

There was Verandah, my love of yesteryear

As if alive, but she's gone. Then she drew near

Gently caressing my neck like a whiff of mist

She made me wonder, was I a som…

I'm summoning Sydney, and by my reckoning he'll appear Thursday, spade in hand, bearing lilies.