You settle your stance once again, balancing the heavy extinguisher on your shoulder, which is getting sore. You wham it into the weaker part of the window even harder than before.

The good news is that the window pane drops out of the frame. It's all ove…

The man was young; curly blonde hair like a grown-up cherub and a lean, powerful body. He exuded confidence smeared with the oiliness of a sexual predator. He was dangerous. His smile was dark, never meeting his eyes. The fact that I saw his eyes frighten…

"BREAK IT UP! NOW!"

Billy was a lot older than most of the new arrivals at the orphanage. A human boy of nine, left parentless after an orc raid, Billy was not the usual blank canvas, but a somewhat educated child. As such, he had developed a specific …

They found the Governor waiting patiently in his office. He was staring out at the gathered crowds, but turned to face them when they came through the doors. Gareth, who had been the Foundry 2 foreman, swore up and down that he had seen a sneer of contemp…

The street was busy, noisy. People traveled quickly because the dark alleys snaking away hid secrets they refused to acknowledge. Cars honked impatiently as lights turned green and pedestrians clogged the crossings.

For hours, days, weeks, months, he sat…

You let loose a wild yell of fear and bravado, hurtling through the air as if in slow motion. You can hear your the crackling flames, the sound of what might be a collapsing wall, and ... what is that? Your scream sounds as if it's in harmony. It startles…

The smoke is making you a bit dizzy, but you manage to stick the landing. You resist the somewhat manic urge to do a flourish and bow to the gymnastics judges' panel. You carefully grip the edge of the window frame and look down to see what is beneath you…

She walks through a crowded plaza, a beacon of sultry beauty. She is temptation incarnate, a temptress with but one goal. She moves slowly, exulting in the wandering eyes of the men and not a few of the women. Many crave her. Others hate her. Still more c…

I stood on the bank and cast my line. A shining green and gold bass took my bait and flashed its scales just below the surface as I reeled him in.

Excited, I pulled him up to examine my catch. Each scale iridescent in the sun, it flapped its tail with po…

Zane Peters watched the news with growing anxiety. The Beast below was getting agitated again. That had been happening more and more.

There was a sense of pressure like that of an oncoming headache. He could feel that thick writhing coldness pushing, alm…

It's been raining for two days straight. No matter what I do I can't see how to stop what I started. Honestly, it's hard to see anything through the wall of water beyond my window. The house across the street was little more than a looming blur and the st…

I start thinking. Video game names are cliche, for the most part, appropriate though it may be. And, as much as it may fit the situation, sci-fi and fantasy names are also out. It just bugs me when people name their kids after movie characters.

We sit in…

I'm on the outside looking in. I see you inside, laughing, joy written on your face. The door is locked, but sometimes I can hear what you say inside.

This time, I'm not distraught. I'm not frantically beating on the walls to be let in. I'm not crying oc…

The player piano began the "Yoo Hoo" song: Stalky's cue.

Her sibling held the curtain aside as she made her way to center stage, her right arm in the costume's sleeve, and her left supporting the large, mostly-hollow head. It was warm and muggy, and Stal…

You know what? Don't speak to me. I'll only manipulate you and poison you with my words. My hurts fester and are infectious. They spew from me in fits of rage.

I can't let you in. What's lurking inside of me is the ugliest monster you've ever seen. It's …

I watched as you moved into a shotgun house with one bedroom and a yard only big enough for a shed. You were too busy to find a place on your own, anyway.

But I saw the truth.

In a tiny house, no one can stay the night. No one can stay unannounced. N…

The day was sunny, warm, but the slight breeze made it tolerable. Half the town seemed to be at the park. Laura treated her daughter Madelyn and her babysitter Lena to a picnic at the park.

"I know it's your day off, but I wanted to celebrate and you're …

"Coming up on the anomaly now," I whispered. "All seems normal."

"Copy that. Telemetry looks good from here."

The steady hiss of oxygen coming from the compressed tank on my back punctuated each step as I made my way over the uneven ground. As I did, th…

This is where my story begins. I am hungry and even the smell of the cabbages our neighbours are perpetually boiling is enough to make my mouth water. I open the cupboard door, even though I have opened it three times already, hoping that maybe a half emp…

Harold skidded to a stop next to the girl, his mass and motion nearly carrying him over her. He stopped just in time, the tips of his front paws just touching the flesh of the girl's arm. She didn't react, didn't even flinch. Her eyes flickered to the mas…

It's the question I didn't want to ask, and she didn't want to hear. "I'm... I mean, I know what I was, and I think I know what I will be. Right now, I don't..." I see tears welling up in those brilliant blue eyes.

I put my hand on top of hers. "Let's st…

Not daring to head down any of the halls, you feel safer in the dead center of the square. There's no ceiling here, so there's nothing that is likely to fall down upon you, and the water might provide some protection, as well. You take a seat on one of th…

"Yes, sir," he said, and closed the door with a slight bang. Odd, thought Howard as he lit a new and slightly bedraggled cigarette: Temple's out of sorts. What's got up his jumper today? Arnold raced for the door and--

.

The Turlock continued to stalk u…

Rachael's eyes could not focus. Where was the glass wall? Where was the bathroom door? It all appeared to be in a fog. The stripes slowly rose up the vanity. The thrumming fan and her syncopated heartbeat lulled her into a vague, uneasy gray of dissociati…

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