I could only watch as Hard Drive jury-rigged the defibrillator to serve as a power source. The old red tool chest in the garage was full of both automotive tools and computer parts—cables, chips, drives, discs. He grabbed a few cables and opened up anothe…

"What does 'MEMENTO Undelete 256 City Park East' mean?" I asked Acrylic, holding the paper in front of him.

He rocked in his chair. My heart broke to see him tied to it, but we couldn't risk him panicking or breaking free before we restored his memory. "…

"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…

Story is marked as mature

“Not quite evil mother-in-law material but not fun either, I imagine.” I switched back to a happier subject. “When's your next performance, exactly?”

“Next Wednesday—a week from tomorrow.”

I blinked at the assertion that tomorrow was Wednesday. Such a s…

Lamar took a chocolate drumstick out of the waist high freezer and spun out the door, leading with his shoulder.

“Be back on Friday.” he called back to Ashish.

The Indian man didn't say anything, returning only a long suffering look. As Lamar turned awa…

“Is this a day time or a night time thing?” I asked.

“Nights exclusively which is why I can go. Ralph and Grandma Jean stay in and watch the baby.”

“They don't come with you? Wait a minute, what baby?”

“My sister's kid.”

“Jesus, there's a fourth perso…

I was sitting on a bench. It was cold. The weather, not the bench. Though because the bench was made of a thick, stone slab, it too was cold, not that it is worth noting.

This was a strange place. Lights, people, strange writing that I had never seen bef…

When I look around me, the world is sunny, despite the real weather. When I think about you, my heart is content in the knowledge that you are right where you are supposed to be.

I am balanced, centered, and able to accept things as they are.

The best…

Wish you were here

In my shoes

In my heart

.

Wish you could feel

All the love

All the pain

.

Wish you understood

How I feel

How I ache

.

Wish you felt it, too.

Never have

Never will

Story is marked as mature

"You're afraid of me."

"Afraid? Afraid? No, I'm not afraid of you. I pity you. Pity that you sold the best parts of yourself for power. Pity that you lived eight more meaningless years. Pity that your family will never know what happened to you. My famil…

I feel like I'm trapped inside a box. It might be a coffin. The air is oppressively stuffy and it's impossible to move so I can't tell where the walls are. I appear to be laying on fabric warmed by my own body.

It occurs to me that I should be breathing.…

You know it's damn difficult to focus these days so you don't. You distract yourself with Youtube videos and Netflix, focusing on the new Dave Chappelle special and reruns of Friends or the Office. The outside world can burn without your help. It's beyond…

As the music changed to The Bobs' "Zombie Jamboree," so too did the mood of the two ex-lovers change from one of tentative friendliness to one of more serious feeling. It was time for the vocalizations of turkeys; the time of refreshment was over.

"One mo…

BEGIN MESSAGE STOP

"DRAGON'S TEETH" PIRATE CUTTER ENCOUNTERED 3103 4103 STOP

SHIP SUSTAINED HEAVY CASUALTIES FROM MARKSMAN ON BOARD UNNAMED CLIPPER AT RANGE STOP

DESCRIPTION MATCHES PACKAGE STOP

"FORGOTTEN SHORES" MARTIS LIGHT CRUISER IN PURSUIT 2810 5101…

The Core Systems Alliance was not a great military power.

It was the only power, which is not quite the same thing. We did not have seasoned veterans, brilliant generals, or ambitious young officers. That had all been outsourced to private security com…

Keshintai's correspondence trailed off over the last couple of months of the year, until eventually, all of Taka's letters went without reply. Concern filled Taka's mind, and she began to worry that something might have happened to her friend. The only co…

Apart from Ryle, the other thing that the captain (and, of course, he would not be the first to do so) would ask about was the shooting. And, since there was nothing but my own supposition, I was more than happy to tell him about marksmanship.

There are …

An hour later, we were in the air, strapped into the cabin of a supersonic transport plane. The engine howl was eerily muted at these speeds, and we could almost talk normally.

"What are we doing, Lieutenant?" Boris asked quietly, eying the pair of mar…

What followed was not so much a mission briefing but a series of pronouncements from the little computer.

"You have both been granted code word access to ELECTRIC RAVEN, and may not discuss information under this classification with anyone except…" the P…

Lenn struggled against currents of howling wind and driving rain so strong they felt like the spirits of speeding buses. Keeping the cat protected was almost too much for him. He tucked the arm cradling the cat further back like an American football playe…

Hi, Skylar! There's something I've always wanted to ask you, ever since I was a guppy. Is it really nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of life than to teach a horse how to water? Your opinion matters so much to me!

Also, do you like hugs? I'll send y…

I will figure it out. I'm applying my best thoughts to it every day.

It happened three days ago. By the end of the week, I'll have it.

I need to take this opportunity to set my thoughts down now, while the house is quiet and the cicadas are thrumming th…

“Goddamned cat, you're like a living jump scare.” Lenn muttered.

The cat meowed plaintively, tail up in the air. Matted fur clung flatly to its body outlining a starved frame.

“Yeah, I don't like this weather much either.”

Cautiously, the cat padded fo…