And now, like a spirit, your voice rings once more


How confusing to put them together:


Your voice, and your words, I could never expect


You would speak this way to me. Can we reconnect?


With the return of hot, muggy weather


Comes a new conversation. …

"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…

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…

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…

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…

“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…

He thumbed the keys upward so that they sprouted beyond his knuckles like metal spikes. Should he retread his steps back into the driving rain and try a different cross street or move through the alley that might house something in it? Straining his sense…

In my absences, the wreathes had dried out and disintegrated into sticks, fragments of leaf and broken needles. The rest of the house fared little better. Barely a half a dozen rooms showed some signs of use and half of those were furnished enough to make…

Sadie straightened and cast around for Astarlane. She spotted her bracing against a rock a few dozen metres distant, getting to her feet.

In the distance, there was unmistakably orcish shouting. Sadie motioned for close formation and advanced slowly.

Gu…

Ken tapped the bottom of his beer bottle against the table. It made the satisfyingly hard knock that only happens when thick glass meets sturdy wood. Stefano leaned back and rested his arm along the top of the red leather booth.

"What's up?"

Ken mumble…

Story is marked as mature

Sadie dodged Tenever's second blow, instinctively returning a feinting hit that caught him in the side. He collapsed under the force of the strike, grabbing her shoulders instead.

"Sadie!"

She twisted her shoulders to throw him, reaching for her combat …

[To continue, please visit this page: https://ficlatte.com/stories/41132/]

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…

Her thought invaded me like a snake.

She slithered into my mind late at night when I was trying to forget the damage that the day had done to me.

It had done a lot of damage. More than I was willing to share, yet still she slithered in through the crack…

Astarlane said nothing, but Tenever made a palm-inward up-down-up-down motion over his primary magazine pouch as they moved out.

What are we doing?

Sadie rolled her weapon and briefly pulled on the charging handle to check the brass in the firing cham…

A sudden volley of gunfire erupted from their flank. Astarlane and Tenever hit the ground; a fireteam of orcs stepped out of the trees, weapons firing with well-disciplined precision. The wraiths charged their position, but hulking figures stood their gro…

"Take these pills; they'll alleviate the pain a bit." I say and I'm secretly happy that he hasn't noticed that he is missing a leg, but I'm dreading every millisecond till when he notices.

His eyes widen, I can practically see his pulse get as fast as wh…

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…

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…

There was a camera - small, hidden - mounted on the hood of Trinity Keane's car, scanning forward in millimeter-wave, visible, and infrared. All of this transmitted itself to her bionic eye, in an offputting but, she had to admit, useful way - the visible…

Pyretta! Dear Pyretta, Sapphic Fire!

Of all the souls I've known, I love yours best--

Affection and compassion fill my breast

Whene'er we are together. I admire

.

Your courage, perseverance, and your power;

Your gentle reassurance when I'm stressed

And in…

“No, I wouldn't say you're fat.” Trent said, his face pressed against my back. Despite the heat of the apartment, it was a welcome comforting warmth. “But both of us could stand to lose some weight.”

I stiffened. Now his face was too close. It was in my …

Story is marked as mature

Layla marched through the snow, creating deep footprints. She despised this girl. Or-- she did. Everything she did was intentional-- there was no curse forcing her to act. But she was Rosa's friend. Rosa saw something in her. Risked her life for her.

S…