You take a deep breath, settle your feet, and smash the window with the fire extinguisher as hard as you can. There's a huge cracking sound and a triangular part of the window falls in; you jump back and are not cut, but you can feel the floor getting sti…

Sadie and one of Gulmar's rangers were on watch. Atull was her name, and that was all she knew. When Sadie had walked over, the orc had motioned to a place beside her. Sadie had taken the seat, and neither had said a word since. They stared into the darkn…

“Haha, mommy. You made a boob!” Kara Jean laughed.

Sam looked at the curved mound of sand. She supposed the rounded knoll did look like a boob. It was going to be domed roof, something that would make their castle stand out against the half a dozen other…

Damaran wove through the crowd with a thumb in his belt and glare for anyone that would meet his eye. It was a calculated posture designed to ward off would-be thieves. The sly ones would note the proximity of his hand and the apparent thinness of his mon…

A million people surrounded me on the First Day, faces lit with terror, their eyes burning with the fever of zealotry.

“Lifegiver!” one screamed, weeping openly. “Why is this happening?”

These were my people, my creation. I crafted each with love and pa…

Superficially, the last evening we were together had started out well but I sensed something of a distance separating us. I wanted to discuss it but she gently shushed me every time the subject came near to being spoken aloud. The subtext of finality grew…

She wakes up in the morning and can't go back to sleep. She attempts to move her blue frost bitten hands through the snow that surrounds her. With shallow breaths she takes drags of the cold air in, her lungs aching with each inhalation.

She wonders, i…

How I scream

Louder I scream

When did I become this person

I tear myself apart

And lose the pieces along the way

There's no going back from here

But that's okay

How I don't know

But forward is the only way to go

The tears prickle, always ready

Brimming fu…

Mornington did not need to close his eyes. Rather, there was a superposition of that which would be over that which merely was. Descending under erratic control, he fumbled with infinite possibility and finite perception. His exhalations slowed, turned to…

I followed the stream up to where I had dammed it a year ago. I was surprised it had held this long. It hadn't taken much to build, just a couple dozen rocks stacked in the right places. Looking back, I wondered why I had done it at all. I mean I knew the…

The god was silent for a time. Irritation appeared across its countenance, but it knew now it had no choice in this matter. It was merely processing this information, coming to terms with it, making peace with its new fate.

"Very well," it agreed. "I am …

If you take the covered bridge over the River Ren and follow the twisting road that bisects the stagnant waters of the Coracotta Swamp, you'll find sickly trees in ones and twos that grow more numerous the deeper you go, until their limbs form a spiderweb…

The inside of the tent was dark and cold and claustrophobic. Bree rolled over in her blanket, wrapping it tightly around her shoulders. Dan, her mom's new boyfriend, whispered something on the other side of the tent causing her mom to giggle. Bree rolled …

Mitaran nudged the trajectory of the chestnuts with a whispered charm and caught it with one outstretched hand. Always so casual, Katy thought, taking a sip of water to hide her expression.

"Hey, uh, Mitt."

"Mhmm?"

"What are you going to do next year? …

“Wicked are the men who dream and do nothing!”

The voice rang out above the early morning din of the market place. The accusation wasn't directed at me but in me it found a home and dug deep.

Before I knew it, my sandals had come to a stop in front of t…

You are a plague. I am a child.

You have the populace beguiled

And spell-bound as you stride around.

Your boots assault and salt the ground.

We see your staff sweep here and yon

In fear. You set your mark upon

The old and canny; young men hale;

Infants' f…

Lyrics, licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0, by robomoon. Set to rap on http://vimeo.com/robomoon/jiggledee-bum-mr . Contains a derivative of The Warning by Ficly member Lone Writer on http://ficly.com/stories/865 and story #18968 by The Silence, al…

“Why are you kicking me out? What did I do?”

Jack wouldn't quite meet my eye, staring just past my shoulder. He looked so pathetic standing there, shoulders slumped, hands stuffed in his pocket. I almost felt bad for him. Almost.

I didn't respond though…

The smallest agent, I:

The jot-and-tittle spy.

At times I can't be seen,

Both placid and serene.

At other times, a glimpse

Is seen. Like elves or imps

I flutter into view;

I'll not get caught by you!

.

I hide among the blooms

In fancy dining rooms

In da…

"Elarion, could you maybe help me for a bit?"

Selura had watched the young half-elf nervously peering around the corner, clearly afraid of his oppressor lurking nearby. The entire situation saddened her. She wished she could protect the young boy bette…

Moira couldn't understand it.

How could Selura, a woman she rather admired, be so forgiving of a drow elf, considering the incident.

Several decades ago, a drow raid had set upon a gathering of moon elves, a small clan living in the Moonwood, to the n…

Story is marked as mature

The journey was brilliant. They left a week early so Taka could offer Tamori Fakura her help in preparing the fireworks display. Taka had to teach Keshintai the basics of riding, and at first, she struggled, but eventually she got the hang of it and was a…

"The time has come," Tory said, "to speak of manly things. First, I want to return the unicorn horn you left at my place back in '78. Here."

Connie took it graciously, smiling bitterly. "My point exactly," he intoned. "But what's yours, Tory?"

I'll have t…

And now it was time for a reckoning. "Check, please," intoned Tory.

After settling with old Furn, it was time to talk some more, like before only more recently.

"So what do you think?" asked Tory, holding her breath...quite a challenge, if you haven't tri…