I am a dead man walking. That's not a metaphor, not a promise of a future event the way you usually think of it. I really am dead -- and have been for some time now.

I walk the streets of this city. I pass by people on the sidewalk, and they instinctivel…

“Are you ready yet?”

Mark's voice sounded thin and petulant through the door. Irritated, Gemma closed her eyes and shook her head. No she wasn't ready. Every beauty technique had failed her. The dress she had bought for this vacation was all wrong.The bl…

The Silver Skies was surprisingly spacious, for a clipper. Wooden crates lined two cargo bays in the side of the ship, while a larger stern bay housed two launches and the larger items of cargo.

"The captain would like to apologise for the mess," the f…

She wore a smile, and not much else. "Glad to see your dress code is still... relaxed," Eric said. "You look good. 20 years has changed you. For the better."

Elena's smile widened. "Why, thank you, Eric. I didn't expect compli..."

"Especially," he inter…

"So, how do you know she was lying to you?"

Eric sighed. "Because that's all she does!" He yelled.

Thomas looked at him. "That's an exaggeration, but what about this particular time makes you so sure?"

Eric took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.…

Astarlane was not with them. She was gone, folded into her cloak on the other side of the fire, her mind somewhere else entirely. She had been here before, in brief moments and scattered audiences, but she sensed this time was different.

She floated towa…

At the conclusion of the firefight I moved two of my controlling units closer to the High Senator. Local sensor capability had been significantly degraded due to defensive countermeasures deployed during the exchange of fire, which included the city datal…

"Why can't I remember the trip here? Never mind deciding to come here?"

"I don't know?" Her head snaps up. "I didn't drug you or anything, if that's what you're thinking!"

"No!" I have a sudden need to make sure she knows I don't think that. "I don'…

But then I hear a tiny sound

That stirs my mem’ry, brings me ‘round

To former joys. I used to know.

“Dear Anna? hi, I’ve missed you so!”

And I once more do hear that voice

I’ve loved so long, and I rejoice,

I’d never thought to hear them more,

Outside …

“I'll have the files brought here. You can sleep in the ah guest room at the of the hall. I hope that you'll excuse me, we rise early here, and being up late is quite taxing for a man in my condition.” Doctor Francis smiled coldly before adding, “I don't …

Tenever landed hard, his wards snapping along with several ribs. Struggled, mind blank with pain, under the weight of Ferris' charred and burned body. Pushed and squeezed, wriggled and crawled out from under the remains of a man who had once been a frie-

…

Story is marked as mature

We traveled again, the tunnel growing narrower and wider at sporadic intervals. At times we were able to walk side-by-side. At others we were forced to move one behind the other, and when we did, we each took turns leading the way forward. When you led yo…

I've decided to picture a bright future

Where I recapture the brilliance of my youth

And retain the wisdom of my mistakes

Where I have a partner who I trust

To love me through thin and thick

Where I'm healthy and happy

Of course

Because I'm bored with m…

The hut was stifling. Sweat dripped down my back. Still the natives paraded their woes before me like peasants before a King. At least I was in the shade and still alive. The cannibals on this island eat anything that is not useful, or more useful as food…

"We've got it."

Captain Khan's tablet filled with lines of text and numbers. A massive spreadsheet, with some sort of unreadable data, plus a long program, rendered in some programming language.

A second message popped up onscreen.

"Target was not bank,…

I never understood what I'd done that was wrong,


Why you exiled me thus from my life.

Was it something I did? Was it something I said?

I strapped me to a table, I taped still my head


Underneath the hot lights. I was cut with a knife


But my brain wouldn…

Tenever watched himself bring Sadie back with the craftsman's satisfaction, knowing his protective wards had served their use. He remembered this particular layer, for use in situations just like this. In case of his own incapacitation through manipulatio…

We're standing on ice

Two separate blocks surrounded

By ice water that might as well be

100 miles apart

And yet I'm tempted to look

Beneath the waves of

Our shallow conversations

To see if our icebergs are one

I want to swim past

Hellos and How-Are-Yo…

In the microfiction format you have the luxury that characters need not be as complex as in longer forms. Those that appear can be crafted to serve a purpose, and this gives you much finer control over your scene - you know what and who is going in, and y…

Story is marked as mature

You leap back over the fire, singeing yourself a bit on the flames, but still, alive and not badly hurt. Skirting against the walls, you avoid the line of fire that leads towards the front of the building, past the chairperson's office.

You reach the op…

Back at my desk, things only got more bizarre.

"I've retrieved the plan files, sir."

"Good. Open them, and follow instructions. Thank you for your service, Lieutenant."

The SecDef hung up. Not even annoyed at the wait?

I stared down at the file case…

I've learned to trust that love exists aplenty,


And that most people long to be adored.


Some think that one love's all they can afford,


But open minds can oft embrace its bounty

-

And love the world entire, and each in turn!


My heart, so full of you, …

There's a new super-villain in town, Dark Cloak. Their face is never seen, but they seem powerful and definitely malicious; their most notable characteristic is a deep, black, flowing cloak or cape that serves Dark Cloak's many sinister purposes.

This eb…