the year is 900 billion. the universe dims and reddens as star formation declines and space stretches the light of the aging remainder.

undead armies now clash across desolate planetscapes and megastructures, the drafted minds of eons past brought to fig…

There's no place that can feel like home

Without someone who's kind to you.

Most any place, if I'm alone,

Fills me with heartache ochre-blue.

.

The grandest palace, opulent

With every comfort you could want;

The cozy cottage; finest tent

Without your love…

"What could be wrong?" she said in a deadpan way that meant she wasn't convinced things were right. "All my needs are met."

"Name them," the voice demanded.

She leaned towards the mirror to apply her face. "A house, food on the table, a car, a family, a…

I sat high up on the cliff. The Dragon and his Rider had departed for the day far off over the sea. It was cloudy the air was heavy with moisture. Fog clung to the crags between the sea and my perch above.

That's when it hit me. I'd run deep into the fog…

The medic paused for the span of several breaths, staring into the distance while he thought.

"The chances of survival if I operate now are not high. We should take every chance we can to get him to a situation better suited for surgery."

Beckton flipp…

Well hi there.

I was feeling panicked a few days ago, then gathered my strength, then did something brave, and now...

well, the people didn't get the message too clearly, it seems, still sending the same kind of boolsheet

and I don't know what to do about…

"I got your message loud and clear."

"What message was that?"

"I keep clinging to the past. I keep thinking about a time when I was what you needed. But I can't move on and join you in the future if I keep looking back."

"I never said any of that."

"N…

The elephants decide to jump

Upon the sofa

bump bump bump

Unfortunate, as I see now

The couch had people

Holy cow!

But never mind, it's time to change

A cheaper one in

My price range

Four hundred dollars more or less

For couch and cousins

What a mess

The …

"Enfield Three, Sphinx. Report. What is the enemy force composition?"

"Copy, Sphinx. We are under fire from the shipyard defences. Nothing heavy yet, but..."

I tuned them out and went back into the shipyard channels.

"Sayre checking in. I'm moving to F…

Story is marked as mature

I did my best. I did my worst.

Somehow, these two were one.

"I'd never wish to hurt you, Dear,"

I call, and aim my gun.

.

Oh, can I even learn from this?

Or will it still recur?

I try to analyze my sins--

They scatter, melt, and blur.

.

Perhaps self-love …

Today my nails are red; so are my shorts,

And, as I shaved my arms at CCH,

That colour flowed again. And, glad to see

My blood come dripping down, I slashed again.

Oh, fire-engine red looked fair to me--

.

But then I thought back, and I bit my tongue,

Rec…

The old officer's expression was open. Instead of mockery, I read nothing but pain.

I stepped back, momentarily confused.

"I - I should go."

Poryse nodded quietly and drained the last of his coffee, as if the past ten seconds had been entirely imaginar…

Poryse raised his mug and took a sip.

"Not always, but it's a joy to be here when it is. Oh, excuse me - captain on the bridge!"

I turned at the same time as the officer. Captain Jerem held his gold-topped cane under one arm and leafed through the duty …

The squid-girl resurfaced through the bleak waters. “Quick! Can you swim?”

I affirmed that I could and before I could do anything she had wrapped her cold tentacle fingers around my wrist and pulled me in.

The water was dark and as she guided away from …

The wind blew and gusted to Maya's back, blowing her long black hair into her face as she walked through the icy park that morning. They were like thick tendrils wrapping around her head and, ever annoyingly, kept fluttering around her mouth and her eyes.…

Do we ever recover from blows that we're dealt?

Do we just learn to live with the dent?

Does the sting ever fade from the pain that we've felt;

Does it mingle with each sentiment?

.

When a child's full of life, they have power to spare.

As I grew, a full …

My phone chimed. Text.

Where are u?

"I'm all checked in."

What room?

"314, okay? Stop worrying! See you tomorrow."

I took a shower to wash the road trip grime from me. 12 hours of driving was exhausting. No longer smelling like french fries, I fl…

A red light shines from way above. We are being taken away from home. From our Father.

We are going to be taught. Taught to be real. To talk like Father. To walk like Father. That is what he said.

"You must remember that you are not human. You must…

"L-- Lori said--"

Layla sighed. "She was wrong. There is at least one known survior. I can only help if you will allow me to, though, Miss Richards."

"Don't think I really--"

"Believe that? You've seen me kill a monster in a single strike and yet you d…

It was his need that broke me. I knew what it was like to be in a position where there was no other options than to ask for help even if I didn't take it. For him to be here now, asking me for help, it spoke of powerful desperation. In it, I could see a…

And when my time comes for a nat'ral death,

Some future era of our shared, shamed land,

I hope and firmly plan that I shall be

Already gone and, I hope, barely missed.

At best, of course, I'd be received by God,

But as it's likely that I'll break His rule…

Yellow flakes spiraled down from above to settle on the city like the ash of some great holocaust. The yellowness that filled the air wasn't the pure color of a sunflower but rather a corrupted yellow like rancid butter. Near the ground, the dancing motes…

The trooper held his burn. I could feel him tapping sideways to keep up with the boarding tunnel continuing to flex, all while the delta-vee kept piling up. My inner ear, confused, suggested that we were flying up out of a well, with the ship below and t…

Nyquist's channel was squawking again.

"Break break break. Enfield One, Sphinx. High priority redirect."

"Enfield is holding the dockside end of the boarding tunnel, awaiting all-clear. Send traffic."

"Boarding tunnel may be about to open to vacuum. Sphi…