Story is marked as mature

Story is marked as mature

When I try to picture a faultless face

I see smooth marble curving easily over defined musculature

The epitome of beauty, of strength

and I long to hold that perfect promise against my weathered features

But when my fingers reach that unmarred surface…

I have erred.

Jeopardised my mission in a way I haven't for so very long. Cleaned it as well as I could, didn't I?

I did.

Yes I did.

No matter - they will find it, with their crime scene specialists and their Luminol and their databases and their traine…

A wholly imaginary girl appeared at the end of his desk as he typed. His mind immediately jumped to the word "girl" but she was in fact a "woman," by any real definition. He had just always thought of her as youth personified. A late teen for all eternity…

Story is marked as mature

"Are you," the oaf of a child paused for effect, "...in?"

Arlis shifted his weight. He eyed his would-be comrades, an assortment of boys he'd seen in the schoolhouse. Generally, he'd seen them in the back of the room, doing anything but pay attention. …

When all other allies

Abandon my cause

I practice my howling

And sharpen my claws

With tears hidden closely

Behind shadowed doors

I plan perfect revenge

And haunt distant shores

What lying companions

That called themselves friends

All face hidden from me

…

Raised voices from inside greeted his booted arrival announcement, but it took him a few seconds to realize that somehow no-one seemed to have heard him.

Grims paused, halfway up the porch steps, one foot raised - a pointer-dog parody.

Grims listened.

“W…

"This is Tonto. Anyone receiving, over?"

"Tonto, this is Sundance. Good to hear someone else on this freq, over."

"Likewise, Sundance. We're headed to Fort Benning to regroup. You have any news?"

"We're from Benning. The whole place is gone."

"..."

"…

Story is marked as mature

Thinking of you.

A summer dream. Violently happy.

All the love... Absorbed in you, Oblivious.

One time, Red light means go.

Sudden death! Passenger.

Nobody’s fault but mine.

Oh, no!

Pray for me. Save me!

Roads: Relentless Reminder.

The family. The funera…

Later that night, I came back from work my shirt covered in blood, just itching to take a shower. I was just about to open the bathroom door when I heard a thudding sound. Cautiously, I walked over to the light switch, only to trip over a large squishy o…

"We can create, but not collaborate!" shouted the ficlatte patron from atop the saucer. It only served to make her a few inches taller.

"We can't hear you!" called the techie trying to connect a mic to a giant speaker but clearly not having brought the ri…

I have suffered brutal betrayals these past months, betrayals no one should have to endure. I have wept and bled and fought and clung to life by any excuse I have been able to find.

I have endured betrayals of the mind and body. Depression. Anxiety. Para…

Calloused feet, like sandpaper, were no match from the hot, midday sidewalk. She had considered the grass, but thought better of it. She was an outsider, and it wouldn't be polite to walk through a stranger's grass.

The houses lining the streets were al…

He eased himself onto the plastic seat in the waiting room – seemingly every hospital on the planet used the same, uniquely uncomfortable seating – and cradled her in his lap. It took a long time before she stopped crying and longer still before the shive…

"I don't know what to do." That's what I hear

So many times. I say this constantly.

Yet what I mean, I cannot say for sure--

I only know I'm lost, it's hard to see

.

The purpose in my life; it's hard to feel

What's best to do--what I need most in life

And…

Sheriff Briggs eyed the man leaning against the dark Chevy. The pocket of tobacco in his lip had started to sour. "Been round here long?"

"Nope, just passing through."

"Hunting?"

"Nah. Wouldn't know what to do with a deer if I caught it. Hate to waste …

Vexedly, I tapped the glass whose sloping walls warped and elongated the bookcases and fireplace of my study. It was dishearteningly thick, the Lessening having worked exactly to my specifications. Previously, when placing the bottle horizontally in it's …

"What has been lost can be found at Building Grachkin, Floor 60, Row 95, Shelf 7, Case 39 between 9:30 and 9:40 tomorrow morning."

The note was unsigned and apart from the location referred to, nothing on either side of the paper indicated its origin. I …

Felicity paced in the sand slowly, eyeing the tide wash up and run away. Bones of small animals seeped up through the sand, separating her toes.

"What to do, what to do..."

Her sisters, triplets, all fit in to the family like pegs in a board. Veronica, Ve…

We floated in the serene darkness of the south-eastern hydroponics dome. The plants were in their night cycle, the air smelled of organic matter, and the swelling Earthrise touched everything with a hint of blue.

"I'm going to miss this old place."

I th…

Captain Adriana Milosovic felt the deck tremble beneath her feet. It was subtle, barely even there at all, and yet it was enough that her senses came to high alert. She glanced around the bridge at her crew, but they were all engaged in their own tasks. N…

Ryan Gonçalves stared into his drink at an airport bar. The bar was disgustingly new and trendy, with its former Starbucks-esque earth tones phased out in favour of post-Starbucks decor, all garishly bright contrast. The drink was something lime-green and…