"Do you guys always have to show up with such inconvenient timing?" she asked the monster, not that it could answer or even understand her.

Aria slashed it with her axe, the monster emitting a strained cry as she made yet another gash in its side. Elect…

Aria jumped and slid down the roof, doing another small hop to get over the rain gutter, and landing on the soft, wet grass. She gently shook off some of the water, wet from chasing the monster through the sprinklers. Her least favorite part about fightin…

In mathematics, a point of inflection is a point on a curve where the concavity of the curve changes, a momentary point where the slope of the curve is equal to the slope of its tangent at that point. Points of inflection mark the transitions between upwa…

That's how I became a part of the Cold Hail Battalion (Give 'em Hail!). I was never carried into battle but I was often carried out of one. My dad, the one who accepted me, tried hard to get me transferred to an orphanage or a host family, but there was n…

Rain fell hard, threatening to drown the city but never quite committing to finishing the job. Tonight there was no wind and people felt safe using their umbrellas. All of them moving slow under black domes gave the streets the air of a funeral procession…

Glowing green magic flowed out of the green-haired girl and into the rocks, lighting up the etched runes.

Pain shot through her body, and she let out a high-pitched scream. It hurt more than losing the limbs in the first place. She grabbed the bed sheet w…

The girl whimpered in pain as a man made tiny incisions in her arm. Or... what was left of her arm, anyway.

"Sh, it'll be alright soon," the green-haired girl nearby said softly to her, taking a break from what she was doing to stroke the small girl's hea…

Etril cowered in fear. This was it. She'd known it was coming, but hoped it wouldn't be this soon.

...

No gunshot came.

"Forget it," the alien said.

Etril looked up, hesitantly. "...What?"

"Forget it, I'm not going to shoot you. It's not even worth it." S…

It had only been a few months since the invasion. Aliens had killed a lot of humans, others were just missing.

Presumably dead.

Or, with any luck, if such a word was appropriate, they were still alive, but being used for research. No one dared try to imag…

Anthony blinked a couple times, hard enough that fireworks of white light appeared across the dark space of the inside of his eyelids. He'd read the same sentence four times and he was still stumbling across the words like he'd never seen them before. He …

Hunter didn't know where she was. It was hard to make anything out. Impossible, really given how exceptionally dark it was. There was nothing but the cold, wet floor underneath her, almost slick from condensation. Walking around proved useless, as it se…

She lay on her new planet. How wonderful it was to have her own planet, as she'd always deserved. Really, she had an entire solar system all her own, but it was just a tiny corner of the infinite universe.

One day, she wanted to have more. But this was en…

Pink hair again. It hadn't been pink since ... that time when ... and it all went normal again. I was normal. But not now. The dream tore through my mind, Aether burned into my skin, the skin changing, turning, petrifying. Pink hair falling. Eyes followin…

Roger had been in the cradle of the marula tree's branches for three days.

Those three days hadn't been comfortable. His body had been signalling him for the past day that it would be better off on solid ground. For now, that was unthinkable.

Nutritio…

"Humanity should be still and calm." The tall, faintly luminous figure placed a six fingered hand up to a the transparent field of shimmering green energy that showed a hazy image of a spinning planet dominated by blues and whites and greens. "We've giv…

The moment was bright and golden, like summer sunlight. We pulled off caps, wiping foreheads and setting wooden bats aside to sit down. There was the popping of bottle caps, toasts declared, bottles raised. We chatted animatedly, full of vigour at our suc…

"- Come in, I've lost your signal. I say again, -"

I stopped when my partner put a hand on my shoulder.

"You're scaring the civilians."

I let go of the transmit button with some reluctance, suddenly aware that wide-eye stares were following my pacing o…

"Morning, Aralis!" The blonde girl bounced into the shop, effortlessly slipping behind the counter and slipping an apron over her head.

"You're late," the other teased.

"By like, two minutes! The shop isn't even open yet!"

"I know, I'm teasing. Jeez Kri, …

I never knew what happened to them. I never remembered it when it happened. Sometimes I didn't even remember how I got there.

I could only figure it must be my fault. I was the only person left standing.

Left alive.

I was always unharmed, so I could o…

I sat alone on the beach, skipping stones into the inky black water. The sun had long since gone, leaving the stars alone to try to light the night. A cold breeze blew, forcing me to shiver for warmth.

If anyone was here, they would've advised I go insid…

You can hear it in the still of the night if you're quiet and calm. Wait until the crickets and owls are silent. Wait until the wind dies and the willow leaves are motionless. Wait until the clouds obscure the moonlight and leave the world under a veil of…

She'd never seen Elora that upset before. Never worn one of the necklaces? She wasn't really much of a jewelry person. Elora knew that. This one was special.

She waited a few minutes before pulling out her phone.

"El, please, don't be like this. You can…

Aidra played gently with the necklace she was wearing. A beautiful, raspberry-colored gem made up most of the pendant, held in place by ornately woven strands of silver, a small ring connecting it to a thin silver chain. The boy who'd given it to her said…

"What a pain." She pulled the scythe back out. Not a drop of blood on it, and not a mark left on his body. Not by her scythe, anyway.

Eris walked off. She'd become numb to death by now. Being there and collecting the soul was just part of the job.

A cou…

Eris stepped out of the dank cavern and into the cool night air. A gentle breeze blew past, carrying the sounds of the nearby city with it. She smiled, looking down upon the city, with all its bright lights and busy people.

Oh, if only she ever came here…