Our only warning was the earth crying out in a great grinding noise that swallowed all other sounds, a yawn of some half-asleep cyclopean giant angry at being awoken. The ground shifted and we clawed at each other to stay upright.

Amidst a roiling cloud …

Ethan walked away from the makeshift camp of encircled cars, leaving the forty or so people relying on him behind. He could feel his responsibility for them as a tightness in his shoulders. He didn't like it but it was a burden he had taken upon himself.

…

Walking by the general store, Juana Sanchez caught sight of her reflection in a barrel of rain water and stopped. She couldn't resist taking a better look after the day she'd had. The bullring had been especially brutal today despite the autumn weather. W…

Gone was the demure scion of the Burns house that I had known. In her place stood a crazed woman, nattering at nothing I could see though I could sense cold, electrical malignance blanketing the air above us. The motions of her body and limbs were stiff a…

There is a dark stain on my family that has been passed down through at least ten generations. It seems to affect men and women equally but no more than one in any given generation though we all seem to carry it. I can trace our weakness through four gene…

“Not quite evil mother-in-law material but not fun either, I imagine.” I switched back to a happier subject. “When's your next performance, exactly?”

“Next Wednesday—a week from tomorrow.”

I blinked at the assertion that tomorrow was Wednesday. Such a s…

Story is marked as mature

“Is this a day time or a night time thing?” I asked.

“Nights exclusively which is why I can go. Ralph and Grandma Jean stay in and watch the baby.”

“They don't come with you? Wait a minute, what baby?”

“My sister's kid.”

“Jesus, there's a fourth perso…

Sometimes I forget that home has a scent

A comforting reminder of a familiar space, habits, and expectations

It’s unexpected

The pain of it’s absence

Especially knowing how transitional my locations will be

Without it I am less

On my journey to become …

Unregistered college graduates drink through a discussion on the possibility of fewer student loans

-

Overworked parents scoff at the idea of paternity leave and cheaper child care

-

A dusty ballot woolgathers at the bottom of stack of medical bills

-

Why…

It wasn't funny anymore. The first few times, maybe, but it had been several hours now and there was nothing remotely humorous about it. He wasn't yet ready to give up, though.

He reread the note, searching for some tiny scrap of useful information. He h…

The storm was rising, fine red dust obscuring everything, but I checked my compass one last time before spotting Building Arrethe just ahead. The combination of night-vision and rubber gloves made me clumsy and slow, but it was better than the alternative…

Alone in a vast desert, atop a nameless stone tower, a single hooded figure watched the sky. Deep with the tower's belly a siren-like wail erupted. Closer and closer it grew, accompanied by slamming doors, rising as it ascended each floor until finally Ja…

"What happened to them?"

Beckton shrugged.

"It's not known. They disappeared, as they were meant to, in what was then the northern reaches of Roman Britannia," he paused for a moment, "Although the way that Hadrian's Veil came into being at this time su…

When the knock that everyone dreads came, it sounded hard and insistent against the frail wood of our apartment door. Fumbling noises came from the room that my mom and sister shared before the lights flickered on, banishing the comforting ambiguity of th…

Story is marked as mature

The elevator doors opened. Pandora stepped onto the 52nd floor of the Pouthena Building. Pulling her shawl closer, she gingerly set out for Row 31, her cane tapping a slow staccato on the marble tile as she walked. She had all the time in the world.

Care…

My face must have said more than my silence because she added quickly, “It's not a church or anything crazy like that. I might be a little old fashioned but I know right from right. It's more of a social. We meet at the Autumn Garden Theatre. You know the…

“Sure is coming down real hard.” Teeny returned the pot to the burner. “Glad I'm inside even if I am working a double.”

I nodded. It was a familiar story. Long before I had ever set foot inside the Hot Plate, Teeny's husband, Ralph, had been laid off fro…

Story is marked as mature

I kept my hands to myself and hurried on. I had a reasonably generous timeframe to get what I needed from Case 39 and leave before the window of opportunity closed.

"Sam, is that you?"

I started quite considerably. I had seen other case-seekers today on…

"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 …

I hate being a slave to my feelings. I don't know how not to feel something. Shit, feeling something on command isn't something I can do either.

Try not being angry

Try not to be sad.

Stop being depressed.

Don't like her.

Don't feel bad for him, h…

You know it's damn difficult to focus these days so you don't. You distract yourself with Youtube videos and Netflix, focusing on the new Dave Chappelle special and reruns of Friends or the Office. The outside world can burn without your help. It's beyond…

The floorboards creaked with my passage, threatening to collapse, but the key is to be sure and confident - uncertainty is infectious, and many a man has died by his own hesitation. My boots did not pause until I reached my destination - Building Grachkin…