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…

"Well met, Gulmar of the Eldergreens. My name is Sadie, and in different times we were the III Section of Darkfall's Moonriders. We travel east to fulfil the last wishes of our late commander, and are grateful for your timely assistance."

The towering or…

A sudden volley of gunfire erupted from their flank. Astarlane and Tenever hit the ground; a fireteam of orcs stepped out of the trees, weapons firing with well-disciplined precision. The wraiths charged their position, but hulking figures stood their gro…

The library is a church turned community center, with opaque glass, barred windows and a draft. Ms. Riley works with dial-up and a folding chair.

They find metal bed frames and blankets and build a ‘Bat Cave’ in the basement. Fuse practices their Englis…

Tenever's weapon ran dry first. A ghostly third hand appeared to swap magazines while his real hand hit the bolt release, and he was straight back into semiautomatic fire.

Sadie dropped her weapon on its sling and drew her sabre to deflect a darting thru…

If only, if only, the broken mom cries

You chose to look up and not text while you drive

My shattered bones ache, but my heart always screams

My time with my daughter now locked in my dreams

-

Beware the invincible, foolish, and young

Their mistakes are s…

She has the aesthetic of long skirts and crop tops. She wears black hats and black eye liner. She reads books by candlelight.

She keeps herbs in mason jars and poured tea on paper to age it. Her counters are covered in Babies Breath and cat hair.

She d…

The low hum of human interaction was a pleasant background noise to my mind, much like the lively Spanish red that was delicately swirling around in a fantastically clear crystal glass. A light classical tune (Rachmaninoff?) drifted in and out of hearing,…

I walk in its shade, its shadow. The sun cowers meekly behind the imposing monolith, a testament to society and order. My footprints lie vaguely in my wake, brushed by the desert winds. My parched throat longs for relief; my legs wail and gnash in pain. W…

Tenever didn't hesitate as muzzle flare lit up the surrounding trees. He threw a hand straight forward over the barrel of his weapon, his mind searching for familiar strands of reality to pluck at. His fist opened and a flash of prismatic light erupted in…

The flash of… cameras? Visual capture devices, brighter than the lean lines of the universe speeding past in technicolor. The roar of voices like the atmosphere, vivid, orange, and angry.

Amplification.

Alien.

“My name is Champion-”

Human. Translat…

They picked up the pace, moving through light brush and loose groups of trees. Astarlane opened.

"What are we looking to escape?"

The elf did not look around, maintaining their new pace without effort.

"The obscurant products in the air are a precursor…

I lay in the bed craving sleep. Even though I’d gone to bed at midnight, I’d woken up dozens of times, turning over and over, back and forth, continually searching for comfort that teased me. I felt groggy and gross. My body felt heavy as stone. I wanted …

After taking in what Sally had shown me, I felt like a dandelion seed who had caught a shimmering wind at long last- I was sad to see my kin still rooted to the stem, but could never return now that I had absorbed the knowledge of the air.

My sweet frien…

It's swirling around them, this confusing mass of tendrils, burning asphalt anger, hot and painful to touch. Fuse has never been safe. They've always been sharp and lean, a knife trying to cut through Spire's water, but now they're hot, steam against Spir…

The elf shifted to draw their attention.

"We must leave. As the ground warms this area will become extremely dangerous."

Sadie looked at the other two expectantly, donned her mask and followed them back out into the haze.

Higher up, where the mist fade…

"Carte noir?"

The label is white.

.........................

She is tied to a rack. The ropes at her wrists and ankles dig cruelly into her skin. Her fingers and toes have long since gone numb. She barely notices. This is as it should be.

Figures move in the shadows around her, checking her bonds, adjusting her ga…

"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. …

"Alright, you can only play with it for 30 minutes"

"Ok mum, thats fair enough"

15 minutes later

"Honey, can you do some chores for me? It will only take 20 minutes"

Astarlane stood lazily, as if the sudden appearance of an elf from the aristocratic line of the Firsts was of little consequence.

"Why is he here?"

Sadie fixed her with a stare.

"Desperate times, desperate measures. We can't get through fast enough or …

I drink wine from cereal bowls.

...........................

I’m waiting for the G-train heading to Church Ave. I’m smirking and laughing to myself and clutching my bag in my right hand, the day’s value existing in self-discovery and comic books.

He took the G-train heading towards Court Sq. I watched it disappear…

Why is it,

that when you catch someone licking the cheese dust off their fingers,

that is the person

who, only a minute or two ago,

told you to use a napkin.

Story is marked as mature