"It's only a scratch." Mia waved it off although she knew she had gotten hit hard with the metal bars as they had swung into place over the doors. But she had more important matters to deal with at the moment than herself.

She stumbed towards the figure …

I take quick stock of the doors, making sure the bolts and bars are in place. It seems secure enough although the mutants are actually howling on the other side now. I'm not sure if that's from pain or disappointment.

I look around the room and notice pe…

"On my count, slam the doors shut. We will need every bit of strength we have to seal the doors."

"This is crazy." Bel whispered, her eyes locked on the pack of mutants.

"Trust me." Mia glanced at Bel who nodded back.

"Albert, Scott, Richard. I need he…

Faster than I could react, she pulled something from her apron and pushed it into my hands.

"Please, stay safe. I couldn't... if you..."

This wasn't what I had expected. Still trying to catch up to the present, I looked down at the object she had given …

The head butler coughed meaningfully. My sister glanced up, and rose without a sound.

"I will thank our guest for his company, and we will attend to your situation shortly. In the meantime, Charles, would you put together some provisions for these two? S…

The sky is amazing. So many stars. A view you will never see living your whole life in a city. I must be a hundred kilometres or more from the nearest town of any size. The night of the new moon, too, means a view that too few people in this world ever ge…

They're getting closer. I hear them in the alleys and in the shadows that are getting longer. They're bolder in the city. Not as scared of the light although it blazes on their sensitive skin. I didn't even have to worry about them back home, there weren…

Lust and infatuation

Hidden songs

Hugs hold too long

Dripping honey voices

Electric smiles

3 AM texts

Who cares what's next?

Silence

Secrets

Senses

Sullen

Complexities

Personalities

History

Warnings

Belated answers

Doubts like cancer

Sleepless nig…

Burn me down to nothing-

Singed beneath the atmosphere,

Stars frozen under blackness.

& from bare, shattered body, I'll believe:

"This isn't all of it."

I noticed a minute hesitation from Grace. Curious, I made eye contact.

There it was again - a blink, a crack in the normally flawless armour of the Janse-Lomberg household service. And again, as she looked away quickly. Too quickly.

"Cerian," I said, sl…

It wasn't long before I recognised the gentle tread of my sister making her way down the hall. I smiled at that, even as she opened the door and rushed into an embrace.

"Oh, it's good to see you, Illy."

"You too. Cerian, this is Ryle. We met at Four Pea…

Standing behind the door was a young woman. I knew her name, she used to be a maid at the Lightreach manor, I saw her around a lot more than I expected, she was - ah!

"Good evening, Grace. I would like to see my sister, if it is at all convenient."

She …

I dropped a handful of silver for a reasonably nondescript pheasant from a market stall. With our collars up and eyes averted, we blended in easily with the twilight crowd. I was a hunter going home tired and hungry, and we were given barely a glance.

Cu…

Ryle inclined his head, eyes flicking left.

Kill them, he was saying. I'll take the left.

I had no choice. We drew our revolvers and split up.

They entered the chapel from the great wooden doors. We waited until they were fully inside, the better t…

Ryle, who acting as spotter tonight, muttered something about the rising wind. He seemed utterly unconcerned about the situation. I nudged the crosshairs left.

The Minister lit his cigar and leaned on the balcony. Through the telescopic sight, I could al…

It was not a technically challenging shot to make, not in comparison to some others. A stationary firing position, to a stationary target. Wind conditions were calm, and I had calculated yardage well in advance. That the target was nearly third of a mile …

Story is marked as mature

I watch the paramedics work. They’re trying so hard. I can’t see who they’re working on, but they’re determined.

I try to recall what happened. Everything flashes by in a blur. The party. Taking the keys from Tom. Driving him home.

We started arguing. I…

Anyone who has moved house before will know the way it goes.

You walk through the old house, flooded with nostalgia, reliving the memories you shared there. All the stories you shared. The romances, the fights... the ice cream.

And as you pass once more…

Everyone, at some time, has played the "What if I were immortal?" game. Pondering how it would be to see loved ones grow old and die, or how it would be to live through history being made.

Well, I am immortal. And I don't mean Highlander movies immor…

We are a feeble, short-sighted people

We cannot pretend to know even a fraction of reality

We are incapable of being able to fathom the possibility of life itself

We, with the collective mindset, are as unintelligent as motes of dust

The expanse of life …

Regrets, I've had a few.

I love a bit of Sinatra, and this line from My Way comes to mind right now. I have had some regrets in life, and regret is the emotion that floods my mind right now.

By some bizarre happenings that I still barely comprehend, it …

We called them Blackbirds, after the queens of speed from another age. Beautiful machines, though you have to become slightly detached from the numbers to fly them. At the cruise phase, they fly at 0.9C - ninety percent of the speed of light.

Incompreh…

Please move along, he said, as he climbed over the fence. It is easy to think that what he was doing was untoward, after all, on the other side of the fence was a pride of hungry lions.

"Wait! Please! You can't leave me out here at night!" Someone shouts from outside. I peek outside and see a person is running towards the halfway-closed doors. He’s being chased by a pack of mutant humans. I'm still surprised the mutants come out so soon …