“Tell me why I’m coming with you again?” Gareth muttered, narrowing his eyes at his friend Brody.

( They walked along the city street between squat buildings. )

“You -- you saw what in your dream, now?” I cross my arms over my chest. It’s a desperate attempt to protect myself. And it’s not working. Amelia’s gray eyes stare at me, and there’s sorrow in them. I can see it, plain as anything.

( 'Miles, you know what I saw,' she says, voice as steady as ever. )

Elspeth stared at the painted canvas, trying to figure out just what was wrong with the painting. When she had looked at it last night, it had been utterly perfect, and now -- now, something was off. She brushed a stray strand of her pale blond hair out of her face and fixed her ponytail again. She squinted at her artwork. It was the same forest ( Read more... )

This original short is NSFW, with trigger warnings for [click to reveal]dubcon and sexual extortion.

---------Cade hugged his arms to his chest, shivering, as he walked along the forest path. The wind blew, sending fallen leaves and other debris whirling about him. There was something ominous in those whirls. He narrowed his eyes against the chilling autumn wind ( Read more... )

“I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, Ri,” I mutter. “You realize these people might kill me if they find out what I am, right?” I look Ri directly in the eye.

( She stares me down with pure gray steel. )

Brody silently thought his AP Calculus homework might, in fact, murder him. The equations taunted him as they swirled before his eyes. They made no freaking sense. You could die of Calculus, right? Surely, that had been a cause of death somewhere. It wouldn’t be a particularly exciting death, either, since Calculus seemed inclined to murder him ( Read more... )

Liam waited in the interrogation room, surrounded by darkness. He thought this was a mistake, as persistent light was more psychologically damaging than persistent darkness. You could sleep in darkness, even when chained to a wall with your arms above your head.

( At least, Liam could. )

“Since when do you even care about going to prom, anyway?” I ask my friend Jeremiah as I try to determine if my slice of cafeteria meatloaf is safe to eat.

( He narrows his eyes like I’m missing the obvious. )

You're thirty eight. You've been married for ten years now. It's not perfect, but you're happy. At least you think so. People sometimes wonder why your husband stays with you, though, because you're unable to conceive. Infertile. It's been that way you're whole life. You say it hurts you, but, secretly you're lying. You're perfectly happy with not ( Read more... )

It had been half an hour of waiting at the table in the fancy restaurant, all alone. My date wasn't coming; I knew that much. Not even so much as a text message from her saying her grandmother had died or something. Yeah, I had had a date use that one on me when I knew she didn't even have any living grandparents.

( At least this place was said to have the best overpriced burgers in the city. )