Explosion
So much for remaining unseen. “Ki! It’s too late. Come with us!” Ki took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She eyed the canisters around her. A horrible idea…
Escape
Adrenaline pumped through Ki’s limbs, propelling her faster between the trees. Headlights dimly lit the train tracks to her left as trucks bounced along…
Impending
Quiet. Too quiet. Sounds from the mainland were muffled. The lights in the distant city’s skyscrapers still blazed brightly enough for those of us on the…
The Company of Birds
I see the birds. They swoop in gentle arcs, all grace and streamlined elegance. In flight their voices remain mute. Once nestled on a rooftop here or a hesco…
A Night Like Tonight
Some nights I wish I was in some part of a nebula, part of something dead. Tonight is one of those nights. I lie and say that I won’t get out tonight because…
Alone
I’m trapped, trapped in this shell of loneliness. No one can understand what it is like to be me. The crippling fears, the anxiety, the nervousness; It’s…
Time To Close Dark Chapters
“We should go in,” she whispered, her voice a delicate breeze. Devin nodded, head and heart heavy, “Yes, it’s time.” He paused, breathed deep the languid air…
Off to Face the Coming Night
The boy, for he was no more than a boy no matter how he might protest, shifted his heavy belt and tugged his watch cap into place. His smile was a quiet act of…
Caught Between
With his limping gate, Devon crossed the lawn as well as he was able. Light from an obnoxiously lively party lit him from behind, cast his shadow clear to the…
Not A Place Dead
The iron gate stood open, red as ever. The wide, gray path leading from the gate was littered with leaves. Its low stone wall a simple boundary only, serving…
Ear to the Alien Night
I stare at the mirror. My vision fails me, or the surface is too dirty. Leaning, twisting to no avail, I cannot make out my own face. Is it there? Am I here…
What He Is and Is Not
“I am not some demon,” the shaky voice plead in the darkness, “frankly evil and dark.” Scratches and huffs answered from the undergrowth, and spindly fingers…
(Day 39) Misguided Prayer
When will the pain end? It’s a question he hears much too often with no way to qualify the answer. The problem with hearing prayers is not the futility of…
Harried Wait
For the fourth time in the space of half an hour Capt Dogra patted himself down. The M4 was still clipped to his chest, the M9 in its holster, ear plugs in his…
Walks Home
I always used to dread the long walks home, throwing suspicious glances toward the shadows made by trees (or criminals, who knows). But now, I almost relish…
Warm Hands
She felt his weight leave the bed, as he walked towards the bathroom door. As he came back into bed he draped his arm over her, only to find himself taken…
I'm Having A Moment
I will never be able to comprehend the complexity of the night sky, or what goes on in my brain when I sit in my parked car and inhale, sparked flint stinging…
Square Faces
As I take every step, I hear the houses around me breathing loudly. I can feel them watching me, the windows the eyes, the sidewalk, the large tongue lolling…
The Car
The dark night, the quiet wind, the hot weather and you and I. You in front of me, I saw you, you watched me, you thought about it, I know you did. I got close…
Light Pollution
Street lamps shaped like teardrops line the sidewalks, glowing ominously in the brisk night. Too bad about the stars, though. I can barely make out the usual…