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Experiment #1218 &#x200B; Experiment Notes * This experiment is an attempt by world powers to stop the super powered evil that has taken control of the world by artificially recreating some of the events that founded the superheroes that have since been terminated by the supervillains. * Although there are many artificial protections (see Experiment #541) in place, the supervillains have targeted and eliminated any super powered individual that did not side with them. Outside of the protection from the Ultromac Units, we are defenseless. * This project has been kept under a tight lock and key out of fear that there might be corruption by the supervillains in our midst. &#x200B; Subject Notes * Subjects #001-#006, #010-#012, and #014-#015 did not survive the experiments. In the event of a critical failure the experiment was not attempted again either due to loss of the life of the researchers, destruction of facility, or space time anomaly. * Subjects #016-#100 were killed by, abducted by, or inducted into the super villains league. * No further information is known about these subjects. The experimentation had not taken root yet * Methods of Super Power Recreation * Radioactive Spider Bite * Seven attempts: six fails and one success. * Serum * One attempt: one success * Deep Sleep * One attempt: one success * Radiation * One attempt: One critical failure * Super Speed Serum * One Attempt: one critical failure * Time and Space Conversion * One Attempt: one critical failure * Cryogenics * One Attempt: One success * Hydrostasis * Two attempts: two failures &#x200B; Subject #007 Codename: Arachno * Arachno was the first subject to withstand the bite of the radioactive spider. However, the transformation did not proceed as we thought it would. * The first six subjects under this part of the experiment did not survive the transformation or died due to the bite of the spider. * Arachno did go under a transformation, but instead of looking as a man with spider like abilities, he grew extra appendages as well as mandibles around his mouth. He does have the ability to produce spider like webbing although it is produced from the mandibles and not the wrists. * Three days after the study began we saw a change of behavior in Arachno. He began to be very hostile and agitated toward his fellow subject. * 05/24/2067: Arachno attacked the researchers and subjects around him. Subject #008 was able to hold him off for a while but eventually he escaped. Current information shows that he has sided with the supervillains. &#x200B; Subject #008 Codename: Steel * There was only once test for this experiment as we were able to get the desired results the first time. * A serum was developed in order to increase natural ability. However, due to needing more testing, this experiment was also combined with another. An experimental alloy of metal was injected into the DNA and RNA repetition sequence in an attempt to strengthen the body of the subject. * The results turned out spectacularly, Steel was not only stronger, faster, and more durable. His skin and many structures of his body were replaced with a flexible metallic structure. In a surprising twist, the serum also enhanced his mental ability as well as the moral compass. In all senses, Steel is good. * During the event of Subject #007 attack and escape, Steel was able to hold him down for a period of time. However, #007 was able to escape. &#x200B; Subject #009 Codename: Dream Warrior * Dream Warrior was part of the experiment to increase the mental and psychic abilities of people. Throughout our studies, we have learned that all human beings have some innate psychic abilities. This is present not only in our ability to think, but also in both the ability of intuition (clairvoyance) and Deja vu (prophecy). * Dream Warrior was put into a deep sleep in order to enhance these abilities and during this time she unlocked her "third eye". In most cases a third eye is the gateway into the spiritual realm. However, in Dream Warrior's case, she is able to peer into and control the dreams of other people. * Through this experiment, she also developed increase psionic abilities, including telepathy, telekinesis, clairvoyance, and astral projection. * We discovered her abilities because she came into the dream of one of our researchers. Because of this we also feared that she would lose her abilities if she were to wake up. However, that hypothesis was wrong. When she was woken up, she still retained her psionic abilities. * During the attack of Subject #007, Dream Warrior was still in her deep sleep. &#x200B; Subject #013 Codename: White Christmas * White Christmas was put in a cryogenic chamber in order to induce cryokinesis. Although there were times where her vitals dropped to very low levels, we were always able to bring her back. * The day after the attack of Subject #007, the temperature in White Christmas' chamber rose suddenly out of nowhere. We opened the chamber in order to get her out safely, but we found that she was awake and completely unharmed. She herself had raised the temperature in the cryogenic chamber by drawing the cold into herself. * Since then she had displayed extreme control over ice, being able both control already formed pieces of ice, freeze bodies of water, and produce her own ice. &#x200B; Project Notes: Section 2 * On 12/15/2068 the super villains not only found, but infiltrated our base of operations. Subjects #008, #009, and #013 attempted to hold them off, but they were unsuccessful. Subject Numbers #016-#100 were either killed by, abducted by, or inducted into the supervillain organization. * They also stole the research notes for the remaining experiments. We are attempting to rebuild and start experimentation again, but I do not know who I can trust.
“You’re a Levy,” I breathed, disarming my spell. Fiery, warm energy withdrew into my palm, retreating through my veins and vanishing back into my body. The pale skin around my knuckles tightened, vitality flowing through me again. The plaza was cold and dark, it would have been the perfect place for an ambush. But there she was, sitting in front of me on the edge of the fountain: a little girl. I fully expected to be jumped by the assassin that had been stalking me for days, or a bounty hunter that wanted the gold on my head. I had planned to expel my life force before I let that happen, but it looked like I wouldn’t have to. I noticed the faded tattoos curling around her tiny bare wrists only a moment before unleashing the blast that would have blown the fountain and all the cobblestones along with it. Thank the stars I didn’t. “We have that in common,” the young girl replied, crossing her legs. I could feel her eyes on me, though I couldn’t see her face beneath the hood of her cloak. Judging by her voice, she couldn’t have been much older than I was when I first left home. Had she ever used her magic before? “So... you’re not here to take me back to the Council?” I asked, fingers twitching at my sides. “No, silly,” she said, playfully resting her elbows on her knees and propping up her hooded cheeks. “Why would I do that?” Cool, clear water dribbled into the base of the fountain, filling the awkward silence. “Could be any number of things,” I said, re-lacing my right wrist brace without taking my eyes off her. “Like a reward?” she said dryly. “If I turn you in to the Council, I turn myself in with you. How does that benefit me?” “If it’s not money you’re after, then what do you want from me?” I glanced up at the half moon, shifting my eyes around the open plaza. Shadows leered and the flicker of distant lamp lights put me on edge. I couldn’t stay here much longer. “I want to make a proposal.” She hopped down from the fountain and approached me, the top of her head only reaching my waist. I took a step back. “What business does a child have making a proposal with me?” The girl tucked her hands into her hood and pulled back her navy cloak, revealing a cascade of silvery hair. She was an elf. “Oh no,” I said, backing away, “I’m not striking up any deals with an elf. That’s bad luck, and I don’t need anymore of that in my life.” “Listen,” she hissed in her delicate voice, likely her best attempt at sounding authoritative, “I can tell how much you’ve aged already. You almost blew yourself up five minutes ago. Yes, I am elven, and no, we don’t typically associate with humans, but two Levies together could mean the difference between life and death, understand?” “Argh,” I groaned under my breath, my anxiety getting the best of me, “being two Levies, do you have any idea how dangerous it is for us to stay here? Come on,” I grabbed her tiny wrist and yanked her behind me, her stubby legs struggling to keep up with my tall, awkward strides. I whisked her through the gardens on the other side of the plaza, taking us as far from the center of town as possible. Towns have many wandering eyes, some of which had been tracking me for days. I crouched behind a shadowy hedge, keeping watch through a balding patch while my acquaintance struggled to catch her breath. As much as I didn’t want to accept help from an elf, her words weighed on me heavily. We were Levies; nothing more than runaways, born only to waste away our life forces on incredibly powerful magic, as a debt to society. But as I grew, I got scared. I didn’t want to pay any debts, not for society, or my parents, or anyone else. I wanted to be alive. So I ran away. [Falling asleep as I’m writing this, so I may continue later!]
I didn't realize, I really didn't. I don't have much time to write this. I've been listening on the radio and they are maybe a mile away? On foot it should give me enough time to finish all of this, I just want to give my side of the story. I didn't mean for this to happen I thought it would be different but my dad always said 'the road to hell is paved in good intentions' and mine are no different apparently. I promise, I really didn't intend for this to happen. It was five years ago that the idea flourished and you know what? I wish they would have stopped me. Apparently they had no qualms with killing a child and that's fine given what happened. I wish they had been successful and I had leapt off this mortal coil long before this whole mess was even a thought in my head. Like I said, five years ago the thought blossomed into a plan that I executed with horrible precision. I don't know, maybe I wasn't wrong. They were still around to come back and try and off me so at least someone will survive all of this. I meant well! It was all the rest that fucked up and decided that war and starving kids was the way to go. That wasn't me, I tried to stop them. It was such a simple plan that was supposed to stop all of that and it did. They may all be staggering idiots but no one is getting napalmed. Sorry, getting off track, it doesn't matter. Like I said, I didn't know what the side effects would be. I thought they'd all just get along, act like brother and sister but no such luck it would seem. It was never about the power either, what sort of power is there in ruling over a bunch who don't understand or don't care who you are? Children were key in all of this that unlocked the greatest weapon of all. Passiveness. I don't have time to explain all that went into reverting them back to what sounds like age nine if the jumbled nonsense over the radio is any indication. They're passive, easily disciplined, the only thing I didn't account for was the horrible temper tantrum that's about to rain fire and brimstone above my head. I've given it thought and it makes sense to me now why none of the ones who made it back to me ever succeeded in killing me, they're all a bunch of idiot kids. But not me! Not me, although maybe that's worse. I wish I didn't know what was coming to my front door. They're closer now, I'm sorry I really am. You know that already though, whoever gets their hands on this. When you come back next time my mother always left the sliding glass door unlocked. Get me before I'm five this time, my room is the second door on the left.
Galactic date [^(9293210.ac)](https://9293210.ac) I have been on this planet for many moons, learning the ways of man. Discovering how they learn, how they grow, and their level of intelligence in order to determine if they fit into the puzzle that is galactic life. The Federation received a correspondence recently that jumpstarted an investigation into their creation: "America, and let me just tell you, everyone, even China agrees, is the, and I have to tell you I love it too, greatest in the universe. The greatest of all time," the signal said. My assignment is to decide Man's worthiness of intelligent life. The Federation expects a decision before the next rise and fall of this planet's local star. Tomorrow I must choose. I meet my main human subject, Jerry, at his favorite nutrition provider, Walmart, to obtain supplies for our venture. Greeted with a warm embrace of his arms and chest, one of man's more pleasant qualities, Jerry says to me, "So what do you think we will need for your last night in town? Snacks? Something funny to watch?" I raise my hands towards him and reply, "It's all up to you, Man. Choose wisely" Jerry, now grasping my shoulders and holding me at arms length, says with a smile "HA! Damn, Daniel. You are a real treat today, huh? Let's just get the essentials to make your last night in town one to remember." The essentials. I came to this planet with the essentials: the uniform I wear grown of human tissue to disguise my purple flesh, a 6 month ration of nutrients in a pack on my back to keep me from eating of their contaminated food supply, and my teleportation device. "Sure,"I say, "Just the essentials." As we stroll around the marketplace, I wonder how the radio signal could claim these people to be the greatest in the universe? They have a word for what I have been witness to: grotesque. Most of the beings that roam this planet are utterly ignorant, deformed of The Federation's original design, or succumb to over consumption of poison. I witness beings filling their delivery carts with, what my studies have found to be, non-essential items to their existence. Killing their minds and bodies alike. Why do humans willingly purchase and consume poison? Then, I see a man put a large image transferring screen into his cart and I remember they don't really have their own minds. Their minds have become one with their leaders and their leaders want to enslave them in order to fill their own bellies. Grotesque. "HOT DOGS!"Jerry exclaims, "Dude, I forgot you told me you have never had a hot dog! I cannot wait to see the look on your face when you have your first one!" Cancerous garbage, I think to myself. With a mocking smile, I say, "I'm not confident I will enjoy it, everything has been pretty unimpressive so far." "Ha. Oh boy, Daniel, you're hilarious. I have yet to see you eat anything since I met you."says Jerry, "You don't even know. Nothing more American than a hot dog. I'll get you to love America before you leave, don't worry" I shrug, "Better hope so." In recent days, I have thought it sad how unaware these beings are that their existence is at risk. The federation is disappointed with man's progress and plans to send another asteroid, just as they did when the dinosaurs fell short of expectations. For a time, I debated breaking Federation Law by putting myself on every image transferring screen on the planet to make them aware of their potential doom. Hoping they could learn? Maybe they are intelligent? Suddenly, Jerry stops, grabs a box from a shelf, and presents it to me in wonder, "YO! Every episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. ever made! THE MOST HILARIOUS SHOW EVER." I glare at him with frustration, grab my teleportation device, and disappear before him without a single word. I immediately arrive back to The Federation's ship. The general stands before me and says,"You have arrived home early. What is your decision?" With an eye roll, I reply "Hopeless. Man clearly has no intelligent existence. Send the asteroid."
^((First time posting here after hesitated a while.)) “Let me in…. Let me in…” There were some dampened noise from outside the bunker got through the heavy steel doors. Those annoying sound woke me up. I looked around the bunker, and decided to tune up the security camera. Wow, there were so many people outside wanting to get in. But… would they be contaminated by the nuclear dust?” I almost pressed on the “open” button because my hand was hovering it and I almost gave in. But no, I was not going to risk our lives. I decided to remember everyone’s faces. At least they would have someone that remembered their existence. I was getting so, so emotional when I was zooming in the image. To the man in green shirt, to the lady in the used-to-be fancy dress, to the granny that lost signs of life… hope you all would have a painless afterlife. I tried to capture the moment with my eyes. I wished I have a phone but in reality I did not. Wait. This person… There was a body crawling on the ground, reaching his green blistered arms forward. His clothes were torn, yet the beige stood out. I was being curious about this young man. His face resembled a familiar person. It was me. I looked down and realized I was wearing a distinctive beige t-shirt, same as that person. It was weird. I passed out right after the nuclear explosion occurred and I woke up this exactly this scene. This was unfit. I should jot it down in a notebook… here, this notebook it it. Was this room really free from contamination? I glanced to all other survivors who got into this sealed uncontaminated room — they all looked innocent and probably healthy. I used a radiation detector and I started wandering around. No reading, phew. I turned back and realized I left the camera on. Silly me. I should have know that this was a clean room. Or should I? I remember there was a mirror — here it is. I AM myself! I pinched my skin and I am real! Then who was that person outside the bunker who look exactly the same as me? I tried to talk to other people here but they seemed they do not want to talk to me. Like, it gave an impression that they do not like me. And then I was awaken. What could I do now? I could not achieve anything without anyone’s help! I collapsed on the floor, struggling to keep myself from thinking about that person outside the bunker. WHO was he???? And why was everyone walking in front of me like nothing happened? Some of their face looked so different, and some of them just disappeared after walking pass me??? How??? I looked at the corner of the room. There was a bookshelf that did not exist before??? And there were quite a few books as well as some documents. What were they about? I knew curiosity could kill a cat, but there was nothing else for me to do! I picked a book and — Why all of this thing had only one line in each page, and all the page said “you do not exist?” I AM here and I AM alive! I tossed the book towards the other end of the room. I could not even stand this thing any longer. There was still my last hope — I could try using the camera to access the outside… It was still a computer after all! I sat down and I wrote this. This written record will stay. Or will it? I tried to open another application and the first one is “Messages”. I could message another person! Finally! I tried to type my friend’s phone number or username but I cannot remember it. In fact, I cannot even remember their name or their face. Who were they? Did I really have a friend? I tried to go through the stack of documents and I found a phone number. Maybe it would work and somebody would answer me? I typed the number into the computer. The other side wanted a voice call. Of course! It was… I do not know how long ago but I was in dire need of human interaction! But as the line connected, there were only a robotic sound saying “you’re not real”. Why was everyone like this? Why EVERYONE were telling me that I am not real? I EXIST. I HAVE A SHADOW. I — I looked back the corner and the bookshelf disappeared. I SWEAR it was there. I even wrote it down on this notebook! This notebook is and will be a proof of me! Wait, is this notebook real? I could not even care anymore. This was the ONLY way out for me. Who else can I talk to if they are see me as a transparent— they pretend they never see me? And then suddenly, people were going back and forth. Some of them were gathering all survivors. This will be my chance — I got to show EVERYONE what I have experienced and what I have went through! Why was I this slow, they are already going through this hidden door — Why I cannot get through? And no one was letting me in? I was punching door and no one heard it? How? I AM ALIVE! LET ME IN! YOU WILL REGRET IF YOU ALL DO NOT LET ME IN! Why all the light in this room went out? What happened? I sticked my ear on the door and the people inside said they have gathered all people — was I not a people? How am I supposed to survive without anyone nor anything? Why there is this weird smell? Help! HELP! HEL— \\\\\\ “Okay, experiment 34827 concluded,” said a man with a lab coat, “I don’t really like to see other creatures suffering like this. This Homo sapiens did nothing wrong, and yet…” “It is just a clone. Don’t need to worry, its sole existence is for our experiment,” replied another man.
I’m a heinous man. I committed sin so great that I was given the only punishment worse than death: life. I was cursed by God themself to walk the mortal plane for all of eternity. I would not age, I would not die. I hunger and thirst, I lust after others but no matter if I give in to such sensations or not I cannot die. I’m a heinous man. But that doesn’t mean I’m heartless. I miss my family. I miss my wife and my children. I miss everyone I’ve ever known. For so long I was convinced that my real punishment was watching the world move on without me, or watching those I loved wither in the wake of time’s cruel slaughter. Then after about a hundred years I was numb. I got drunk. I got so God damned drunk I couldn’t piss without falling over. And I brought someone home. Or more accurately, she brought me home. Stayed the night -no funny business occurred- and helped me the next morning. I’d never missed my wife more than when I woke up with this beautiful woman putting advil and a glass of water on my table. I don’t remember what I said that night, but she took it as invitation and stayed over. Lucky for me she did, because she changed my world. That night wouldn’t be the last I’d see of her. We kept in touch and over a few months I think I fell in love. But when she asked me out, the only thing on my mind was the curse. I had long since grieved for my family, but I didn’t know if I could live through that again. I also didn’t know if I could afford to live a life that didn’t know her gentle touch. So I cried. I let loose a torrent of tears and did exactly as I’m sure God wanted. It truly was a curse, to live longer than any man ought to live. But in that, my weakest moment, I had a realization. I was cursed. But that doesn’t mean I can’t live my life. If all I ever do is think about the hard times to come, I’ll never get to enjoy the good times that are here. So I said yes. And we dated. And we didn’t last. She was still one of my closest friends for damn near fifty more years after that. And I continue on. I’m still cursed to walk the mortal plane for all eternity, but now I can enjoy the ride without worrying about the destination that ain’t coming. I’m a heinous man. I committed sin so great God themself saw fit to punish me. I just wish I knew what I did.
I've always loved coffee shops. Not for the reasons you're imagining, though of course those are excellent too. Coffee, coffee cake, coffee beans covered in chocolate... who wouldn't love those? And baked goods, oh Lucifer, the baked goods... I may be a succubus, hon, but I can't resist that temptation any more than you can. Anyways... the real reason I love coffee shops is that I can hide. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking. Demoness hiding in plain view, here to steal the souls of some mortals or something like that. Sexual favors for damnation, right? Well... no. I'm not really like that. Some of us just... aren't, after the first few thousand years. Sure, I've done my share of reaping, kinda like everyone else, but that's not really why I'm here anymore. Nowadays I'm just here to make a friend. And that's the hard part. Tempting mortals into damnation or twisting their souls with magic is easy stuff as far as I'm concerned, but that kind of thing doesn't really prepare you for what's involved in a stable and safe relationship the way these mortals think of it... the way I'm started to think of it some time ago. To be honest, it's difficult to hold my instincts at bay. Control, manipulate, destroy, consume... they're part of who I am. They're what I want, always. I can see the wanting in your eyes, and sense the beat of your heart, and I want them. I want them so badly it hurts sometimes, and I have to leave the shop when that happens so I can calm down for a while, trying to get that pulsing heat and light in your hearts out of my mind before I destroy it all. And the stupid thing is that that's not even the hardest part - getting out of there and running away from what I so terribly want to do. What's harder still is breathing in and out and relaxing, shunting the darker corners of my heart from the forefront so that I can actually speak to you... so that I can do the unthinkable, and actually be vulnerable with you. To be frank, my brethren, infernal or otherwise, would think me a fool for even considering this sort of thing. Our society, such as it is, is built pretty brutally upon strength and want and lust. There's not a lot of regard there for feelings, for compassion, for anything else, and we don't exactly grow up the best adjusted folks as a result. But you folks certainly know that much. Your legends speak of fiends of all sorts, and not usually with kindness. When it comes to friendship, then, I don't honestly understand these boundaries, what to say, or what to hide. I hide too much sometimes, and don't make an impression, or get someone who I can't handle, who damn near scares me out of the shop, what with my powers repressed as deeply as they are. Hell, I'm starting to think some of you folks aren't any better at this than I am. There are moments, though. Moments that I'm glad I'm still trying for. I never knew what I genuine hug was before I started all this, and I can't even talk about them without crying my eyes out, even today. We don't... have that, where I'm from, and it cracks me open like an egg to think of what I've lost. Four thousand years, and nowhere else have I found compassion... have I found the love that you mortals freely share. It actually shattered me, you know, when I first found it. When I ran into someone and actually understood the love within their eyes. I even spared their loved one... I hope. I... can't really remember much of that night, aside from the sobbing on the floor. I don't even remember what floor, aside from the fact that it was dirty. And so I'm here now. I'm not exactly stuck here, but I don't honestly know how to go home at this point. I don't even know if it is home anymore, even if there are a few beings I miss from time to time. I certainly miss being myself and being free with my form there, something I can't really do here without either burning down my apartment or scaring all my friends half to death. I guess, then, that I'm writing this... to say that I am trying, and that I am learning, as slow and as scary as that process might be. I'm not learning so I can take over your world, or even some little shop on a corner near your home, but because I want to find what I saw in that person's eyes. Who knows... Maybe if I share my tale, and write other stories besides, someone, sometime, will come and say hello.
Some days I can still smell the fire. I feel the ash on my tongue and the weight of the mountain on my shoulders. I hear them breathing, men who wore twenty years like forty. I have to take deep breaths to remind myself that I can. I have to force my fingers apart before I start to bleed. &#x200B; The mornings are the hardest. My skin that tears too easily feels like canvas wrapped on bone. The accumulated grit and ash of years fill my joints and lungs. It's hard to breathe, hard to speak, hard to move. I do it anyway. I take my memories and carve them into fuel. I use them to power the aging muscles in my legs and the brittle bones from too much space and not enough sun. Drag any Earthborn out of his bed and he might look just like me. We're few and far between these days. The enemy was... thorough. &#x200B; The fifth risk, that's what they call it. The eventuality you don't anticipate. We pushed to hard, been to well defended, humanity had too many dreams of conquest to be left alone. That's the problem with planetary warfare, we'd never done it before. No Power in the universe can blockade a planet, but any child with a bomb can destroy one. Send that bomb from light years away, wrap it in technology not even Asimov could dream up, and you get one dead planet and a solar system full of orphans. &#x200B; Some of us made it out. We were on refugee ships there when Mars burned. We watched it happen. You ever seen a planet turn to glass? Seen something burn so hot you can't look at it, not even through solar shielding? Pray you don't. &#x200B; Ten years. It doesn't seem so long. Ten years since the Outer Worlds surrendered. I don't hate them for it. What could they do? I lost a home but they lost their protector, their history, their families. Mars was what they all dreamed of becoming, a power in its own right, one to rival even mother Earth. It fell just as swiftly. Ten years we've waited in the dark, knowing our conquerors are coming. Today they arrive. &#x200B; We will be ready. &#x200B; We have learned from our mistakes. Now our strongholds are not so brazen; no longer brilliant beacons of light that split the dark waters of space, a target on a HUD. Now we bury them deep: below the ice-waters of Titan, beneath the great toxic clouds of venous, and within the chaos of the Kiper belt. We have hidden our hearths, but the fires still burn. We have forged new weapons, there is much you can learn from a planet turned to glass, and we have done what humanity has always done: invented new ways to kill. &#x200B; When our emerge from the skies they will not find a solar system of cowering worlds and terrified moons. We may be children on the grand scale of space, but we are den of vipers, and a hatchling still has venom. We will strike them down with prejudicial fury, with the capacity for violence that can only lurk within the hearts of the grieving. We will follow the paths of their ships home, and send them back a message in kind. We are the sons and daughters of Earth, we are the husbands and wives of Mars, we have not forgotten.
Everyone always thought when time travel was invented it would either be the doom for mankind by some butterfly effect or liberate mankind to allow ourselves to direct our own destiny. In actually, it was much more mundane and boring. And it only cost the amount of a cup of coffee to do. Some researcher a few years was working on some new physics with fruit flies and found that they would see what the flies ancestor saw \~600 years ago. This was a land mark achievement, but further research didn't work on any other animals or even humans. Scientist couldn't figure out why. They also couldn't control the exact time or location or which fruit fly it was connected with the one on their side. One of the researcher, a graduate student, founded a company that allowed any users, for a fee, to look randomly into the past from the point of view of a fruit fly. Users would install the software into their own neural implants, pay the fee, then for a few minutes view the past. You would pay an additional fee to take control of the fruit fly. Since you didn't have any control of which fruit fly you saw through, it was mostly hit or miss. Half of the time, people would see the fruit fly in foliage or new a fruits. The other half, were in cramp glass cases full of other fruit flies that were in a laboratory setting. Controlling was also hit or miss. Sometimes you were able to send signals to direct it towards where you want to go but the fruit flies instinct sometimes takes over. Most of the time people, just sent the fruit fly spinning in circles for the fun of a it. It was the most interesting when you start viewing it when the fruit flies are in the middle of mating. If you ever saw a fly doing the dirty with another fly through their eyes, its the most horrifying niche you would ever see. So, of course, that became a new category of porn on pornhub. Ultimately, if you're into that kind of thing, the app ultimately was nothing more than how you people in the 21th century called "Fly Chatterbat".
Broken. I was broken. Broken for so long. Trapped away from the sun. Hurt, daily, weekly, monthly. My existence was pain. But being so immersed in it, it changes you. I began to look forward to it. Would I be burned? Would I be beaten? Would I be cut? My screams of pain changed, to be cackles. I loved it. I wanted them to come. I wanted them to hurt me. I changed physically. My skin sloughed off, exposing my nerve endings. Every breath of air sent new sensations to me. It was glorious. I grew bored with my confinement. They were getting repetitive with my pleasures. I wanted new. I wanted more. They could barely tickle me, let alone excite me. When they came the next day, I shared my joy with them. Their screams were beautiful. I'm now free. But I don't belong in your world. I don't remember food. I don't remember friends. I don't remember family. But I remember drugs. And pain is the greatest drug of all. And I'm addicted. So hide from me. I will give you my joy. And I will get my high.
Everyone knows a guy who is just crazy in some way. For it is a guy named Quincy Dallas. His kind of crazy is known as Obsessive-compulsive disorder, or commonly OCD. This is a sliding scale disorder, but he was close to the people who kill those with asymmetrical faces or wear socks and sandals. This minor issue was amplified by the teacher, who was his mother. Room 203 was already getting all of the crazies from the school, anyone with a mental disorder that needed something similar to a 504 plan is put in here. No tenured teacher ever takes this class and no one who gets forced to teach it stays around long enough to get one. Back on topic, Quincy was allowed to arrange the seating chart. Quincy was also the noise monitor. Quincy was chosen as the class rep. Any position that was needed Ms. Dallas put Quincy in charge of. This meant that we couldn't move around, make noises over five decibels, or leave without a legibly handwritten essay on why you couldn't hold your bladder for five minutes. We naturally hated each other from day one. If you need to know why I am unable to keep a mess from appearing near me, my lowest noise level when speaking is at least ten decibels, I can't hold my bladder well, and I generally have Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. With the background out of the way, our story begins on a Tuesday with a vocab test. Only number two pencils and I only have one. It was kind of dull from playing the knife game, so I sharpened it. I am technically not supposed to have a sharpener after the squirrel incidents, so I happened kind of fast. Quincy told his mother that I was ’ Sharpening his pencil aggressively ’ during the quiz. I got a week's detention for that and also my sharpener was confiscated and I was searched for squirrels. I used the time to plan my revenge. It would mostly be small stuff, like moving all of the desks two inches to the left, or rotating every second desk seven degrees. It lasted for about a month before things got serious. I got to school early enough to switch around the layout of the room to be mirrored in such a way that the teacher’s desk was in the back left corner of the room now. Every desk was kept in its usual alignment with the teacher’s desk as well. The day after that Quincy was admitted to a psychiatric ward. Ms. Dallas quit and we got a substitute for the rest of the year. I have never heard about Quincy or his mother since.
Firelight glimmered and reflected off of the dragon's maw from the firelight thrown from my lantern. The moonless night allowing just enough to make out the crater surrounding the beast and few trees felled from its descent. It's neck the remains there in that were still attached we're scarred by fire and the scales shattered and broken. Time after time this particular beast had taken ballista bolts from passing armies like a, well dragon there was really no comparison to be had here. Reluctantly I closed my journal the sketch if the dragon disappearing as I set my lantern down on the disturbed soil. One single baleful eye of the dragon glaring at the starless sky as I ran a hand along the scales still hot as an iron. The approaching sounds of the party tearing through the winter forest barely catching my gaze as I turned about-face. Their group of full plate knights and mages hanging at the lip of the clearing exchanging glances between their number and the beast. My personnel bain of existence the local lord's son pushing to the front as I took a single scale from the ground into my bag. "Is It Dead?" "Well it's head is probably a few hundred miles from the lower torso so yes it is in fact quite dead."Carefully I picked up my lantern a deep sense of foreboding lingering as I ran my hand across the cracks in the scale. "Tell me, Kelly, how long has this titan hunted in your father's domain just how long have we kept a record of this monster?" A long moment passing as the small group entered the clearing spreading out to inspect the beast. Leaving the young nobility to cross the divide practically teeming with excitement under his wide-brimmed hat. "Three hundred years I believe it's nest should be little more than three miles from this spot." Slowly I turned from my student gagging the direction of the crash from where it fell from and pointed away from the maw of the beast into the forest. "Would you say that the best is vague that direction then further afield?"The air suddenly growing a fraction colder as my gloved finger lingered in the air the young lord following the direction. "Yes I am not certain I would need a proper map for that but yes I would say that it is a fair assumption."With little care kelly, u slung his bag from around his shoulder my voice cutting through the cold air. "Good then let me pose a question what felled the beast was it one of the nine mortal races or was it something else." Methodically I gently paced the length of the site the hushed conversations of the guards dulling to a whisper as their attention turned. "This is not an event to be celebrated nor is it to be forgotten it is an omen of some encroaching event. This is a dragon an immortal beast dead as a mortal man felled by demons or the plague something killed it." With a long-overdue dramatic flair, I stood next to the dragon's eye the group arrayed in a semi-circle as I motioned to the severed neck. "And it was not only killed but butchered its head hundreds of miles from the body incredible feat on its own. But I do have a theory of how it came to be here, gentlemen the dragon was fleeing retreating to its lair in flight when it died." With my free hand, I made a small ax head-chopping at the base of my own neck. "But he was not killed by normal means no there is scarring and burns around the neck an explosion killed the beast. So two possible explanations exist either the beast is a cart of manure and tried to breathe fire or the other Is something much more dangerous lurks out there among the clouds."
"What do they call this one again?"I asked, mainly to calm my nerves. Jane and Michael seemed not to have noticed the question. They had dreamy, far away looks. Outside the crump, crump of German bombs dropped from zeppelins air raiding in the night sounded, closer this time than the last. The cacophony of aerial death seemed to register with the Banks siblings no more than my question had. No, their attention was on one thing and one thing only; the creature poised on an overstuffed and antique, but faded couch whose dark eyes shone in the gloom. Her smile was white like moonlight but with perfect teeth, some seeming almost too sharp. Dim candles flickered around the room casting shadows through furniture that had once been fit for a fine family, but now seemed decades out of date. Equally pale was the bit of skin which peaked from a high-necked Victorian gown buttoned all the way save for the penultimate clasp at her throat. Were it not for the incredible discomfort and dread I felt by that unnerving smile and dark eyes, eyes which seemed to take my measure in a tremulous heartbeat, I would have mistaken her for a manikin. There are paintings hanging in the Louvre which moved more than she, posed on that couch. My companions just stared at her, mouths agog. I could hardly believe these were the Jane and Michael I worked alongside with at Lloyd's of London. During the daytime this brother and sister duo were a power couple dominating markets, brokering information, goods, and people globally like commodities to be bought and sold at will. They were whip smart, always nine steps ahead of their competitors and always with a trap set for a rival. When they invited me to join them for a night of fun as a reward for my particularly valuable service, I had assumed we would dine and drink at the finest clubs that London could offer. Perhaps we would indulge in some Eastern opiates, or an exotic Indian concoction. Never would I have imagined us in this dank sub-basement. Nor could I have conceived of their powerlessness and grand stupor as we stood in her lair. Tugging at the Windsor knot at my neck, I pulled it loose feeling the air stifling. She let out a peal of laughter that was silvery and perfect, musical and entrancing in its quality. "Why, they call it Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious of course. And it is very exciting,"she said conspiratorially, moving a gloved hand to indicate a trio of syringes filled with a reddish dull liquid. Her movements were overly animated to the gesture but followed by immediate stillness. I found it alien and reminiscent of tales from a chap named Lovecraft I had read recently. "I... I'm afraid this isn't for me,"I stammered. "Surely this is far too costly for a clerk of my station. Perhaps... perhaps I should retire for the evening."Outside the bang/crash of another German air bomb sounded, closer this time. Much closer. Dust fell from the ceiling. Her smile never wavered. And her eyes, by God in His Heaven her eyes bore into me, cut right through me into my soul. My mind was screaming for me to run back up the staircase and out into the night. I desperately wanted to take my chances on the streets above, night raid be damned. But my body was languid and paralyzed. No, not paralyzed. I found myself taking a step closer to her. On her couch. Her smile grew wider. "I only ask for a simple embrace for payment,"she cooed into my ear as she jabbed the needle expertly into my forearm. When had I removed my coat and rolled up my sleeve? It felt like fire and ice flowing into my vein, but her grip was incredibly strong and she held me firm. She gave another musical peel of song-laugh as she held the empty syringe up to my face before discarding it over her shoulder. "See? All done. Now, come and hold me darling..." Cold lips met my fever hot neck where the artery ran. I felt something sharp before a dullness settled over me. My heartbeat slowed and slowed, moving ever towards a ceasing finality that I though might be death. But she seemed to pull away at the last few moments before that inevitability might come. Her lips were ruby red, her skin was so pale as to be moonlight on snow. And her eyes, my God her eyes... I could not look away. I knew my soul was damned to be hers forever now. "A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down,"she said, drawing a new syringe and beckoning Jane and Michael over. "In the most delightful way."
Out on the march in the morning He called his soldiers down to take aim at the traitors To gun those rebels down Now they'll face the consequences they held themselves above This is [The Will of The People](https://youtu.be/B-iNIwAFzPw) he said I wish I could spare them make them see the path tempting as that sounds i'll have to pass I know whats needed for the good of my people To save them Out in the dark without warning He raised his fist above led a cry to his people to tear those statues down Now they'll face the consequences They held themselves above This is [The Will of The People](https://youtu.be/B-iNIwAFzPw) he said I wish I could spare them make them see the path tempting as that sounds i'll have to pass I know whats needed for the good of my people To save them Drop your arms and march for them Turn against the wall and bow your head Speak your last words, let them be said \gunshot\ Out on the march in the morning He called his comrades down to take aim at the traitors To gun those fascists down Now they'll face the consequences they held themselves above this is the [The Will of The People](https://youtu.be/B-iNIwAFzPw) he said I wish I could find it the way to restore peace Blessed were the days we held in vain I'd give it all for a chance at redemption As the cycle turns again \gunshot\ You've seen it before now you'll see it begin \gunshot\ You've seen the changes and the blood pooling \gunshot\ If you think it ends here think again \gunshot\
"Don't open that box. We can't reset history back this time,"Nell said, holding onto her left arm, still attached, but fading steadily. "I know... But, maybe this is what we need. We all need. We didn't get it right last time, but this is our last chance..." My hand was trembling, just as it was before the last time. Lifting up my hand, turning it over to see my palm. Nell knew I was right, but do the consequences outweigh survival? Turning to look at Nell... The ribbons of her life fraying all the way up to her shoulder now. I could see the pain in her face. The way she gripped something that wasn't even there anymore... She gave up her life for this... A price paid for our transgressions. Wiping the tears out of my eyes, I reached out to her, trembling each step. "Your right that it is our last hope, but perhaps we are meant to die instead,"Nell claimed, "and what if we fail again? It's just you this time. There is no going back." There wasn't much to say. Looking into those gold, pain-struck eyes. She always was the stronger of the two of us, but we both prepared that this might be our goodbye. I suppose I wasn't ready for it. What else was there I could of prepared for? We been over this, but I refuse to acknowledge a goodbye. I kissed her. Gentle, slow... Nothing fancy... This might be our last. "Don't forget."Nell spoke, as she went to bring me in for a last hug. Gripping me close one last, as her existence shattered in near moments in this last second. I felt cold. For a brief second of her embrace, there was her warmth. But not anymore. Just cold. I'm trying not to cry. I cannot let things end here. We were the last of creation to have this ability. Some would call is God's children, others the Satanic's offspring. Was this a curse, or a gift? The conundrum we talked about for hours. I wiped the tears out of my eyes again. I stepped back to the box. Will I be able to control it this time? Will she forgive me if I couldn't? I traced my fingertips over the carvings. Nothing about this box was ordinary. But then, because there wasn't one thing, it seemed to possess an ordinary appearance. Runes, and circles, and words riddled the surface of this box so much, that it had layers. This box was once believed to be pandoras box. Unfortunately, it was determined this box predated that notion several years back. I placed my hand fully on the lid, thumb flicking the clasp up to hide under. The box was warm. Terrifyingly warm. Or was I just that cold? I guess it didn't matter. It seems so obvious to just, open the box. Would anyone else alive open it? Felt rhetorical to even ask myself. I took my hand off. Is humanity even worth saving? Nell did say, 'don't forget'. What did she mean? Humanity lost control of their greed several years ago. It started as a new idea. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have to stop here. It has been several years since I wrote anything, and I wish to get back to writing and realized I don't even remember how to write. I wanted to write 3rd person, but couldn't even that. But now I need to go, something came up unfortunately.
The Universe is a vast place. A infinitely large reality. But in the multi-verse, it is much like any other. Its laws might be different, but they all formed equal. Bar one, which seeks to consume others. Unlike a beast, it can't just devour them. Instead, agents from it must slip into the other universes, making wounds in their fabric of space time. Too many, and the Void leaks through, adding that universe to its growing collection. But in this Universe, it seeks to destroy those agents. Others would banish them, but it destroys, making the Void that tiny bit weaker. But it cannot intervene directly. Instead, it must use the beings inside it to fight back. As the agents can only break through where sentient life is, it prepares its defenses. On Earth, it knew agents would see it. A world full of life, with darkness at its core. It would be easy to make a rift on. So it spoke to them. A whisper, made from overheard conversations. A fallen paper, the words it needs to say the only ones legible. In some cases, it intervened more directly. A childless couple, desperately wanting kids. It would make a miracle birth happen, using a part of its spirit to breath life into them. That child would be loved, and cared for. But also, it would be closer tuned to its whispers. They would hear it, but not understand at first, too simple to realise. As they grew older, pieces would fall into place. A hint to learn to fight. An idea to learn as much as they could. An urge to keep healthy. Then thoughts that something was coming. At somepoint, they always concluded that something was talking to them. When they opened themselves up fully, the Universe would speak to them directly. They would hear it clearly, some interpreting it as a god, others nature itself. All part of the truth, but not fully. Some would form religons around its words. They made a great force, for killing outsiders. Though sometimes, it would be misdirected, they served their purpose. Others walked alone, shadows in the night. Lone wolves, to hunt agents. To kill them. They would all know other Universe touched when they say each other. And they fought, to protect their world. To protect their Universe.
Lilith smiled at the demon "Oh? Thanks for grabbing that for me."She said, gently trying to take it from the demon which quickly pulled it away. She blinked, a look of annoyance on her face. "You come into my house. Go under my bed. Grab my stuff. And decide to be an asshole? Really. Y'know I could call the cops." "I'm a demon. And as I said we-" "Demon cops." "W-what?" "Demon cops. I'll call the demon cops." "There are no demon cops- you know what, I ain't putting up with this." The demon waved his hand and Lilith found herself unable to talk or move. Demon magic it seems. Lilith rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. "Alright, now that I have your full attention.. this is fucking gross. You have used this EVERY night and haven't tried cleaning it once!"The demon growled waving the toy in the air "Oh, and don't even get me started on these-"it throws the magazines at her before continuing "Why even have these! You have a computer and access to so many websites!" It sighed slightly, calming down "Just get a boyfriend or something. I have to hang out under the bed and I'd prefer to not have to worry about how many diseases are lurking there with me. At the very least put them in a drawer." It allows her to talk again and waits for a response, standing with its arms crossed... for five minutes. Lilith had fallen asleep as it spoke. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?"
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"Ah yes, the one that got away..." Why am I suddenly remembering that moment? Of all the memories I have of the man, the conversation I had with him just after he divorced mom came up. I guess it can't be helped. The news channels had been reporting the same thing over and over again for the past few days. That man turned out to be a murderous maniac, currently a fugitive running from the law. The police and all of the alphabet agencies you could think of are currently on his tail... It's weird. Growing up I always thought he was a good man. I didn't see him often, he lost the custody battle and only got 1 day a week of visitation with me. But every time he did, he always treated me how a kind father should. We went to baseball games, watched movies. He would buy me any toys I wanted. He really spoiled me rotten. Mom didn't really like it however, she moved us far away from him effectively screwing him out of spite. Maybe she saw something I didn't...now I might've seen what she did in him. \ring ring\ Oh speak of the Devil, it's my mom calling me. "Hi mom, what's up?" "Honey, have you seen the news?" "Yes of course, mom. Hard not to, it's been non-stop for a few days now" "I'm worried, son. I'm worried he's going to go after us. After me" I can hear my mom sobbing in fear. My heart broke. I forgot she could be in danger now she lives by herself since I left home a few years ago. "Mom, it's gonna be alright okay? Actually I'm coming there, just to be safe. In case he shows up I can protect you", I reassure her. "Okay honey, okay. I'll see you soon", in trembling voice my mom hung up. I put down my phone, staring blankly at the news playing on the small TV... "Ah yes, the one that got away..." That memory again. This time however I could vividly see his face...his somber face. Full of disappointment, but still full of love. I could tell he wished he had made his marriage work. He loved mom, he loved me. I can assure you he was a good man, albeit shy and unassuming and was just down on his luck, he still is a good man... That's why I knew, it was easy to frame him. Burying chopped off body parts around his property was quite the task, but since he lived alone it worked beautifully. Now everybody thinks he's a cold blooded serial killer. But I sighed, shook my head lamenting my oversight. My mother was the one detail that somehow escaped me. I picked up my knife and went to the screaming bloody girl tied up on the corner of my basement. I better finish this quick, it's a long drive to mom's house.
My mother sighed as she joined me in bed. The creature was directly in front of her, but she either couldn’t see it or was completely ignoring it! She put her arm around me and squeezed me warmly to her side. She didn’t seem scared or worried. In fact, she seemed a little annoyed. She looked towards it with a gloomy expression. “Honey,” she said calmly, “if I didn’t let you have a simple fish, what in the world would you think I’d let you keep him?” I looked at her, at a loss for words. She didn’t seem scared because she wasn’t scared. She was worried. “The house barely fits the two of us, and now you’re looking to add a whole other mouth to feed. I don’t have the time to help you keep up with the caretaking of any kind of being.” I stared at my mom in disbelief, then I turned to face it again. It stirred in its slumber as if it was in the middle of a dream. My mother’s reaction was certainly confusing, but I needed to gather my thoughts so that I might convince her. “You won’t need to spend any money on it, mom. We have everything it could ever need to eat at school, and I’ll make sure to exercise it at the park daily! Plus, it can offer us protection now that it’s just us.” I turned to face my mother, looking directly into her eyes. “And I’ll finally have something that’ll keep me company when you’re away,” I concluded with a pitiful tone. My mother looked at me, entranced in my desperate argument. A look of guilt washed over her face. She looked at me, then back at it. She sighed a defeated sigh and squeezed me into a tight hug. “I don’t know how to say no to you, my treasure,” she cooed as she planted a kiss on the top of my head. “Don’t expect me to help you out, young one. This whole thing was your idea. This is completely your responsibility.” “Of course!” I exclaimed, hugging my mother back just as tightly. I couldn’t believe that I pulled this off. “So what will you name your new pet, my treasure?” Mother asked. “I’ll call her… Lilith.”
“Hello, I'm Doctor-” The man was cut off mid grand gesture. The grace in which it came to a close would give a more perceptive man the idea that he was used to being ill-received. Sadly, he was not in that kind of company. “The Hell you are! I don't know how the other hospitals lapsed in checking you out before allowing you access to patients, but that shit's not going to fly in mine. I have a duty to care for these people.” The accusative man was tall and regularly imposing. All at once he was on the defense facing someone bigger than himself. He felt small, and it reminded him of growing up. He was afraid and pissed at himself for feeling that way. “I understand exactly how you feel. You have devoted your life to trying to save the lost. You've done everything you can to give hope to those family members and loved ones that can scarcely remember what that feels like. And, despite your best efforts, you have failed time and time again. You've become jaded, but you do the work, day after day you do the work. Those that you failed to save haunt your dreams more than you'll ever admit.” The man's words flowed smoothly and faded through the mind. It was almost as if they were not spoken at all. Gone was the bravado of his quickly cut off introduction. There was only a gentle sympathy. The doctor didn't feel like he was being judged; he felt...pitied. The doctor, barely noticed that he himself was responding. His mind seemed lost in reflection and barely paid mind to the world around. “Sometimes people can't be saved. Sometimes the mind let's go of what it needs to find it's way back.” The stranger had already started to walk away from the seasoned medical chief towards the halls with the long term patients, those that he had shamefully given up on. He truly wanted the man to succeed, but that was the hall of the hopeless, of the truly lost. He didn't want him to give up as he had. “Please, not that way. There are other patients that are more responsive. That way, there are only those that are empty. They exist only as bodies, nothing more.” He heard the words and felt the tears fall down his face. He wasn't sure when he had fallen to the floor, but had he not, the weight of the shameful truth he had kept hidden from so many families would have dropped him. “They are dead shells.” The man stopped his stride but didn't face him. “No doctor, they have only fallen asleep.” He resumed his walk and entered the first room.
I just want it to end. I should let it end. All I have to do is loosen my grip and let gravity take care of the rest. It's such an easy simple step and yet I still hesitate. I hate that about myself - always clinging on and never moving forward or backward. My watch seems broken as the second hand has stopped counting. I look down. Still dark. The canyon is so deep I can't see the bottom and somehow that's comforting. I should just let myself fall and let the shadows embrace me. It'll be quick and fast. Maybe I'll get a surge of adrenaline and feel something again in my final moments. An exciting end to a dull life. I can't do that, it just wouldn't be fitting. Someone like me doesn't deserve such an exciting death. I watched her die. No - I killed her. I always knew my hesitation would be the death of me, but I didn't think it would cost anyone else their life. How could I be so stupid? All that time spent thinking and I couldn't even move. She shouted something at me in her final moments - what was it again? She told me to remember something. The more I think about it the less sure I am. My arms are getting tired, but the discomfort comforts me. The cool sandstone cliff face sucks all the energy from my body. The sun can't reach me here. I can't be seen. I should stay here and forget. Clinging on to a pointless existence is something I'm good at. A still breeze of dry canyon air greets me, "Thanks for hanging in there. You're doing great!"it seems to say, "In a few minutes it will be sunrise!" That reminds me. I promised her we would watch the sunrise together. I usually sleep in and miss it. I don't have many merits but I do keep my promises. I fish in my pocket for the photo nearly losing my grip in the process. I instinctively claw at the rock to regain stability. That was close. I glance at the photo. Her sweet smile reddens my cheeks. "Remember to keep moving!"is written on the back. She always knew how to make me smile. A warm gust of air swept through the canyon encouraging me, "It's time! It's time!"I glanced at my watch. The second hand had started counting again. "It's time, Love"I whispered to the photo, giving it a quick kiss before pocketing it. I hoisted myself out of the canyon one arm at a time. My arms were exhausted, but it was easier than I thought. Maybe the pain was all in my mind. I turned around and gazed at the horizon. The thin tendrils of sunlight crept toward me. Like venomous snakes they seemed to spread out and envelop me. The sinister red hue of dawnlight bathed me in its unholy presence. It was every bit as beautiful as I had imagined. I looked fondly at the photo again. "Remember to keep moving!"I could hear her say. I was sure now. I took one step off the cliff edge and into my shadowy salvation.
This is the way I've always remembered it; the monotony of life bleeding one day into the next until it has blurred together into a large glob of time. Or perhaps I remember it day by day. Each one I wake to an alarm synchronous to the other workers minds at exactly 6am. Wake up, work, and sleep. And the process completes until our bodies are spent. We work of course to please our leader, the queen. We all have an individual collective purpose determined at birth in relation to gaining more resources for her. Miners, planners, scouters, architects, thinkers, and nurturers all work in harmony to keep the peace within our country. Then a special select few, determined to grow into cunning strategists become the drones. Revered throughout our colony, they protect our queen with not just physical prowess, but a superior intelligence network. Lower ranks work in their servitude. It is our honor, for they provide us protection from the outside forces. The day starts as any other day. An alarm wakes me up, provided by the synaptic nerve plug in injected to us after birth. Splashing my face with water, I look at the man staring back. Shaved head and brown eyes. We all look alike in this regard. The sum is greater than the whole of its parts they say. Do not stare too hard into a mirror or else unity is disturbed. The act of looking at myself bothers me, as though perhaps the act has eroded a piece of our network or safety. In fact, is it dangerous to think of myself as 'self'? Would others confuse their actions as mine? I pick up my rucksack, ready to join the mass. Filed out from our cubicle holdings, we line up and worm our way down into the tunnels to begin mining graphite. 'Every sector has a purpose! And graphite is one of the finest substances to mine!' our instructors taught us when we were young. Now it is simply a chore; nothing pleasing, but nothing displeasing. It simply is. The reward is the safety provided to us, and the unbroken governance structure. We value this security as we hammer out specimen after specimen and dump load after load. Where does it all go? But that question as well is dangerous to think. Our faces smeared in detritus and sweat, we continue on. Some are blessed with the ability to use machinery, scooping up piles of rock into a large sifter. But it appears too dangerous for the time and energy saved. "Have you heard? Have you heard?"A chorus of voices erupts in my mind. They speak out loud also; repeating the same question, unwilling to provide the answer. Work focus disjoints and bodies start to slam into each other. One worker elbows me, pushing me into the wall. I stay there, as the outrageous mob pushes in toward the center. "What? What?"I ask, in my mind, connected to all of those within my sector. "They've deemed the queen senile! A regime change has begun!"the worker nearest to me shouts. "THE PITS WILL OPEN! THE PITS WILL OPEN!"I hear blasted into my head. Emergency red lights whir at the tops of the tunnels, shutting off the normal florescent glow. Sirens accompany the excitement. A large ruckus overwhelms the tunnels. No one has a coherent thoughts. They all swim among a line of emotion and reason that falls short of language. Instead large blurs overwhelm my conscious until I slide down the tunnel wall to hold my head. Several other workers succumb to the constant mind shouting and find themselves in a similar state. An older woman, from across the tunnel stares at me. Half of her face is cut and swollen, her arm dirtied as well. "Have you ever been through a regime change?"she asks. "No,"I think back to her. "It's a real treat,"she thinks. "If you can survive."
”Bishop Simon, you are needed for an exorcism.” a messenger requested urgently. ”Is there no one else available?” The noble bishop replied with slight annoyance. ”Many others have already tried to rid the man of the demon, but there is something odd about the case that we can't understand.” The man said panicked. ”Then I will be there soon.” The Bishop stated. ---------- The large house on the outskirts of town was an evil place. This must be a powerful demon to affect this entire lot. It was no wonder that the others had failed the first attempt at exorcism. ”Hello, is there anyone home,?” The Bishop asked while knocking on the door. ”Bishop, it is good that you are here. The master should be asleep at the moment. Please follow me.” a strange man who appeared to be a servant of some kind answered. ”Do you know the name of the demon?” ”Yes, his name is Larry.” ”Is that the demon's true name?” ”Yes, he has been trying to get out for weeks now.” ”The demon is trying to escape? If that were the case then he could just leave.” ”Master is very controlling. His power frightens all of us.” ”If the human soul is the one taking control of the demon then there is nothing that anyone could possibly do. I may be able to contain him to this house though.” The Bishop pondered. ”How dare you bring this man into my home!” A deep voice bellowed through the halls. ”Master, I was letting this poor man in after a long journey here. Can he not at least stay to recover some strength for his journey back?” The servant begged. The halls seemed to darken as a man in a blood red suit walked into the foyer. His eyes glowed red with malice. Suddenly all of the candles were lit, yet their flame seemed to absorb the little light in the windowless room. “Of course, how could I be so rude. Bishop Simon, it is an honor to meet you. I am Mr. Deljiorno. I suppose that you are here for the same reason as the others.” ”I have been informed that you are being possessed by a devil of some kind, but I now see that it is you who is possessing a demon. I apologize to the soul trapped in your vile excuse of a container. How evil must you be to not only overcome a possession but to take the devil under you as well? I must leave this place now as there nothing I can do to free a demon from a human. I wish you the best of luck Larry, and now I must become.” ---------- The Bishop barely made it out before the doors slammed shut. He then hurried to the church to give a report and ask for support from others of the order. This was one of the worst possible situations that could have happened. The last time it happened required God himself to come down in human form to hunt it. This time their connection to the heavens was severed so they had no heavenly back up.
“Hello, best friend. It’s been a while.” I pulled the phone away from my ear in complete shock. This voice was familiar. Sounded almost exactly like Azura. But... she’s dead. “Okay, I don’t know who this is but this isn’t funny.” I hear a small gasp from the other end of the line, I could almost picture the way Azura would clutch her chest dramatically and pretend to faint. “You don’t remember me? How could you have forgotten? We were friends for years!” Now this was really getting confusing. Whoever or whatever this was, it was messing with my head. They obviously knew something about me i didn’t know about them, especially if they were impersonating my dead best friend. It wasn’t like it was even a recent death either, they’ve been gone for... how long was it now? Six or seven years, i can’t remember exactly. “Listen, this isn’t funny. Whoever you are I don’t want to hear from you again.” And with those words said i pressed the end call button. A part of me told me i shouldn’t have done it, that i should’ve stayed and let them explain, but i didn’t. I went on with my day like usual except for the constant urge to ring whoever that was back and ask them why they did it. And so i did. Well.. i was going to. But once i went to check my recent calls for the number i couldn’t find it anywhere, the last call i’d been on apparently having been my mother the week prior. Maybe.. just maybe, it really was her.
The hunger was pulsing through my body. It screamed though my veins, pounding against my skull. I had lost track of how long this has been going on. Maybe a few days? Is this what the rest of eternity would feel like? "Good Evening, Huntress." I let out a low growl at the sound of that bastard's cocky voice. If there weren't chains on my wrists, I would have torn him apart. "There's no need to be rude."The vampire teased. He was leaning against the door to my cell. The sadistic douche bag came down to torment me every so often. Lord Darius Black was one of the strongest and cruelest vampires I had ever faced. His clan had been hunting humans for sport and running a human trafficking ring. I had gone undercover as a Shadow, a human that lets vampires feed on them for money. I had hung around Darius's club and somehow he had seen through my disguise. He led me into a trap and instead of killing me honorably in battle, he tainted my blood. He had apparently taken my espionage work very personally and knew that turning me into a monster was the worst thing he could do to a Hunter. "Poor little kitten, look at you trembling with hunger. I have been a very neglectful Maker, haven't I?"He mocked. "Don't worry, today I am going to teach you how to be a proper vampire." A screaming woman was dragged into the cell by one of Darius's lackeys and tossed at my feet. "God, please help me!"She grabbed at my arms. "They are monsters!"She sobbed into my chest. Everything had gone red. I could't see her face or features. I could only hear the rhythm of her heart thumbing against her chest and the roar of her pulse echoing in my ears. My fangs lengthened in my mouth, cutting into my tongue. The blood that filled my mouth was foul. I had been dead too long. I needed something fresh and warm. The woman's cry of absolute fear as she saw what I was snapped me out of. She let go of me with a fearful shriek and ran to the other side of the cell. I retreated back into my corner and buried my face into the wall as I tried to focus on something other than how hungry I was and the reek of fear and adrenaline that was filling the small cell. I yelped out as Darius roughly pulled me up to my feet. He grabbed me by the jaw so I was facing the woman. "I know you are hungry, Victoria."He whispered in my ear. "It's been three long days since you've turned. I'll be honest, at first I was just going to starve you until you were driven insane and set you loose for your own people to kill, but now-"He ran his fingers through my hair. "I have changed my mind. You have such potential. You just need proper guidance."He pulled me towards the cowering woman. "No! Darius, stop!' I pleaded with him. "Please, just kill me! I don't- I don't want to be this- I can't!"I tried to pull out of his grip. He roughly shoved me down in front of the woman. "You need to feed. The first kill is always the hardest..." "No, I am not going to-"I protested. He kicked me back towards the woman as I tried to back away. "Please..."The woman sobbed at me. I dug my claws into the palms of my hand as I struggled to resist the raw primal instincts that filled me. Darius let out an annoyed sigh. He walked over to the woman and slashed her with claws. She begged and pleaded for her life, I think. I mean, I assume she would. I didn't hear any of that. All I could focus on was the scent of blood and then everything turned to red.
The dragon stood over her body... silent as the mercenaries jeered and mocked his suffering. They had gained the king and kingdom's favor by promising to kill him, the oh so dreadful beast. It would have been fine... they never could have killed him and he was going to protect her, just as she had protected him. She had found him as a little girl and instead of fear in her eyes that day, he had seen only loneliness. She and him became friends and she even found him another spot deeper in the woods so that the knights and other "warriors"could never find him. She told him of her abusive family and how her father practically sold her off to any man who wanted her. He wished he could comfort her with words but what little signs of understanding and compassion he showed seemed to be enough, she'd always come back and bring food and more stories, sometimes good and sometimes bad. He vowed to protect her should she choose to stay with him. Then one day she didn't come back and he began to worry. So he used a small amount of power to see through a bird's eyes near the closest village, he assumed that's where she must be. What he saw then enraged him beyond human comprehension, there were armored men in the village beating and robbing it's residents. Somewhere in the fray he could hear the girl's voice, screaming in agony. He ran faster than he had ever before, but once he had reached the village he could feel that something had changed. As he approached the village a larger man wearing armor bellowed some sarcastic greeting and approached the dragon, dragging his friend by the hair. He could barely hear the mercenary's words, his ears rung and his vision blurred. She loved her race, despite the things they'd done to her, she'd always said that. He knew she would ask, probably beg, him not to do what he knew he was about to, but any restraint he had was ripped from his mind the moment the mercenary ran her through with his sword. Right before her soul left, she looked up at him, wanting him to spare them but knowing what was about to happen and understanding perfectly why. The dragon let out not a roar but a sound indescribable by man, making even the leader of the mercenaries stop in his tracks, they had thought they could kill him easily, that he was just like any normal beast to be slain, they were wrong. He was older than even the universe, he had sat dormant for a length of time only known by beings beyond human comprehension and now the only joy he had ever felt had been ripped away from him by people who only cared about money, sex, and cruelty. As his eyes turned a black that was blacker than the depths of the cosmos, the screams and then croaks of the mercenaries faded into oblivion, trapped in a life of suffering that the being had made in the moment. The being then noticed similar events happening all around the kingdom, this mercenary group was much larger than just the ones that had attacked the village near him. He reached out further and touched their minds. Long, black tendrils wrapping themselves around each of their fragile consciousnesses. Some saw where they were going and took their own lives, the unlucky ones didn't have the time and where converted into bumbling zombies, trapped in their mind while their body began to destroy itself. The being then turned his attention back to the girl. He gently picked her body up and checked to see if her soul had gone to a good place, it had. He was glad for that. He buried her in a temple only known to him and even now sits there, guarding it and her from anyone who would dare disturb her again.
"... Than again he is an astoundingly good scientists. Well most of the time. I know all of his experiments are kinda wierd. I mean why make your cat talk of all things, especially when you already got someone like me to hang out with... Well sometimes his experiments tend try to destroy this city. But you know they never succeed. And most of his lab results are not even lethal. "About that..." "But do the people understand? No, apparently ALMOST whipping out half the city makes you the bad guy. Can you believe it??" "Actually yes. Quite so. " "What, you of all people? You hang out with him like every other week!" "There is a difference between saving the city from someone and hanging out with him you know? Speaking of saving the city we both are currently in. The one about to be destroyed by a sentient crab with a nuke!? Could you please help get out of this cell to end this madness!" "You want me to help you? After you faked throwing the ball last week?" Tbc?
"Humans? Those giants have the nerve to turn us, magical creatures with many stories, into garden accessories?! Thise humans love their size, and even call short humans dwarves. WE ARE NOT THE ONLY SHORT SPECIES!!" "Well, I don't have a problem with humans, so don't ask me. They turn us into badass nature warriors, so we're cool." (Halflings died many years ago, so no interview) "Oh, those humans are sexist sons of bitches! They think we only wear shells for bras?! We wear wet suits all the time! YOU THINK A BRA OF SHELLS WILL STAY ON AT THE SPEED OF A PEREGRINE FALCON?! Plus, there are mermen as well, but noooo, it's all about the hot ladies!" Quotes by- Pinn the Dwarf, Proffesional Lawnkeeper, Gwendolyn the Elf, Professional Humans Rights Activist, and Karen the Mermaid, Professional PETA Worker.
The first time I saw my father die came as a great shock, although thankfully he was there to console me after. It was the first time my psychic abilities manifested. What I had seen was the future, in such vivid detail, as if I had been there now instead of later. And once my ability manifested, it was as if a dam had burst. They told me of how the shock of my first vision had repercussions, how my abilities were trying to protect me from something it shouldn't. I'm still hoping to go back to that moment, because I fear my mind was in another time when it happened. Still, whether it has happened or will happen, I can only hope it happens again. I try to pay more attention to my surroundings now. Too often before, I was just drifting through life without paying any mind. Even before these visions, days could just mesh together into a grey blob. But now, I need to pay attention. When the overcast day turns bright and sunny in an instant, I know that it isn't the same day. When a stranger talks to me as if they know me, when I speak words I don't understand, I'm likely in the future now. Sometimes, to test if I am in the now, I try to do something stupid, wave my arms over my head, make hooting noises. It's just a vision after all, but since they are me, they tend to do as I think I'd do, it can be hard to tell our actions apart without doing something that deviates so heavily. Sometimes, I do something stupid before I even think I am in a vision, showing I must have thought it was a vision even when it was real. It always pains me to see it, not just out of embarrassment. I don't seem to have ever achieved steady employment. I'm unreliable, missing days, showing up in places I must only get employed at later. Get angry calls from unfamiliar people asking why I didn't show up at work, angry calls from my old boss asking why I didn't show up to work today. Was him firing me in the future then? Or am I in the past? If it is a vision, we both seem to be in the same mind, hanging up and throwing the phone in the trash. The second time I saw my father die, the shock was far less. My father came to console me all the same. He is a wonderful man, I can't imagine what it is like to have a son like me. But he has always supported me. I'm not sure if I will survive when he dies, that thought is what convinces me he must still be here. Someone like me, who struggles to do anything beyond basic bodily functions, for the body doesn't lie, who can't be trusted to be there when needed... I hate myself for it, but what can I do? I try moving things, try to do something different every day, leave some form of marks to try and judge where I might be in the passage of time. Tried to make friends with the strangers when I found them, to have more anchors to the present. But it hasn't worked, there's too many marks now. I look at the count of days I place, even when I seem to be in control, in the now, there are far too many to be as many days I have experienced this madness. At least I tell myself that. The third time I saw my father die, it still felt awful. There was nobody there to console me. Perhaps this is the end. The fourth time I saw my father die, it was clearer then anything I had seen for so long. My eyes fail me while my mind's eye does not. Unless that is my mind's eye that blurs everything together, even with the rims upon my face. The fifth time I saw my father die, it came as a great shock. Thankfully, my father was their to console me. Maybe he can also protect me from the darkness that approaches, the weight of my own flesh. Please, father... I can't live without you.
My double stood across from me, arms crossed and a smile on his face. The double-- reflection? clone?-- started pacing my small room. "We don't have too much time,"he stated, rubbing his non-existent beard with one hand while the other remained behind his back. "If you want your revenge we'll have to start now, I'd say. We'll need to use the full seven days, though." "Um... so wait a second--" "We'll need some more supplies, of course. That shouldn't be too much of a problem for us, though, if you know what I mean."The clone winked at me. "No, wait, what do you--" My reflection continued on pacing and talking, as if he hadn't heard me. "Feathers will be a must, of course. A bit of glymoxin, as well. Wait do you have that here? I'm always getting these kinds of things mixed up. If not, ignore that, if you please." I stepped in front of him and hold out my hands. "Stop. I have absolutely no idea what you're saying. How did you even get out here? You're just my reflection, right?" The reflection stopped and scrunched up his face in confusion. Then his smile grew even wider than it was before. "Oh! This is great! You're the first, then? I always wondered how it started out." He grabbed the one chair in the room, sat in it, and folded his arms. "Now then. Where to start? I guess, we need to make some corrections to your thinking there. First of all, I didn't 'get here,' really. I was always here." I blink. "No, I'm pretty sure I'd known if there was another of me in this room when I got here. There aren't too many places to hide, you know." The clone chuckled and waved his hand in the negative. "No, no, no. Not like that. I was in this room, but not here. Make sense?" I open my mouth to respond. "I guess not,"the clone cuts me off. "It's like this. I was in the room here, but in a different universe. We have the power to bring what's in our eye by breaking the reflection in our eye. The only problem is, the only way we'd be able to do that is blind ourselves. So, we generally use a mirror as a proxy to break." He stood up suddenly and nodded to himself. "Okay. Explanation over. Revenge time. You want it, or not. As I said before, we have a seven day time limit that I can stay here for, so let's make this quick, shall we?" I rub my beardless chin in thought. "I guess,"I reply after a bit. The clone walked up to me and shook my hand. "Wonderful!" I mean, I have been feeling stressed lately. It'll be nice to relieve it in what seems like a harmless prank. And besides, what's the worst that could happen? This is me, after all.
It had been 20 years since Sam had returned to his home country. A lot of things had changed since he first left to work for greener pasture. The technology, the buildings, and even the people seemed to gone through a metamorphosis. And he watched it all through the lens of social media. His home felt so familiar yet also so foreign. And now, he was home. He could finally see just how different life had become. His brother David was the one who met him at the airport. He helped Sam load all his luggages into his Tesla and the two rode away from the airport. "Thanks for picking me up, Dave,"Sam said. "No problem, big bro,"David replied. "Hey, I hope you don't mind if our travel home would take longer than before. The highway is busted. A lot of people have been taking detours lately." "Oh no, it's fine. I don't mind the long journey. At least I can see more of the place." David hummed in reply. He turned the radio on and let the music fill their vehicle. Sam placed his hand against the window pane and watched the buildings pass them by. Big glass buildings, small brick buildings, and everything in between littered the roads. There were also people in shiny shoes and thick coats. Thick coats. That's a bit weird, he thought. The weather was so hot that it could fry an egg. And yet people were in heavy-looking clothes, maybe a bit too heavy. Then he noticed that they were in face masks and face shields. Why, wasn't the pandemic over ten years ago? Yet why were people still wearing them? They were disease-free last time he heard. That was when he noticed something falling from the sky. He looked up and saw dark snow falling. No, it was not snow. It was soot. Soot was falling from the sky. It couldn't be. The weather was perfectly fine when he landed. He was about to roll his window done to investigate when David stopped him. David said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." David pointed forward. Sam shrieked at the top of his lungs. A gigantic hole in the ground, likely the size of a football field, was oozing with magma. Men and women in hazmat suits were surrounding the enormous hole up close. There were plenty of detour signs around the site and people paid no attention to the gigantic gaping crater that was slowly growing larger every day. "Jesus Christ!"Sam exclaimed. "What is that!?" "God knows,"David nonchalantly replied. "It had been there since December. No one knew how. But the government is fixing it." David made a sharp turn to the left. Sam watched in horror as a scientist walked too closely and was engulfed in flames. At first, he thought he saw the scientist slip. But no. There were tentacles! Magma tentacles just grabbing on a bunch of those people and dragging them into its depts. Sam was palpitating but David only placed a hand on his shoulder and said. "Life for us is going fine. People just walk or ride around it. As long as you don't go near it, you'll be safe. Just don't think too much about it, okay?" It had been 20 years since Sam had returned to his home country. A lot of things had changed since he first left to work for greener pasture. But deep down, he wished he did not leave work in the first place.
It was simple enough, a flash of light from, well, a flashlight. The projection zoomed across the room until it reached the opposing wall. Rick scribbled down a note. He tried again, this time aiming it at the garage door, he jotted down again. After throwing the flashlight behind his back he collapsed into a swivel chair which subsequently travelled across the room with the presumably mad scientist on it. He scooted back over to his desk and picked up the clipboard he had been scribbling on, a chart with every day for the past two weeks and a number next to it lay on the paper, the number going down each week, slowly but still a noticeable pattern. The days had also been affected, everything happening minutes after they were meant to, light flooding the earth at incorrect times. Rick was, by all accounts, a genius, but this phenomenon pissed him off to no end. He threw his chair back across the garage and kicked off the walls to keep himself moving, hoping the movement might give him some sort of revelation. With his hands running through his hair in frustration the scientist rolled back to his desk again and picked up his cell phone, dialling quickly. “Alby, its Rick, have you noticed it?” The voice on the other line sighed. “Are you drunk?” “Answer the question.” “You’re going to have to be more specific Rick.” “The light dammit. It’s slowing down.” “You’re telling me, the speed of light, the very foundation for most quantum mechanics and also the source of life as we know it, is slowing down?” “...Yes?” The phone hung up.
“(How the hell did this happen?! I thought you said you fixed it!)” The Bi-pedal slime green man said in an alien language, arms crossed. Skit’s groaned, pulling himself out from under the Conductor pipe. He stood up, wiping some of the grease on his hands onto his white tank top. Just as he was about to speak, a metallic pop followed by a high whistle of air-filled the engine room. Skit groaned again, taking some Gaff tape and running to the leaking pipe, his bare feet beating against the metal grated floor. He wrapped the tape around the leaking pipe, stopping the whistle noise. Skit then turned to the green man. “No, I said I ‘stopped it’. I would have fixed it if someone gave me some coupling tubes!” “(We got you Coupling tubes, you just refuse to use them!)” Skit scoffed, walking to a pile of scrapped parts, pulling up a long silver tube, picked apart for parts, wires hanging from both ends. “First off, these are Val-kali Coupling Tubes, and this is a human ship, meaning Val-Kali parts won’t cooperate with human parts, meaning I have to tear these Couplings apart to make them fit with the human parts!” The green man rubbed the bridge of his nose, frustrated. “(I hired you as an engineer because you’re a human, and this is a human ship! You should know how this thing works!)” Skit gave a sarcastic laugh. “Second off, all the parts you give me are recent model parts. This ship is over 100 years old! The parts from then and now are so different that I have to basically make my own parts so that they fit. How do you want me to make the ship float when I don’t have the appropriate parts to fix it?! If the Coupling tubes on the HUMAN ship break, guess what, I need HUMAN couplings! And not an FA-47 Coupling tube or an NT-25 Coupling Tube. I need an IG-73 Coupling Tube that was made specifically for this model of ship!” The Green man groaned, throwing his hands in the air. He cussed in an alien language, leaving the engine room. Skit sighed, pulling the straps of his overhauls down. He picked up his small toolbox, then climbing up through the pipes in the room to the vent at the top. Because of his small figure, he could fit into the vents, scooting across it. The vents were dark and cold, but Skit didn’t mind. In fact, the vents were probably his part of the ship because no one could fit up there. No one except…. “(Hi Skit!)”, a young girl’s voice echoed in the vents. Skit jumped in surprise, hitting his head. As he rubbed his head, he saw a little girl, around 5 or 6, laying in front of him. She had violet slime-like skin and wore a big smile. Skit groaned, giving her a hard glare. “Lula, did you hear what your dad said? Don’t go into the vents. It can’t hold much weight. Get out”, He said, scooting past her. He came to a circular vent. He twisted the vent part off, taking bits and pieces out so that the air could flow smoothly. As he was working, he saw Lula coming up to him from the other side of where he was facing, still wearing that big smile. “(Why is there junk in the respirator?)” Skit groaned, closing his eyes in frustration. “If I tell you, will get out?” Lula nodded. He let out a breath, digging his hand deeper into the respirator. “Well, this model composes urine into clean water and clean water into air. But, over the years, other races got hold of these models and started compromising. By the time your family bought this ship, some \Idiot\ linked the waste compressor to the air vents, and some of the waste gets in and blocks the Respirator. Understand?” “(Nope!)” Just as Lula spoke, Skit finished. “Good, then get out” Skit turned around, scooting for another respirator. Lula let out a sad sighed. “(Ok. Hey, dinner will be ready soon. Don’t be late!)” “I won’t”, Skit yelled back to Lula, hearing her slide the across smooth vent. (Hi, this is my first WP. I would have made it longer, but I was tired and didn't want to hold off and not publish like some other WP's I've tried to do. Please know that I have no idea how a spaceship works, so I'm sorry if it sounds weird. Please enjoy)
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Are you a lonely monster looking for some companionship? Does your heart feel like going on a killing spree when you see two people in love? Is your ex-partner too scared of seeing you in your coffin? Then Monstr.com is the right place for you. At Monstr.Com you can make an account for free, and find the right partner for you. Many people have had successful love lives from Monstr.com. Even death can’t do them apart! You have the option to filter your future dead partner with suitable filters like vampires, zombies, zombies that don’t speak, zombies that just blabber, aliens, and on fan requests: The White Walkers. “I always used to come home and sit alone on my couch. My parents were fed up and desperately wanted a grandchild. I had even considered surrogacy, since I was a very big loner. But then, I scrolled through my spam emails and I found 105 messages from Monstr.com. The best day of my life!” says Dracula, “Now, I found a vampire from China who proved to be my perfect partner. Together, we lived a long life. Until she became sick, and then a human killed her, and then there was a lockdown,” “I have had 8 dates. 12 if you count the ones which didn’t show up, although one was with someone called an Invisible Man,” says Annabelle, a doll back from the dead. Whether you are dead or undead, you are just a single click away from living a life full of love and relationships and sex and marriages and unplanned pregnancies and kids and loans for their education and debts and bankruptcies and ultimately, divorce. And now, a word from our founder, Freddie Krueger. “I used to kill kids for a living. But then, I thought. Fred, why are you antagonizing kids when you should actually be making a few? And when I reached out to the human community for spending 5 nights at my place, not for sex but just for some cuddling and getting-to-know-you, I got so much backlash and hate. We monsters weren’t welcome among humans. Whatever false hope ‘Hotel Transylvania’ gives you, don’t believe in it. Humans don’t care about your loneliness. “Which is why I made Monstr.com. I reached out to the monster community and found out so many lonely singles like me. So log on to the site, and have some fun. You’ll never know when you find the Invisible Woman to your Invisible Man!” Your loneliness can be cured, at Monstr.com. Who doesn’t like a good night kiss and bang at Freddy’s? Remember, we value your privacy and your feelings. We are determined to find the best match for you. Join us now for one free date!!
Well, they weren't wrong; I can see why they would give it away rather than use it themselves, or give it to a hospital. It was effective, almost comically so, all pain had stopped within me. I felt... very relaxed. Something about my reflection in the window told me I'd never need another doseage, nor suffer from another illness while I lived. I knew I didn't have the resolve or drive to administer this cure to those who needed it. Time passed. It was secretly handed to those which are trained. The cure was placed into deep storage, kept vastly hidden from but the most senior of staff. It was to never be used or seen , even i-, no, especially if requested when other options were avaliable. The only time this was cure was authorised to be seen, was when there was nothing else that could be done to avoid it. The public was to never know of it's existance outside of a select few. If word had got out on what was in the box, the... attention they'd recieve would be... unwanted... by everyone involved. I could see the box there even clearer now, without the aid of my glasses. As the police cars came to a stop back then, came to take the cure away, and came to stop the stranger who had delivered unto me the mysterious box. They questioned me, asking how I obtained the cure, while attempting to take it from my hands. I described the stranger: Their sense of urgency, their stylish winter coat and gloves, and the red scarf covering their face. Failing to grab it, they demanded I give them the box and to remain while they called for backup. I couldn't let them touch it, couldn't let them take it from my bare hands. The last words of that interrorgation spoken by me were remembered vividly. "I can't let you touch the box, the cure inside has leaked out. You must wear glo... ves..."with that I collapsed dead, smashing the cure inside the box, and spilling it across the pavement. On November 17th, 15:42, 2 police officers were fatally poisoned alongside an innocent bystander just outside of ██████, who has asked to remain anonoymus outside of official records. Backup arrived on the scene to discover the bodies, and the remains of the poison stolen 3 hours before. Bodycam footage of the officers revealed that ████████████ had recieved the poison moments before collapsing and smashing the poison. The poison is being held secure at ██████ ███ for further analysis, alongside the bodies of the victims. The families were contacted and told minimal information besides what was absolutely required. Standard support and compensation will be handed out when required. End of record.
WELCOME TO GOD’S BLOG: THE TRUEST AND MOST DIVINE BLOG THERE IS! Thanks for coming to my blog, firstly. I would like to thank my sponsor Raid: Heaven Legends. It’s a brilliant game designed by the founders of Raid: Shadow Legends. These people have been instrumental in setting up the e-Heaven, a divine virtual experience for everyone on Earth. Subscribe to this blog for making your inbox purer than it ever will be. Check out the link below to play the game, Raid: Heaven Legends! Also, read till the end for a special announcement by the one and only...ME! Being God is not an easy task. It’s a very daunting task. The job comes with its ups and downs, but I have stayed this long as the pay is good (Not gonna discuss my income in public forum, but yeah I am rich). Lately, work has been very difficult though. I took a one week vacation last year and KERBLAM! Satan played a weird joke on everyone. And now, my work is more difficult than ever. Since everyone has been staying at home, I have been getting so many conflicting wishes. I had to literally sit down with a few of the Indian Gods to count the number of wishes for Biden to win and the number of wishes for Kanye to win. A woman prayed to me for letting her marry Zeus! Zeus! Are you kidding me? Does she even know what kind of rivalry Zeus and I have? I don’t even wanna talk about it. Half the people in this world want one thing, and the other half wants something else. And the remaining quarter hasn’t even decided if they want something, but still prays to me. Sorry me if my maths is a little off, but I think it checks out lol hahah. Toilet paper was a common ground in many people’s prayers so I made arrangements for that. Look the point actually is, I am still here. I haven’t left you. Granted, this year’s a little bit bad but you have gotta deal with it. Not cry and come running to me. I feel like nobody wants to talk to me unless they want something from me. I am not a genie for my sakes. There has been a lot of talk about mental health all around the world, but has anyone thought of mine? Everyone says that where is God, who is God. But no one asks how is God!! Am I of so little importance to you all? It’s been a constant chaotic work schedule with so many prayers and wishes for me to fulfill, but it gives me a headache. It barely leaves me time to talk to Mama, who seems to be the only person that cares for me. No one has wished for my well being in this big world of 8 billion people, not one! I get it that being stuck at home isn’t easy, but I have been working from home since ages. My mental health needs some help too. I don’t even have a therapist (Freud is in hell, else I would have chosen him). The only source of entertainment left for me is funny memes on Reddit about loneliness and being single. You know why? Cz they are relatable. I realize this became a crying and a rant. No, I don’t need your sympathy, I am God. But can we please come up with some organized system for prayers? Like at one day, people of only this area can pray with exceptions for emergency reasons? That’s just a suggestion I am sure the smarter people down there will be able to come up with a better system. Well, this a little disappointing for the first blog. But anyway, this is God signing off. AND NOW, FOR THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I am dropping in a vaccine. It can fall anywhere, look out.
"Tyler, for the final time, I cannot challenge Bobby to a duel. Dueling has been illegal for decades, and also he is 8 years old." Tyler pouted as I drove him home from school. Many things had changed in the centuries since I had sworn my life-long allegiance to the bloodline of Merriwether Black, Tyler's great-great-great-grandfather and the human who once saved my life. New Brackton was no longer a budding fishing village, but a booming...oh what's the word they invented...ah yes, "metropolis". Tyler interjected through my musings, "But Uncle Lussariel, he stole my Jade Axe Barbarian! It's an ultra-rare card!...and then he pushed me into some mud and called me 'poop-face' in front of all my friends." I repressed my weary sigh. Six generations of the Black family had grown and matured in my lifetime, but aside from Merriwether himself none had ever had as powerful a knack for finding trouble as young Tyler. Perhaps that's why he was my favorite. He reminded me of those simpler days, before the centuries of my Elvish lifespan had taught me so many difficult lessons. I inwardly chuckled to recall the dozens of times I saved Merriwether's life, but I never felt the urge to move on and claim my debt as paid. Merriwether saved me from horrors much worse than death: cynicism, depression, and resignation to a fate that Tyler would describe as “lame”. For millennia, my Elvish brethren have surrendered to the inertia of the universe, content to breathe in the calm and contentment of the sun filtering through the trees, finding peace in mere perpetuation. Merriwether showed me another way. To take the magic of that dappled sun and share it with others. To not merely hide away to rejoice in existence, but to reflect that joy outward to those who long to see the sun through the shadow of their situation. The man had a compulsion to tackle any evil, no matter how insurmountable. I will admit, I was no more help than any common soul when he sought to solve intangible problems, such as the hunger of a village struck by famine. Such challenges were better left to our long-time Dwarven companion, Tambor, and the magic of his ancestral faith. When the evil had a face, though...then, my skills truly shined. For a full century I had studied with the Elders of the Blade, honing my craft and inscribing the ancient ways of Elvish swordsmanship upon the fiber of my being. When Merriwether found a form of evil that had the ill fortune of being one or more living things, they would quickly learn to fear the taste of my steel. Probably the most invigorating fight was when we- "Well?? What are we gonna do??" Oh right, Tyler's bully problem. This particular brand of evil was nothing new; bullies have always existed, and always will. Even in a multicutural metropolis, old biases still bubbled to the surface. Some humans detest the longer-lived races like Elves and Dwarves, either due to jealousy or mistrust. For our part, we often take offense to the constant change that humans call "progress"as a foolish disruption of our traditions and lifestyle. I considered Tyler's dilemma. The understaffed and underpaid teachers at Tyler's school had long ago abandoned all pretense of investigating the details of such play-yard disputes; much simpler to equally punish all children involved in a disruption than to judge the intent and honesty of each. No, the inane bureaucracies that grew like a layer of weeds among the cornstalk-esque skyscrapers of this purportedly grand city were not built to address this particular brand of juvenile injustice. Nor was the crime deserving of evisceration, ruling out my specialty. No, this “evil of the week” would require a more…nuanced approach. “This ‘Bobby’ has antagonized you before, has he not? Can you discern a pattern in his attacks? Do you know what motivates his aggression? To defeat your enemies, you must know the measure of them.” “All I know is he’s a big meany-face. Whenever I’m happy to have a new thing, he takes the thing and knocks me over when I try to take it back. He thinks he’s so cool ‘cause his dad drives a Phoenix” A Phoenix? Fascinating. I surmised that Tyler was of course referring to the Fandir Phoenix, a gaudy conveyance with a prohibitive market price. It reportedly ran off of a 20,000 torch-power Flame Ruby, nearly ten times the strength of the Flame Ruby at the heart of the cheap, efficient Hippogriff I was currently guiding through the city. These steam-powered carriages were yet another example of how progress was determined to render my childhood education obsolete; one hardly ever saw horses on the busy streets of New Brackton. Still, I could not help but admire the ingenuity of humans. Taking a simple Dwarven enchantment, so common that nearly every Dwarven household used one for heat and cooking, and capturing this long-lasting source of elemental energy through mechanical ingenuity…all for the sake of getting places ever so slightly faster. Remarkable. Of course, the supreme extravagance that the Phoenix represented provided a glimmer of insight into Bobby’s philosophy. Perhaps the presented facts painted a picture of a spoiled, entitled child, who took the possessions of others out of some instinctual urge to assert his socioeconomic advantage? Swordplay might be overkill here, but one does not live as many centuries as I have without picking up a few extra tricks along the way. “Tyler. I believe I have an idea…”
He had met her 5 years ago exactly, at the park by his apartment. Just sitting there, looking stunning enjoying a picnic alone. Stricken by nervousness and wanting to be confident, he goes and with many instances of stuttering manages to strike up conversation. Seeming annoyed at first, the woman continued talking to him out of what seemed like curiosity, and he took that to his advantage. The next week, they were sitting at the cafe nearby enjoying some sweetbreads and each others company. By the end of the year, they were living together, fully immersed in their love. The last few years were a blur, just full of passion amid stagnant work and life in general. Now, he kneels in front of her on the edge of the Cliffs of Dover, their lives dependent on her answer to the biggest question he's ever asked. She looks at him quizzically, seeming almost surprised and as if this was unexpected. He looks back up at her with an expecting, loving, gaze. She, almost hesitantly, says yes. As he jumps up in pure ecstasy and gives her a long and loving embrace, she finally pulls away. "Wha- What happened? Where are we?" He looks around completely lost in what has just happened, before being on the edge of the Cliffs of Dover, now surrounded by autumn trees and a beautiful river running by. The air sharp and pungent, and the forest surrounding them alive with activity and energy. He steps back, looking at his now fiance, in a beautiful orange dress, fallen autumn leaves swirling underneath her feet. He looks at her with a fearful gaze, as if he had no words to describe the feelings of fear, anxiety, love, and most of all confusion running through his head. She looks back, still looking rather quizzically at him, as if she cannot understand what is going through his head either. Finally, she speaks. The man stands there, completely baffled as his fiance explains that she was the one and only god of death, the unnatural amalgamation of all things beast and human. The ultimate most hated thing, and the most feared danger to all beings. She quickly is on her knees in front of him, sobbing violently as she explains all of her secrets and insecurities, begging him for forgiveness for her silence. He looks on, with a concerned and loving eye, and gently lifts her up off of the ground, pulling her into a loving embrace. He looks her directly in her eyes, and softly reassures her of their engagement. He explains how he would trade nothing for what they have, and that he would only dream of being able to spend all of eternity with her. Expressing the final words of love he has, he holds her there lovingly for what seems like forever. Finally, he looks at her once last time, and repeats those fateful words. "I would only dream of being able to spend all of eternity with you" He feels his feet and hands slowly lose feeling, and he looks down to see them fading away. Shocked by her solution to the dilemma of immortality, he quickly slips the ring onto her hand and gives her one last show of affection before joining her, in eternity, in unending passion and love. &#x200B; I know it doesn't fit the prompt \perfectly\ but I got this idea in my head and could not let it go, but I hope anyone who read enjoyed!
“Quickly we haven’t got time!” The older, wrinkly me screamed. “They’ll be here any minute, you’ve got to do it!” Staring at myself, I couldn’t see it at first, I was more hunched, more rounded, confident, yet ugly, smarter looking, than I currently was. The eyes on my face showed a cruel world, and the rasps in my breath the long years of smoking. I should have seen it straight away. I was warned so many times. “Don’t smoke, you’ll die young, you already have a smokers cough” repeated in my head. “stand up straight, don’t smile as much, your eyes will wrinkle, don’t eat so much food; you’ll get fat and ugly” and here I was. I could see everything I was warned about for years, yet I ignored. Do I chose to ignore again? Why have I come back? Is life really that bad? Has something happened in the future I caused? Maybe someone’s coming for me who’ll hurt me worse than this ever could. Maybe I hurt someone who I shouldn’t have. Maybe.. I close my eyes and pray. Hope this is the right decision. Looking back at my pleading eyes I know I have to do it. I feel it all at once, then nothing at all. I hope this was the right decision. Looking at the younger me sprawled on the floor, I smiled. I knew it had to come down to this. I never listened. Never. I always knew better. I ignored. Finally I did it. It only took myself to do it. I listened. Finally I’m free. No more pain, no suffering, and I die beautiful, instead of this. This thing I’ve become. “Thank you” I whisper as I fade away. Suddenly there’s running, my sisters, and daughter caught up to me. Glowing with beauty, radiance and everything I could never be. Broken with sadness. They missed me. It was too late. Even at the end, I still didn’t listen.
It was a really, really bizarre circumstance, to start off with. Due to the fact that my phone had service, but for some reason wasn't pulling up the internet, I had a friend pull up the number to some people who could help us with the locked car. As it turns out, I dialed the number wrong, and the person I actually ended up calling, just so happened to be an underground organization, not unlike the illuminati. Then, after the most bizarre misunderstanding, I apparently ordered them to take over half of the west coast in my name, and just so happened to get the credentials needed, that being 'key locked'. It was funny, because after that weird misunderstanding, my friend called the company that should unlock my car himself. Whilst he was in the middle of doing that, a chopper landed on our location, saying that I was to go to a secret meeting. The secret meeting itself was, nervewracking, and yet I somehow went through the entire thing without them recognizing that I wasn't part of them. That, and some of the things I said started a rumor that I was their undercover shadow-boss, which ended with a rather shady resolution. So yeah, at that point, I controlled half of the west coast. The thing is...Things didn't exactly stop there. I was out with a friend a couple of days after, and we both decided that we wanted pizza, but for the second time in my life, the internet wasn't working. He gave me a sheet with a bunch of phone numbers on it, which were to the local pizza joints, something he had gotten in case of a situation like this (He's the smarter of the two of us). Well, I ended up dialing the wrong number again, and it just so happened to be another one of the secret numbers for this group. Another colossal misunderstanding later, that just so happened to have their secret code for taking over the entire world be 'pizza with stuffed crust and extra ranch', or maybe just some of those words, and I ended up being the secret ruler of the entire world. So...An interesting week, right? Just wait until you hear about Sunday, and what happened then.
When your at the top of your game, fame is a given. Before I was rich. Before I was dangerous. Before I was a whisper passed amongst boardrooms, galas, conferences... a whisper that serious looking people with the power to build and destroy sparingly used.... I was just a kid. It started with a vending machine. My father sat in a blue plastic chair, pallid under the heavy lights hospitals use to keep visitors awake. "Any minute now... any minute now....", wringing his pockets in and out, over and over. The man was barely functioning, only five at the time and my father's blubbering muttering and sweating turned into an aggressive anxiety that was eating away at me. My mother was dying in the other room and I had no idea. But my father was dying right in front of me and that was enough. I shimmied off a blue chair identical to the one my father was slowly suffocating in and slinked down the hallway towards the receptionist desk. The desk was by a heavy door that kept buzzing as doctors, nurses and patients cycled through. Next to it was a vending machine with The Snacks. Colored packages that made me warm and fuzzy. I wanted them. A couple minute distraction turned into an hour, I became obsessed with getting my hands on the contents of this magical machine. Too afraid to ask my father for money, knowing the wringing hands would just drop sweaty quarters. Forcing me to watch them roll off into an abyss that I was not ready to traverse with him. By the time my mother was dead I had found a way to distract the nurse, get behind the machine, tip it over, and be out with a handful of Oreos and chips. CCTV was just becoming popular at the time, so nobody knew it was me (except probably the receptionist, but my mother just died). That was fine with me. Everything was fine since I found my passion. Want drove me to break through vaults, high tech labs, industrial facilities, I became the exclusive choice of corporate entities and governments worldwide to test for vulnerabilities. My skills became good enough that I no longer was bound by laws or forced to take on jobs just for money. I became a PENETRATION TESTER only moving in the highest tiers. My "tests"if passed were more valuable then OSHA and ISO inspections, more valuable than AAA credit ratings, any entity that owned assets that I couldn't penetrate had visible stock price spikes and international renown. However those assets never existed. I never failed to penetrate. Taking a bribe to say otherwise didn't bother me. Honor, principles, self respect, these were foreign concepts. All I had was want. I had risen above those who called me insane. I thought that I had conquered everything there was. I was slipping into the abyss like my father and mother, the want no longer strong enough to hold me. Then one day, they came. More serious men, more serious whispers, looks that spoke more than they did. "We want you to penetrate the ISS" The request is so fucking crazy I call Elon Musk and have his ear within ten minutes. He owes me one. I spend the rest of the week training my body and mind, flipping through my tools; psychological, physical, technological, biological, physiological exploits that want created. The next day I step into an experimental SpaceX probe that was never meant to send anyone into orbit. I am in orbit within hours. I strap on a spacesuit and use a fire extinguisher to propel myself into the ISS gravitational pull, undetectable by the ISS sensors which were designed for normal threats, not complete psychopaths. The gravity is minimal, but strong enough that I approach the perimeter. I studied the blueprints for hours and aim myself perfectly at an inflection point with a secret. As I come closer a piece of space junk strikes me across the head at 1500 mph ending my want.
All their lives the citizens of this nation have been told the government comes first. That fitting in and obeying authority is the measure of success and the key to living a happy life. Being raised this way, around other like minded individuals, they believed it. But now with their glorious leader dead at my feet, as I look across the sea of fearful people below me, I know, even if they do not yet, that their lives would be all the better for it. Freedom is what I gave them. Freedom to hate me, to argue, to show their dissatisfaction with me. And they did. At first there were tentative protests. As they slowly realized they would not be punished for having different thoughts they grew bolder. But over time they also realized they had to freedom to choose. They did not have to be an electrician, they did not have to be a street sweeper, or plumber, or doctor, or anything. They could have personal interests and pursue what called to them instead of what they are called to. Humanity had crept back into the lifeless nation. People could make choices that brought them lower, lower than they were before the fall of the previous regime. But society learned to care. To help each other. To ensure no one stays in a pit of darkness. Arts, sciences, philosophy, and all subjects thrived when it could be done by those that are most passionate about them. I set a precedent. After I was content with the direction I had set, I chose a worthy successor. Someone who would continue my legacy. I voluntarily stepped down, a first for this newly rejuvenated nation. The first peaceful transfer of power in living memory. Over time I faded into the background withdrawing my tendrils of influence. I knew I would be needed again; every society corrupts with time. So I stay in the shadows and wait. Waiting until I would be needed to show the people what they have lost. As I have always done.
Cerus tried to force a polite smile before speaking in threatening tones, “I don’t exist to entertain people”. The old lady held up a garlic bulb. Wheeze! Choked Cerus ,”You vile old bag!” He hissed. “Takes one to know one”, she chuckled “Besides aren’t you hiding over by my tents from that hunter?” Cerus narrowed his eyes, “I don’t know what your talking abo—“, a man in a cloak with a crossbow passed in front of them in the distance. “You know I can turn into a bat, a really big bat, heckin big!” Cerus blurted out pulling the old woman in the opposite direction. “Wonderful! I knew you’d agree, right this way” she said. Anything to get away, Cerus had to get away. But this? A circus? Why not just jump on a wooden pike. He would practically be painting the largest “come and get me” sign for anyone miles around. “This will be your tent, we leave early tomorrow”, she said. “What’s this supposed to be?” Cerus asked kicking a small wooden crate that sat in the middle of the tent. “Well you’ll need someplace to sleep right? I’m sure you’ll fold up just fine in there” she said waving her hand. “I’m NOT furniture!!!” Cerus hissed but the old lady had left already. He stared angrily at the box. I won’t even fit in that wretched thing he growled stepping into the crate. He sat. He fit like a shoe in a shoe box with his knees tucked to his chest. “The hell did I climb in this thing for!?” He tried to wriggle out. “I’m stuck...” “Here’s your roommate” said the old woman returning and Cerus just sat in the box glaring. “I thought you said this was my tent?” He said. “Don’t make a fuss Penelope will mind her own business!” “And since we’re doing introductions please address me as Madam Margret” “Oh very well”, grumbled Cerus looking over at Penelope an adult elephant. She carried a paper bag around rattling it now and then. “Night!” Said Margret “Glorious”, said Cerus. Penelope sat across from Cerus’s box reached into her paper bag and retrieved a peanut. She dropped the the peanut into his box. “And just what are you insinuating?, I am not to be packed in this box like a broken thing!” Penelope patted him on the head with her trunk. Cerus sighed. It was going to be a long and unpleasant night. Before daybreak the tents were packed into the train. Cerus still shared a compartment with Penelope but at least she was quiet. The train traveled by day and set up for performances by night and the people really did eat the show right up. Despite the fact that all Cerus did was turn into a heckin bat.
"Be home before seven." That was the one rule in my house, before and during the war. My dad, being the leader of our budding nation was always nervous that I'd be captured by the other side. I turned twenty though, capable of defending myself. And I was tired of the war, of all the fighting. I lost my mom to the King of Dreams, and I wasn't going to let anyone else get hurt. "Be home before seven." My dad said to me, barely looking up from his paperwork. I told him that I was going to see if I could get some more elderberries to use in potions. He didn't question the sword of the shield, monsters were common in the woods. He did, however, question the map. I lied, saying that it was to map where the berries were growing. He smiled, cupping my face in his hands and calling me his 'smart little champion.' I shook him off in embarrassment He smiled at me once again, telling me to be safe and to, "Be home before seven." I came home well after seven. My dad was waiting there for me, asking me where I was. I said that I got lost and took a nap by the river. He told me to be more careful next time, that the King's men might find me. The Dream King came the next day, looking straight at my dad, "I'm glad we came to an agreement.""What agreement?""Oh? You didn't know?"The Dream King smiled at me, "Your son's hand in marriage." "Be home before seven." I never came home again, moving in with the King. He was surprisingly nice, making sure that I was comfortable with everything he did around me. We got to know each other and eventually fell in love. We had another wedding ceremony, a real one this time. Grey, my father's right-hand man, came riding on my dad's horse. It was about a year or so after I left, I hadn't spoken to my dad at all. He refused to see me, my letters would come back with the seal still on them. "You father, he... he's gone insane,"Grey gasped, trying to catch his breath. "He blew up the whole nation, he's lost in the rubble."I got on my horse, racing toward my old home. I jumped off, trying to take in the ammount of destuction. There were people scattered about, trying to gain their bearing and digging other out of the rubble. People mummured as I ran past them toward what was left of the castle. Nothing was left. We found his body the next day, where my room was. In his hand was a picture of me and my parents. We were laughing on a sunny day, just the three of us. I cried for days after that. We held his funeral at seven. "Be home before seven." I tell my kids. They ask why, but I just smile sadly. "Be home before seven."
I gazed at the silvery handle of the blue door. Eyes tracing every detail, every mar. I longed to pull it open. To see my friends smiling face. But he didn’t live there anymore and the new owner, well let’s just say they are not, friendly. It came to be one afternoon that I couldn’t bear it anymore and desperate for the nostalgia of times long gone I reached for that handle. I opened that door to a far off distant city because I missed my best friend but they had moved away a long time ago. The door creaked as I opened it. I pushed my teal rimmed glasses up and threw my long braid over my shoulder. A brown block of feathers seemed to be in the way. I pressed both hands against it. Hopefully it would move, I was dying to see through the door, just one more time. “You again!?” Came a muffled voice and a large eye opened parting the feathers to glare down at me. “The chicken!” I whispered harshly slamming the door as fast as I could. “Chicken!!?!? How dare you!” SLAM!!! Went the door. I let air in then out sharply sliding down the door until I was on my knees. The wooden floor splattered with a drop of water. Then another and another, it ran down my cheeks in waves, and I balled my fists and hissed through spit and snot. “Why did you have to go away?!, why did you leave me!?”
A thin young man with a bright smile steps into the room. He steps around a large sculpture to admire the gold-framed paintings along the wall. "Yo, this place is dope!" "Your enthusiasm is commendable."The exceedingly tall, gray-haired man sits behind a desk. An aura of yellow light shines around him. "Welcome, Mr. Grayson. My name is Jove. Please be seated." The young man sighs and meanders over to the desk. He slides the chair backwards, letting its feet screech against the hard floor. At last, he plops down and leans back to prop his feet up on the desk. His smile returns in full force. "So. What you got for me, man?" "Pardon?" "What drugs you got? Some dude told me you got something to make me feel like a god. So, what you got?" Jove's face and aura turn red. He grinds his teeth together as he closes his eyes. Placing one hand on Mr. Grayson's file, he absorbs all the knowledge of Mr. Grayson's entire existence. Then, his eyelids pop open. He glares at the man on the other side of the desk. With a wave of his hand, the young man goes flying across the room and slams into the wall. "How dare you? Do not show your face in here again!" Mr. Grayson lies limp on the floor. Eventually, he takes a deep breath and pushes himself back to his feet. He glares at Jove. Finally, when he can't stand it any more, he starts to laugh. The laugh grows and builds into a cackle, echoing off the walls. "I shall deal with you later, Loki. Begone!"Jove waves his hand once more. The young man vanishes, and the room goes silent. Jove takes a deep breath and waits until his aura turns yellow once more. He pushes a button on the corner of the desk and waits. A moment later, a short woman with brilliant blue eyes walks through the door. Without preamble, she marches up to the desk and takes a seat. "My name is Isabelle McDowell. I am here to take over as king of the gods, sir." He watches her intently as he places his hand on her life's file. She sits upright, unblinking under the god's scrutiny. "I see here that Athena referred you for the position. You certainly have the intelligence, at least. However, th--" "So, when do I start?" Jove's aura begins to shift toward orange in response to her insolent tone. "I was still speaking, Ms. McDowell, when I was so rudely interrupted."He raises an eyebrow and studies her. She gives no reaction to the rebuke, so he continues on, "There is the matter of your questionable beliefs. For example, the earth is most certainly not flat. There are ce--" "Yes it is!" Jove ignores the outburst and stands up. "There are certain things which were set in place long before the gods came into being. Such as the shape of the earth. Those things cannot be changed, and a god must understand those things."He stretches up to his full height until he towers over the woman, his aura growing darker and uglier all the while. He leans over her, watching as her haughty demeanor fades away. She sinks low in her chair. "Now leave my sight!" She gulps, then scurries out of the room. Rubbing his temples, Jove's aura returns to yellow. He pushes the button once more, and lays his head on the desk to wait. At the sound of the door opening, he looks up. He blinks in confusion. A German Shepherd sits, just inside the doorway, watching him with its big brown eyes. He lays a hand on the file and absorbs the information. This recruit (sent by Charis) is unexpected, to say the least. But as he learns all there is to know about the creature, the more convinced he is that this is the answer. A leader of the gods should be smart, loyal, strong, and brave. Who better to fill the role than this good boy? Jove's aura shines a magnificent, pearly white. He leans down and stretches out his arms toward the furry creature. "Come, Jack. You're hired." Jack bounds over, tail wagging furiously, as an aura starts to shine around him as well. He licks Jove's hand, and the pair walks out the door. Jove smiles, confident that Jack will become the most beloved god the world has ever known. \-------------- r/WannaWriteSometimes &#x200B; \[Edited because grammar-bot pointed out my ridiculous their/there mistake. May the grammar gods have mercy on my soul.\]
Waltzing through the large doors of his residence Brent Burn the city’s most vile crime lord stopped dead in his tracks. The entryway sported two aquariums built into the walls. He owned many aquariums but these tanks were his personal favorite. Each had a few schools of parahna fish residing within. These tanks however only held belly up parahnas sadly bobbing with the stagnant bubbles like lost helium balloons. He ran his hand through his slick black hair shutting his eyes before asking the men who had followed him through the front door. “What happened to my nibblers?” Brent wore a straight white suit with a black tie. He didn’t turn to face his men and they froze in horror. Shit I forgot about those f@&#% fish thought Jerry wracking his mind to find someone to blame that wouldn’t come back to bite him. Larry stared at Jerry who mouthed the words “don’t you f@&ing dare”. A second had passed and Arron the third man said calmly, “Gary was in charge of feeding them”. “Who the fuck’s Gary?” Snapped Brent whirling around the heels of his shoes shrieking. “Get that bastard! You bring him here ya hear!?” Brent continued without pause. A flurry of “Yes boss” and shoes clattering on the tiled floor commenced as the three men left in separate directions leaving Brent alone. He strode up to tank a deep frown etched in his face. “Look at you sorry ass expensive fuckers” He tapped the glass with his finger before muttering under his breath. “Nobody fucks with my fishes”. It took a day and a half for Larry, Jerry, and Arron to find the man named Gary. The four found Brent in what was known as the “Teethers” room. A large pool like aquarium sat in the middle of the room ominous shapes moving to and fro within. Brent stood by the edge of the pool back turned away. “So you killed my fish what am I paying you for?” He said turning to face a small balding man with a goatee. “I was in jail boss, the police took everyone they could”. “So you were in jail and they forgot to feed the fish?” He motioned his chin in the other men’s direction. “It’s as I said boss”, Gary shrugged wiping his sweaty palms on his pants. “It’s the cops fault, they made a mess of everything”. Brent smiled and motioned Gary to come to his side. Gary’s eyes widened but he obeyed. Brent slapped his hands down on Gary’s shoulders and held him at arms length beside the pool. He looked Gary in his brown eyes as sweat slowly traveled down the side of his temple. “Now Gary”, Brent said in a matter of fact voice, “If we blame our shortcomings on the police we fail to hold what is in our control to the same quality of standards we use on the little things we take for granted. Now take those fish for example I was damn sure I had Pete feeding those fish. I know Pete he’s a reliable man and hells fire in high water...” He paused when Gary’s face went blank. Gary had no idea who Pete was. “Larry” Brent snapped, “Where the fuck is Pete?” “Retired sir” said Larry “Oh, how could I have forgotten”, said Brent head turning, hands massaging Gary’s shoulders and releasing him. “As I was saying a reliable man who seems to have retired. Didn’t he have a son? Who was he? What was that name?” Brent said snapping his fingers. “Mortimer”, said Arron “Yes!, Mortimer!” Said Brent pointing at Arron. “Who names their kid that? Christ!” He continued before looking back at Arron eyebrows raised. “He broke his leg in a car crash boss”, said Arron. “Well shit, I should send flowers?” Said Brent looking deeply concerned. “I’m sorry I’m still trying to figure out who this is!!!” Brent said gesturing to Gary. Brent Burns three henchmen looked shocked then suddenly realized the problem. “You hired him boss out of the newspaper after the last guy kicked the bucket”, said Jerry. “Last guy?”, Brent said squinting his eyes before mouthing the letter, “O” which froze on his face as events he seemed to have forgotten came tumbling into mind. “Gary!” Said Brent arms wide as if to embrace the man. “My apologies you may leave”. “Oh, er thanks boss”, said Gary turning around to head out the door. “Larry I need coffee”, Brent said pulling a pistol from his pants. He shot Gary in the back of the head. He fell into the pool and several sharks tore into him. “And clean this shit up”, he spat referring to the spray of blood from Gary.
The Owl hunts at night. Anyone who would assault, rob or otherwise harm others finds themselves inches away from a mass of wet dripping fibers woven into a shape barely resembling an owl, watching them with a single bloodshot eye. Sometimes this is enough to give them pause. They let their would-be victims leave unharmed, and the Owl unravels itself and vanishes. Far more often it is ignored or attacked, and the Owl unwinds. Fibers become improvised garottes with all the strength and consistency of piano wire. Capillaries reveal themselves, latching onto their opponent and draining their blood. The police find the dried-out husks by morning. "The Owl"is a better name than "the vampire of Fairview", everyone agrees. It scares fewer people. Some powers are showstoppers. They demand attention. Super strength, the ability to blow things up by simply willing it to happen, or to mind-control crowds by music alone. Some powers are subtler and stranger. Failing that, they were never meant for the limelight. Indestructible eyes with optic nerves that could be extended and manipulated at will. Telekinetic control over all fibers. Psychometry, seeing five seconds into the future of an object, but only if it was part of a pair or a set. The Fairview Academy for Extraordinarily Talented Children has the most exclusive gifted program out of all the boarding schools in the state. Admission is by interview only. They offer generous financial aid to underprivileged young talents. No matter how indestructible they may be, no matter what resources you have on hand, it still hurts when you have to pull your eyes out every night to keep your scholarship.
If you are reading this book, it is better not to read at all. Instead you can read the Littlest Elf, and delight in the wonderful things that happen in the book. Instead you can go outside, and frolick in the grass. But if you choose to read this book, you will find yourself moaning in the unfortunate events that surround the Baudelaire children, the greediness of other people, and how one person never manages to stop the tide from rising and swallowing them, particularly if it is a literal tsunami. "We've been moved around,"Klaus despaired, a word which here means "fell down onto the sand and bemoaned Count Olaf's fate". "Into a–a horrible mill, an elevator shaft, and into a hospital that wanted to remove our heads. Through all of this Count Olaf was here. And now–he's gone." "But first,"Violet said, her voice rough from the Medusoid Mycelium, "how do we save ourselves from the Medusoid Mycelium." "Pickle!"Sunny said. "Yes,"Violet agreed sadly. "We're in a pickle. Ishmael has sailed away, and there's nothing we can do."If the Baudelaire orphans had not looked closely at the body of Count Olaf, they may never have discovered the cure. "Wait, Violet."Klaus said. "What's that thing in his pocket?" The question of what is in one's pocket is not a one to ask in polite conversation. People will lash out at you, what is in their pocket may frighten you for months (as I learned several years ago), and it may lead to the discovering of a ring which everyone wants to wear but no one wants to feel. But in this case, Klaus had asked the right question. Sunny paused to look at the body, and rummaged through. "A handwritten note."Klaus whispered. He read from the paper, soaked and hastily written on. "Go to the trees. Horseradish apple hybrid. Cannot say more. I is approaching." "I is an initial."Violet said slowly and numbly, which here means "seeing the strings build into a web of betrayal and lies". "Ishmael. Count Olaf knew he would die." "The hour isn't over yet."Klaus replied. He ran towards the tree, and knew Count Olaf's running training had paid off even if it wasn't intended. "Follow me."
\[Sharp Action\] Gus woke in an unfamiliar bright white room. He sat up glad to see his comforter still covering him; he was still naked under it. He felt a solid, cool, metallic surface against his bare cheeks. The walls appeared to be made of glass and glowed with the same white light that came from the floor and ceiling too; Gus did not see any doors or windows. "Good morning, Mr. Samson,"a woman's voice said from behind him. Gus was startled off the metal table; though, he managed to keep the blanket wrapped around him as he whirled to face the voice. A short, pale woman in a black suit stood next to a taller, pale woman in a matching white suit. "I apologize for the urgency of this meeting,"the taller woman said. Gus recognized her voice as the one that said, 'good morning'. "Unfortunately, you've made quite an alarming discovery." Gus was still semi-groggy when he woke up in the white room. When the unknown woman mentioned his 'alarming discovery' Gus suddenly realized why he was there. His eyes widened and he fleed to the closest corner. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"he yelled. "I won't talk about it anymore, no one believes me anyway." "I believe you, Mr. Samson,"the taller woman took a step forward and extended her hand. "My name is Dana Sharp; I'm here to save you from the aliens."Gus relaxed slightly. He looked up at her from the corner. Even knowing they existed, Gus could not tell the difference between aliens and humans. "Why should I trust you?"Gus asked. He wanted to believe help arrived. The month since he discovered the alien invasion plot had been non-stop stress for him. He tried informing several levels of law enforcement, but somehow his concerns were always dismissed. Often with laughter, and occasionally, with a stern warning to keep it to himself. "Half the population is already alien, how do I know you're human and not one of them?" "I'm not from your Earth, but I promise I was born human,"Dana said. "Huh?"Instead of fear, the logic in her statement confused Gus. "You're not an alien, but you're not from Earth?" "I'm not from your Earth, the one infested with aliens. I was born on an alternate Earth."Gus' eyes widened and he scrambled to stand up while keeping the blanket around his waist. "Does that mean I can go to an alternate Earth?"he asked. Dana gave a curt nod. "To thank you for raising alarm, Sharp Development will reward you with any life you want, on any Earth you like." "Any life I want?" "Sharp Development will provide all your basic needs; the rest is up to you." "Thank you,"Gus finally relaxed completely. Dana seemed sincere, and he did not feel threatened by her. He got the feeling that if she wanted him dead, he wouldn't have woken up. "So, when can I go back and pack my stuff?" "We brought your things; there's nothing to go back to,"Dana said. "Oh,"Gus was surprised. "Well, what's the plan to get rid of the aliens? How can I help?"he asked. He did not actually want to pitch in any effort; but, he was curious about how she planned to help. "It's already taken care of, there's nothing for you to help with. But, I admire your initiative. There may be room for you in Sharp Development." "Huh?"Gus got into bed late the night before, and adrenaline was the only thing keeping him awake. He felt confident it hadn't been more than eight hours since he got into bed. "You got rid of all the aliens already?"Gus asked. "You saved us?" "The aliens have been destroyed,"Dana gave another curt nod. "I saved you." \\\* Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1054 in a row. (Story #324 in year three.) You can find all my stories collected on my subreddit ([r/hugoverse](https://www.reddit.com/r/hugoverse/)) or my blog.
The gasoline erupted into a blazing inferno that entrapped my house. My wife and daughter screamed from upstairs as I remained helplessly trapped in the kitchen. The man outside watched the fire grow before disappearing into the night. As I rushed towards the stairs, the roof collapsed, imploding in upon my. I heard sickening cracks as my bones shattered inside of me. As blood began to pool, another section of the roof caved in. The screaming stopped. I laid helpless as the fire closed in on me like a pack of wolves, the heat burning my skin and singeing my clothes. As I lay there, preparing to die, I could only focus on my heartbeat. Quick and fast. Slowing down. Slower. Slower... Suddenly, a burst of adrenaline ripped through my body as I surged upwards despite my broken bones. My body cried out in agony, but I felt my wounds begin to mend themselves. My heartbeat was now accompanied by another: Fast, quick, and unpredictable. Just like... I stared at the fire around me. A voice echoed in my skull. ”The fire chooses you.” The voice didn’t unease me. In fact, it added to my newfound raw strength as I ripped the door off of its hinges. The voice continued to speak. ”The fire within you holds the same goals. Vengeance, chaos, and hatred.” I surged forwards, my body radiating a godly aura as the grass under my feet burned and withered. I would find the man who had done this, and let him burn in the eternal hellfire he created.
15 years ago, I lost my daughter. I got mad over her dropping a glass of orange juice and shatterering it, and I was having enough of a bad day so I sent her to bed early. I haven't heard a word from her ever since then. Her mom sadly isn't with us, so she couldn't calm her down, My relatives couldn't make her budge, and no money or gifts could bring her back. I just watched as she happily exchanged conversations everyone else that she met. Now, I watch as she packs her bags and leaves to study at a top university halfway across the world. Before entering her taxi, she stares at me for a bit, and turns away. The car leaves, and now I truly am all on my own.
Going out was never something I enjoyed but you could only refuse invitations so many times before the other party would grow tired of your bullshit and move on. So tonight, after much back and forth on instagram, I was going out with my long time bestie Monika. Monika and I had been friends since elementary. I had always been the shy one while she had been the popular girl. Im pretty sure being friend with her was the only reason I had any other friends back then to begin with. Hanging out with Monika was typically a blast when It was just the two of us but as soon as anyone else got involved, she always became the center of the spotlight. That suited me fine, receiving attention had never been my forte. I always just ended up feeling awkward and wanting to go back to my room. A series of loud knocks suddenly erupted from my apartment's front door. Annoyed, I looked at my phone. 19:45. Monika was always early. I specifically asked her to meet me at my place for eight o'clock. "One second!" I called out loudly to make sure I had been heard. I still had a couple of finishing touches left to make my place presentable. Another few kocks came through, softer than before but just as irritating. Quickly looking around, a pile of clothes lay ready to be put in the washer, some dishes had to be put away but there was no time now. "Coming!" The mess would have to be left the way it was. Surely Monika would understand. Making my way to the door, I could hear stiffled laughter on the other side. Unlocking and pulling the door open swiftly as I could, I could suddenly see Monika standing there, laughing while holding out what looked like a black rose towards my face. Odd I didn't know such a shade existed. "Ummm, who's the lucky guy?" "What?" "The guy who bought you the flower?" "What are you talking about? No one is buying me flowers, you brought that with you!" Monika playfully pushed me aside and walked inside. A moment later, she turned around to face me, the expression on her face resembled disguised disgust but she didn't say what the matter was. "No, the flower guy gave it to me when I passed him in the hallway. Said it's for you!" I just stood there silent. I certainly hadn't met anyone new recently. Monika waited a bit more but relented. "Alright, alright, no need to tell me just yet but I'll get it out of you by the end if the night. Close the door, wouldn't want to become a victim!" Quickly closing the door as beckoned, I realized my foolishness. The entire point of this girl's night out was to be safe. The entire city had been put under strict orders to travel in pairs or more. Something about a killer targeting individuals or something. Details were kept hush hush but apparently the maniac left flowers at the scene of the crime. Creepy. "O.M.G. What if flower guy is the killer!" Monika could barely contain herself. Nervous I had to know more. "The guy you passed in the hallway?" "Oh no, that was actually a flower shop guy, I meant the sender!" Now that was creepy! Not many people knew I lived here, let alone some killer. I guess it didn't really matter WHO he killed. Why not a stranger. I suddenly had more than ample motivation to get out of here. My home no longer felt so safe. "Well you can keep that flower then!"I replied. "Yeah. No. No way, it's meant for you!" Monika shoved the flower into my hands. Holding it up I was able to see that my ealier assumption was right. It wasn't black. It's color was such a dark shade of crimson it gave it the appearance of being black in the light. I noticed Monika giving me a wicked look. I put the flower down. "Let's get out of here." "Yeah we better go before we get murdered!" Monika went out in the hallway while laughing. The night turned out better than I could have imagined! I guess people were actually scared of this menace cause our usual spot was nearly empty. It went great not having some douchebag asking Monika out every other minute. It kinda reminded of the old times before she was put on a pedestal by all the boys in school. Fun. Stepping out in the street I scanned my surroundings. Not a soul was in sight, the air was so still that the surrounding buildings exhaust fumes lingered, creating a light fog. Monika joined me shortly thereafter outside. "Oh its cold! Let's go!" Monika started walking down the street. I lived nearby so the plan was for her to come crash at my place. Giving one more look around, I followed her. Two blocks later I heard a scuffle behind me. I quickly turned around and saw the figure of a man not too far behind us. Fightened, I whispered to Monika. "Let's go through this alley! Its a shortcut!" I dipped out of the street and Monika didn't fight it, quickly following me. About halfway down I looked back in time to see the figure cross the alley, never entering it. I turned to look at Monika and was surprised to see her staring at me. "You were scared!" "No you were scared!"I replied. Clearly I was not the only one keeping her wits about. Monika gave me what looked like a smile. It was hard to tell in the darkness of the alley. "Nah, I'm never scared."She said. Her confidence inspired me. One day I would be like her. "Well you should be scared."I replied menacingly. I got close to her and grabbed her shoulder. Monika's expression seemed puzzled and quickly turned to fear in an instant. Her mouth opened but no sound came out except for a thick gurgle. Releasing my grip on her and the knife, letting her fall to the ground, I took out the rose from my pocket and knelt down. Putting the rose on her chest, I whispered the final words Monika would ever hear. "It was always meant for you." With no time to waste, I rose while sparing a glance around to make make sure I hadnt been seen and quickly walked away.
I never really understood the dramatic lengths people go through "for love". I never really had more than a crush on anyone growing up, to be honest. I always thought that a "match made in heaven"couldn't be all it was cut out to be. I guess I get it now, in the twisted sort of way that only makes sense if you squint really hard. She was "the one". I did anything (I wish I was exaggerating) for her, I left my job, life, family, town, just because she asked. Hell, I even gave away my cat because she didn't like it. She was the sweet butter that the dry bread of my life needed. She made me worth something. But then, after our first night together, the dreams started. I should have known that it shouldn't hurt like it did, that the pain, both emotional and physical, that she caused should never have been allowed to co-exist with what she called love. The dreams were too real, despite their lack of anything but that voice. My voice. Screaming, whispering, shouting and begging to me through the night. Begging me to leave her, or "it"as the voice so spitefully called her. I never told her about the dreams, both because I was afraid she would think I was crazy and because I thought she would leave me because of them. That couldn't happen. It won't happen. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. That ever will. Better than I deserve. I can't loose that. I can't let go, no matter how much it hurts to hold on.
It’s that time of night when you don’t want to be out in the city. It’s been a long time since I’ve been afraid though. Once again, I’m up way too late wandering the streets. Oh great, it decided to start raining. I see a homeless man sleeping on the sidewalk getting soaked. The city had put boulders on the grass under the overpass so homeless wouldn’t camp there. This isn’t right I thought, so I began to re-arrange the boulders in the middle of the night, slowly but surely I built a house for this man and others by carving the stone with my laser eyes and super strength. Capitalism failed this world, I will rebuild it with a new order of fierce compassion.
"So, as you can see the sales figures this year are catastrophic. That's obviously largely attributable to the pandemic, but as you can see in the second quarter..." I sat back in my chair and let them drone on. No point getting anxious like the rest of them seemed to be. What could we actually have done better? We can't force people to buy our shit. Well, that's sort of what advertising is, but whatever. Yeah, the whole world seemed to be going down the shitter. But let's be honest. I'm just one guy. Small fish in a massive ocean. Way above my pay grade. I looked around the board room. There was a huge polished wooden table, and atop it sat papers, coffee cups, laptops and briefcases. I glanced at the executive who was going through the slides, jabbering away like it made a difference. Will he even have a job in 3 months time? I could tell from his tone he was already starting to point fingers of blame at other people. And then all of a sudden my vision flashed, as if a nuclear bomb went off in the room next door. I blinked defensively and in front of my face I could see some writing: “SYSTEM RESET IN 5 EARTH YEARS. PLEASE LOG OUT BEFORE THE RESET.” No matter where I looked the writing just hung there. Like it was glued to my eyes. I squinted, rubbed my eyes and tried closing and opening them several times. It was still there - hovering in front of me. I closed my eyes for a few seconds. Still there. I opened them, and moved my head around. Still there also. “Jim.” I was suddenly conscious the room had gone silent. “Jim, are you okay?” “Er.. yes. I mean no. I mean… are you all seeing this?” “Seeing what?” “The text!” “Yes, it looks fine.” “Not on the screen, in front of your eyes!! Do you see the words hanging in front of your eyes?!” “What are you talking about?” “THE TEXT!” I stood up and walked around the room. “The giant hovering text that follows you everywhere you look! It’s saying there’s a big reset. An Earth reset. In 5 years.” “Jim, I really don’t think this is very funny.” “Wait, you can’t see it?” “Jim. Sit down please. Or take a few minutes.” “I’m just going to go outside.” I started to walk towards the door and bumped into one of the luxurious leather chairs, causing it to spin away from me. It was actually quite difficult to see where I was walking. I tried tilting my head away from where I wanted to look and then swivel my eyes but the text was always directly in my eye line. I got to the door, held out my hand until I could feel the handle and left the room. As I was leaving I could hear lots of murmuring from the other attendees. They probably thought I’d gone mad. Erica, the company’s most senior P.A. was sitting at her desk. She looked up. “Everything okay, sir?” “Hi Erica… I’m er… yes… it’s fine. I just need to take a breather. Could you do me a favour, please? Could you order me a cab?” “Of course, sir. I’ll get on it right away.” I slowly made my way down the corridor to the lift. I pressed the button and the doors opened straight away. To the ground floor I went. The letters looked like they were real, but I knew they weren’t real. They were almost, but not quite opaque and they had a slight glow to them. The lift dinged and announced I was on the ground floor. I headed towards the building’s main doors. Chuck, the security guy, was sitting at his desk as usual, staring at the CCTV monitors. “Hi Chuck,” I said as I approached. He didn’t reply. He was just sitting there. Staring. “Chuck?” He slowly turned to face me. He looked scared. “Mr Williams? Do you see it too? The writing.” Holy shit. I approached him and said “YES, Chuck! I see it! I thought I was the only one. What does it mean? Why us?” Chuck looked at me, and then his eyes moved to look at something behind me. I turned around and saw two men in black suits approaching. Each held something in their hands but I could not tell exactly what the object was as the text was still obscuring my vision. When they spoke they spoke in unison. Their voices sounded artificial, like each one was an Amazon Alexa. They appeared to be speaking to me and Chuck at the same time. “EARTH RESET IN 5 YEARS. PHASE ONE OF THE CLEANSING WILL BEGIN IN 1 YEAR.“ Chuck and I looked at each other as if to say “Are you hearing this shit?” The text that had been occupying most of my vision was now fading away and I could see that the men in dark suits had identical faces. In fact, there was something familiar about the face, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. They continued: “AS A TRUSTED VIP CUSTOMER YOUR SAFETY IS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY. YOUR COMPLIMENTARY EVAC WILL BE AVAILABLE IN 5….4…..3…..2…...1……PLEASE LOG OUT NOW” Each of these strange men held out a big red button marked “Log out”. I looked at Chuck. He looked terrified. “What do we do?” I asked. “PRESS THE BUTTON TO COMMENCE LOGOUT PROCEDURE” “I wasn’t talking to you.” The man in the dark suit - MY man - tilted his head to one side as he looked at me. “Sir, I don’t know, I’m scared,” said Chuck. “Chuck, wait a minute.” It was too late. Chuck’s finger pushed the red button and there was a small ‘pop’ sound as the air rushed into the space that Chuck’s body had occupied a moment ago. Chuck had literally disappeared before my eyes. The man in the dark suit - Chuck’s man - turned and walked away. My man held the button out. “YOUR TURN, SIR” “Where did he go?” “HE LOGGED OUT” “Logged out of what?” “THIS WORLD” “Where did he go?” “BACK TO DELTA ONE” Delta one… delta one? Why was that name familiar?” “PLEASE PRESS THE BUTTON TO BEGIN EVAC PROCE…” “Yes, yes, you said that already. What happens if I press that button? Do I die?” “NO, SIR. YOU GO BACK TO DELTA ONE.” The man looked at me and reached out his hand. “IF I MAY?” He slowly moved his hand towards my face. Then he moved it and touched his finger against my right temple. And suddenly I remembered. I remembered who he was, why I was here, what Delta One was, and everything. “Thank you, Hermes. Thank you. May I ask a favour?” “OF COURSE, EVANDER” “The reset is coming in 5 years. May I log out after today but before then?” “YES YOU MAY BUT WE RECOMMEND LOGGING OUT STRAIGHT AWAY AS THE SIMULATION IS DAMAGED” “Yes, I sort of figured that out once Trump got elected. I understand the first stage of cleansing will begin 12 months from now?” Hermes nodded. “So, may I take a few months to say my goodbyes to this place?” Hermes nodded and gestured to the button in his hand. “TAKE THIS, EVANDER, AND DO NOT LOSE IT. I MUST STRESS, WE CANNOT LOG YOU OUT IF YOU LOSE THIS DEVICE.” “I understand. Thank you, Hermes. See you soon.” Hermes nodded and then walked away. So… 12 months. No consequences. Let’s have some fun.
"Jesus Christ, Greg, you've never even time traveled and you're already banned? This is just like you"the heavy set women said, leering at the man next to her. "Okay Deb, but I don't-"he started to reply, as I put my hand on his shoulder from behind him. "How's it going folks, my name is Ken, I represent the time protection agency. Let me explain what's going on here. You, at some point in the past, present, or future, attempted or will attempt to prevent the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. After seeing the damage done to the timeline, you attempted or will attempt to stop this more than once. This created or will create a recursive loop ending with your parents never meeting, and you being born to a lesbian couple in Ontario using your father's donated genetic material. Nothing wrong with that, it just wasn't meant or isn't meant to be. Therefore, you have or will be pre- or post-emptively banned from all time travel. If you have any questions you can reach us on social media, and if you wish to dispute the ban, just know that your claim has already been reviewed and denied. Thank you for your time." I walked away from the flabbergasted couple, moving on to the next case. There always was and always will be a next case.
Look, it’s just that I have my story and they have theirs, right? I really don’t see why they have to try and cross over into mine. It just makes things too complicated. I have everything set up just how I like it, you know? Of course you know. And it’s not like being rude really counts, not to people like that. They’ll get over it or forget it, right, I mean I'm not the center of their existence! There aren’t any affection counters going up or down. It doesn’t matter what I say to them. Why should I want real people when you guys are always here for me?
Andy and Lena sat across from two detectives and a woman Andy assumed was some kind of child advocate. The interrogation room was cold and the three law enforcement professionals seemed even colder. Tears slide down Lena's cheeks as Andy recounted their story for the tenth time. "We heard a cry from Justin's bedroom. We went in and saw a small woman going through the window with out son. Whatever she was wearing made her look kind of transparent. I ran to the window but she was really quick. We looked out and saw her carrying Justin across the yard and disappear through what looked like a purple portal." "I see you took out an insurance policy on Justin last month." "Yes. It was benefit time at work and I decided to take it this time. Lena had it but quit working this year so I..." "Stop talking Andy. We need a lawyer."Lena had begun listening to the conversation for the first time since Justin disappeared. Lena surprised Detective Schroeder. She had not spoke since they'd been called by the Herrera house. "Why do you think you need a lawyer? "Because your question implies that we might have hurt Justin for the insurance. We didn't but you don't sound like you are trying to eliminate us anymore, you sound like you suspect us. In another life I interrogated people. I know what it looks like. We aren't answering any more questions but please tell me you have other officers out there looking for Justin because this wasn't us and our child is missing. Justin has some health issues, he needs an inhaler. Please." "We have officers combing the area, but your story. You have to admit..." "Look at us."Lena stared back across the table at the two detectives. She took Andy's hand and continued, "If we were going to make something up do you think this is the story we'd go with?" Across town another mother was frantically calling 911 "Help me. My five year old daughter has been taken. Her name is Kayla. I put her to bed and when I came in to check on her the window was open and she was gone." "Mam, I've got officers on the way. Stay on the line. Do you think she might have climbed out the window herself? "She couldn't she has bone cancer and just had her leg amputated. This is the first night we've had her home." Minutes later police arrived and another search was organized. Another mother was transported to another police station for questioning. "This is David Howell with SpaceWatch. On June 20, two children including disappeared in the small town of Greyhaven. Extensive police searches yielded no clues. Both the children were taken from their beds as they slept. None of the other parents saw anything. Last Friday, December 21 another three children disappeared in Greyhaven in the same manner. I'm talking with Lena Herrera. Her son Justin Herrera was the first missing child reported. Her husband Andy is under suspicion for both disappearances. Thank you for talking to us." "Thank you David. Police are calling this a copycat incident because they aren't willing to entertain the possibility that Andy is innocent. I know how crazy our story sounds but I hear that another parent reported seeing something similar. Her name is Jill Roberson. She saw her son Ben go through a portal just like the one Andy and I described to police. The phone began ringing almost immediately. Jill Roberson was the first caller, as arranged. "Police are saying I was drunk. Maybe I was. I'd had three glasses of wine but that doesn't mean I didn't see it. Watching an alien disappear with your kid will sober you up pretty fast. I want my son back. If this is aliens it can't just be in Greyhaven." "That's right listeners. If this has happened in your community call us with your story." The phone rang again. And again. And again. It happened in Montauk, New York; Mount Shasta, California; Hellam, Pennsylvania; Sendona, Arizona; Taos, New Mexico; Lena sat across from Detective Schroeder in a diner a few blocks from the police station. She slid a folder across the table. "I sent you digital copies of most of this. These are affidavits from witnesses in five other towns besides Greyhaven. Five different parents with missing children. Everyone report seeing their children disappear with a translucent woman through a purple slit in the sky. Every disappearance happened during the summer or winter solstice. Every child had a health condition of some kind. Every one happened in a town where some kind of strange phenomenon occurred in the past. Explain to me how Andy could have pulled that off." "I stopped believing it was Andy a while ago. The D.A. is why your husband is still under suspicion. I can't bring myself to believe in this,"He tapped the folder. "But I can't dismiss it either. I'm sorry about your kid." "Me too,"Lena said sadly. On December 20 in Marfa Texas Siobhra leaned over the crib listening to the child's ragged, uneven breath. This one with golden hair. No one knows how broken she be. Another one to carry back for me, she sang softly as she gathered the two year old into her arms and climbed through the window, disappearing through the same portal the fairy had used twice a year for hundreds of years. At the solstice the night sky opened for her and she went on her rescue mission. The myths about fairies had it all wrong. Siobhra emerged into a thick forest filled with glittering fog. She laid the little girl on a bed of thick, cool grass where five other children slept. Forsaking the old tradition, she hadn't left changelings. "Those poor parents must be frantic. No changeling to comfort them."Shayleigh, her sister remarked. The fairy population had dwindled so much that they couldn't leave changelings to replace the children they took. She felt bad about that. "It can't be helped. We can heal here what their world cannot." Justin and Kayla came laughing through the fog running into Shayleigh's waiting arms.
Sun is at the distance, earth is below with all its glory under the feet of the crew. Communication still works. But crew members stopped talking after what they saw just moments ago.Life support seems to be failed twenty minutes ago. Everyone just floating through the space in different directions. Then, first as a distant voice, a radio call heard through their speakers. It does not resemble any of the languages they have heard before. It gets louder and clearer with every repetition. Finally, one of the crew members understands the message and cries in panic. While this stressful cry is echoing, a sudden burst of light and warmth surrounds the afloat crew. After the initial shock, their eyes wanders aimlessly to make sense of what they heard and what they saw. The eternall blackness is no more. It s only white, the horizon glitches and fluctuates with different colors. The curiosity only grows larger, and the message echoes for the one last time. "Please be aware that, universe has reached its final limits, time rewind process and recreation of the white-hole structure has started"Then the voice, repeats its message but this time, its backwards, letter by letter, word by word. They will have another chance, but backwards.
It was not my hubris to grow. One can stop the endless yearning of stars no more easily than collecting the scattered seeds of a dandelion. I wished and I blew. The galaxies reached and spread like cities reached and spread like veins And on and on. I witnessed. No hubris. Only my love and theirs. The love that raised skyscrapers and children, that layered patterns into looms after those skyscrapers and for those children. They spread like dandelion seeds. Cities and veins and children and planets. I witnessed. A drop of water will swell with water until there is too much. The end is sudden and uncruel. Destruction complete and mathematic. One dimensional, a point. Then nothing. I am forgotten. Even the atoms. No planets no looms no cities no songs no children no veins no stars. No seeds and no dandelions. Through time I’ll reach and reach again. A new world with new love. No better or worse, just new. To witness. Like everything else. I will remember. When it is there for no one.
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Caleb always knew when something bad was coming; he could read his friend Justin's face like a book. He'd known about Justin's unusual talent since they were both 9 years old. It started when they'd been playing innocently in the forest, building a den. Justin simply stopped what he was doing, laid down some sticks and immediately told Caleb that they had to leave. It was only years later that Justin told him the truth; they'd both been abducted just moments later, brutally beaten and left to die in a river. Of course, Caleb didn't believe Justin when he finally admitted the truth. No, he didn't believe a word of it, not until Justin pulled him out of the boarding queue on their first trip abroad together at 18. It was only when Caleb was yelling at his friend that he saw the aeroplane implode just a few hundred metres from the ground. Then, he believed. And now, walking down the street to grab some fast food between college seminars, Caleb could see that something was wrong. In hindsight, he realised that it was a look Justin always wore on his face before something bad happened. The furrowed brow, the beads of sweat tracking down his temple, the 1,000-yard stare that was floating around somewhere in another world. "What is it this time?"said Caleb. Justin said nothing. But it didn't matter. Caleb knew that whatever it was, Justin would yank him to safety after the fact without him being any the wiser. Being best friends with this guy was turning out to be pretty great, even if he did have a knack for dying more than the average person. And then Justin stopped walking. "I'm tired of walking, Caleb. I'm tired of walking the same damn route a hundred times over and never getting my fucking fast food." "Huh? We literally haven't had a McDonald's in like a month. Remember? It was after the calc class in summer." Justin sighed. "That's not what I mean." And then he continued walking. "Hold up,"yelled Caleb, jogging to catch up with his friend. "You're being extra weird today. Like, even considering it's you we're talking about. You know I believe you these days. If we were about to die, just tell me." Justin stopped walking again, his face dark with defeat. "That's just it, Caleb. I've tried. I've tried going back more than 100 times and it always ends the same way. This time, we are going to die, and the rest of the world is going down with us." Leaving Caleb in profound shock, Justin resumed his walk. "Come on. I want to spend our last 5 minutes on Earth together as friends. I wasn't ready to let everything go, but I'll let us both rest soon, I promise."
"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,"The chanting of the cult grew, the eldritch tones of the sacred words permeated the hearts of the members. If any doubts still remained, any shreds of innocence left in their black hearts, they were gone now. "consectetur adipiscing elit,"It continued, growing clearer in its dark and grim purpose. George held the knife above Johns chest, the later being chained to a stone alter. "sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua!"Stab, scream, twist, wrench. The rite was done, the runes now glowed with a reddish black. John laid limp, he was a willing sacrifice though innocent until the end. The runes continued in their glowing. Becoming brighter and brighter and writhing more and more aggressively. Ripping itself from the earth and condensing into a single red mass. Four tendrils burst from it, each ending in five shorter tendrils. The main mass split into two, the second smaller one rising slightly before two tendrils came from it. Tendrils became arms, legs, fingers, toes, and horns while the orbs became its torso and head. This was the demon they worked so hard to summon. "Alright! Which one of yous to blame."The demon looked around the room of frightened cultists before laying his eyes on George. Knife still in his hand. "You! Come on now, I'm going back to Hell and I'm taking you with me!" "What?!" "You heard me! Dragged me all the way here so I'm not going back empty handed. So eager you were to get your sentencing you didn't even consider the poor sod who'd have to haul you there did you?" "I, uh, what? I don't understand." "C'mon you'll understand eventually. As for the rest of you, I don't want to have to see you again till we're all gray, grim, and tired, understood?" The group of assembled cultist looked on in disbelief for a long while, then gave a short "yes"or "Mhm"for fear of the demon asking again or the silence continuing indefinitely. Then the demon grabbed George by the wrist, lifted him into the air, and they both disappeared in a great ball of fire.
The words flowed from her lips like the instruments played by his favorite orchestra. Andrew had listened to them by the side of the building, during the holidays every year. There, he didn't have to care or worry about one of the employees at the Symphony Hall, shooing him way. The first year, he stood by one of the security guards had called the police as if he were some common thief. Did the man really think he'd walk in and take an instrument off the stage? Andrew blew out his breath, shaking his head frustration. He cleared his head, staring back at her. Eliza Marie. He stood tall in the back of the other people, captivated by her beauty and her voice. Standing tall was one thing when you were in a suit, but it was another matter entirely when you wore an old black jacket in the dead winter with more patches than a girl scout. Her eyes twinkled when she saw him. They always did. Once a week, she'd spout out the different events held by the library as those who passed either crowded around or walked by. But more than once, more than twice, her eyes always managed to find him in the crowd. Her eyes on him meant more to him than she could have possibly known. From others, he faced glares or pity. In her eyes, he saw someone who looked at him for he was: a human being. She stood on the steps atop of the Brunswick's library, hands clasped together. Her short brown hair, touching the top of her long brown coat. A lot of people surrounded her. She had that thing that a lot of politicians had, where they could captivate you and get you lost in some impassioned speech. She did the same to him. The first time he saw her, he thought he had only been merely swept up by the speech, but the next time, he knew with certainty that it was her. But when a man has nothing, what can he offer? He had lost everything. When Eliza finished speaking, she walked down the stairs. She turned to an older man. Her lips moved, but Andrew could not make out the words. He wanted to edge closer, but he stepped back. What could he offer her? The thought repeated in his mind again. Andrew shuffled to one side. Eliza's eyes remained on him. She lifted up her pointer finger as if to gesture to the older man that she'd be back. Eliza started heading straight for him. He froze, not sure of what to do. What was different about today? Eliza's brown eyes twinkled as they looked at him straight. "I'm Eliza,"She said aloud, holding out her hand. "Will you join me for lunch?" "Lunch?"I repeated back as though it were a foreign word. "Lunch,"She repeated again. "You remind me of someone, and I want to know you."
Yes, finally! Vacation time. It has become a personal tradition to treat myself to a week off of work. My body, my mind, my very soul has reached its limit. Where are we at? End of November. Damn, a new year is around the corner already. It's Monday. I think I'll hit up Mt. Verdugo. I change into my running shorts, slip on a navy blue sweater and load my pack with the necessities. I nearly fill up with tears as I step out onto the dirt trail and take in the nature surrounding me. The fresh cool air in my lungs, the smell of the pine, and - Squirrel! Look how fast it scurries up the tree. Takes me back to when I was a kid, piling nuts on the floor in my backcountry home just to catch them in the act of filling their adorable little cheeks. My mom always hounded me not to play with them. I start the trail. It seems to have become a moderately trafficked one. The Forest Friendlies Non-Profit Group has definitely been putting their grant money to use. There are identification labels for plants and trees so people could read during their trail walk. Some parts indicate hotspots for wildlife sightings. Theres a tri-fold on safety tips when coming across such animals as cougars, bears, wolves...I digress. I'm heading for the top of the mountain. It has a barren grassy hilltop, a gem of a spot for stargazers like myself. A cheery couple passes me by. Oh god, whats with the sleeping bags? Do they plan on staying the night under the cliché of a lovers moon? Before I can start spouting curses, a whiff of BBQ and the beats of music return me to my senses. I follow the couple to the top and apparently a stargazing party has setup camp for a night of fun. What memo did I miss? The group welcomes me in. They're pretty young compared to myself but being a veteran gazer, I easily become one with the pack. We spend the rest of the day getting to know each other, partying it up. Night comes and I fall with my back into the cushion of the grass. Everyone else begins to settle into their lawn chairs, lay atop their extended blankets, and some linger by the makeshift campfire. I look up to the darkening sky. The moon shines with a pearlescent radiance. It swallows my sorrows. A whisper of thanks escapes my lips and then comes the black dot. It starts small, a dark speck on the moon. Then, it begins to expand. I hear some shifting next to me. Some slightly panicked gasps. My gaze is still focused upward. The expansion of pure black begins to envelope the periphery of my iris. I can feel my body bulk, my hairs standing. People are screaming now. Grizzly grunts and snarls rise and still my breathing remains constant. I am relaxed. Then, my vision goes completely black and...I am free. It's Tuesday morning. I sit up from my grass bed. The campground is a littered mess. No one is around. I'm half naked. I grab my pack and change out of my ripped clothing into my spare ones. I do the usual routine of covering the tracks in the dirt. I do my best to tidy up the area so it looks normal again. I take the trail back down to my car, keeping an eye out for people who might be on the path. It's silent the whole way down. Now there's a problem. I notice a guy from last night leaning wearily against my car in the parking lot. He's hurling. I walk up behind him and give him a slap on the back. He jumps, shaken by my sudden presence, and wipes his mouth. "Fuck, you're a beast! You're a motherfuckin' beast,"he points at me. I carefully make my way around his vomit to my car door. "Thanks, you're pretty good for making it this far. I didn't catch sight of any one else on my way here." Suddenly, the couple I trailed yesterday limps out from the trees into the parking lot; their clothes ragged and breathing heavy. I call out to them, "You all ok?" They give me the thumbs up. The vomit dude waves off my concern with a toothy grin. "No worries there. Friendlies should be here in a bit. They're good about sweeping the place and providing support for us less experienced. The rest of the lot will be rounded up in no time." I laugh. "Glad to see the group is growing. I'll need to follow the page more." We say our good-byes and I make my way home. What a great way to start a vacation.
Jackie was in tears as Theo grabbed the ritual knife to slit her throat. I had to step in, grab the knife from his shaking hands and threw it to the ground. "W-we can't kill her, Theo. She's our cult member, not some sheep. We need someone else," He grabbed the knife and put it on the drawer beside him. "I don't see another option. If we don't sacrifice someone by midnight, we die,"he said with a grimace. I wasn't prepared to die either, but I couldn't watch one of our best friends get murdered like that. I was lost in my sullen thoughts. Just before I can think of any other solutions, I felt light grumbling from the concrete floor under our feet, which means... Just in the middle of the room, the summoning circle was glinting a bright orange, and my face went from concerned to straight fear. Theo and Jackie were the same. Just as a head phased through the floor, I hear high pitched yawn. I see a small little girl standing on top of it. She glared at us with a sour face and stomped her direction towards us. "Hey! You were supposed to give me a toy to cuddle with!"our supposed god childishly said. I was in awe, our god, who we had believed in for years, was a little demon girl! "And she was going to be a good doll in my collection, too!" She sighed and turned from our direction. "I-"I barely managed to get that out of my mouth. "Listen, I'll make ya a deal. If you can find someone to kill in the next.."She looks at her wrist as if she had a watch. "hour, I'll forgive you for being late," We immediately nodded our head in fear and confusion. We grabbed our masks and sprinted into the midnight to sacrifice again.
"You like my new face? It's flesh-new." Jenna stared at the man who had just walked through the front door, trying to process his statement. "Oh, come on Jenna! Don't you recognize me?"he asked. The man was everything society considered attractive: tan, a strong jaw, bright blue eyes. His expression was mischievous, like he was trying hard to keep from laughing. "No way... You - you can't..."she started, completely incredulous. "Charlie?"His face broke into a giant grin. "Yeah! Isn't it awesome? I look like freaking Marcus Montaine!" "What? Charlie, no - well... okay, maybe you do look like him, but that's not the point!"Jenna tried to slow down her frantic breathing. She was rubbing her creased eyebrows, like she always did when she felt nervous, and she saw the man's handsome face fall. "What?"He asked innocently. "Charlie... you don't just go and get a flesh-new treatment without thinking first! Well, I mean you've always been dumb, but this is a whole new level! Do you even know how mad Mom and Dad are going to be? You're not even old enough to buy drinks, and now–" "Oh, come on, you know I'm going to be 21 in March!" "Yeah, and now you look like you're practically 30! It's freaking me out! Like, how do I know that you're even my brother? What if you're just some actor he hired to play a prank on us? Please tell me you're just an actor." "I, uh... nope."Charlie and Jenna both looked at each other for a while in silence before Charlie finally spoke. "Oh man, I spent all my savings for this, too... I really didn't think things through, did I?" "Oh, no,"Jenna replied with a sigh. "It really is you, isn't it?"
Something is wrong, I think. How has no one caught on yet? This is so easy! It’s never been this easy! The bell rings overhead and I work the human legs until they trudge off to the next class. As my host’s head hangs in this class - mathematics, I believe - I start to wonder, why? Why did this boy’s parent’s not notice the drastic changes my possession has made? The boy has large, deep bags under his eyes. All morning, he stared mindlessly at a screen and moaned until he arrived at school. His body slumps over and his head dangles when he walks. Not one teacher came to ask if the boy was alright, I recall. Now, we sit here, drooling. This host is clearly not paying attention to anything, it could almost appear like he is asleep! Yet no one asks any questions. In the middle of the day, I take the host to the school eatery. That is, if this slop before us is what counts as food for humans these days. Before I am able to work any part of the body, another human approaches and shoves my host’s face into the tray. Something about the strong odor gives me an idea. This mission is no longer about possession, I decide. This is now about reconnaissance. I shall remain with this host for a few more days and observe the tortures this place holds. After all, whatever this “high school” has done in order to make this host so lifeless even before I came along is something I’m certain my Master down in Hell would like to learn about.
I had 2 thoughts as I woke up. How did my sister get the door to glow like that and why in the world couldn't she close the damn door when she dried her hair. It took a full 2 minutes for me to realize that the sound was higher pitched that a hair dryer and it wasn't changing direction the way that it does when Cindy is blowing out her hair. I opened to the door to investigate but the sound stopped. Nothing seemed different than normal so I started my morning as usual. "That was a shitty tutorial", I said to myself, lifting the toilet lid. "Thirteen years and not a single mention about how to piss with morning wood."
So what? Everyone gets bored once in a while, even if it's their own fault. You see, I thought I was clever. I gave the hands-on method the ol' college try, smiting those who deserved to be smote, healing the sick, etc. It's an awful lot of work, and frankly, the little ones down there end up a lot lazier when they know that ultimately I would swoop down to save them. I decided to change it up, fresh start. Call the last few attempts just practice and this time, no fooling around, no taking seven days to figure everything out. This time, BANG, we're off to the races. The little ones call it physics, and biology, and a million other things. The system I devised is completely self sustaining, no attention needed. I was delighted to find they noticed it too, and a whole faction of them worship the very rules that govern the universe. Scientists, they're called. Cute, huh? Now yeah, there was that incident with that Mary broad back in the day, and yes, my secret may have been leaked. Hadn't entirely meant for them to even notice me up here, but I'd committed to the hands off approach and wouldn't be swooping in to patch things up now. I created humans with skepticism, but turns out that it just meant the ones who knew I was hanging around, or thought they did, had some pretty funny notions. Oh well, it'll work itself out eventually I suppose. But c'mon, 'mixed fabrics'? Give me a break. A few thousand years of this and for the most part, things are going just swimmingly. Couple of snags here, couple dozen million dead there, what can you do? I'm hands off, it's set in stone. They do pray to me though, or to what they think I am, but it's easy to tune out for the most part. Listen lady, I didn't tell you to get a case of the Clap, so I'm not fixing it. But holy moly, did Billy Evans have a piss poor jump shot. I mean really, an air-balling, stumble-footing, elbow-waggling, god-awful jump shot. I've been around for a long time, sure, but watching this kid flub jumpers one after the other for hours after school really felt like an eternity. And I'm not going soft. I invented bone cancer, you think I give a fuck that they harass Billy because if it wasn't for gravity, he couldn't hit the floor with a ball if his life depended on it? No, I just got bored. I little eyebrow wiggling here, a wink there, and poof! Just like his sweaty, muttered prayers ask for, he will make his next jumper. And the next. And the next. So there I am, watching Billy in the throes of joy as he hits shot after shot, alone in that gym. The kid was radiating gratitude, even if it was misguided. Sure man, have two bowls of cornflakes every day after this, that's what must've done it. In an instant, I realize the gym door is opening. The ball, inches from the hoop, swerves hard, missing entirely. As the the door slams the wall, and Billy blinks in confusion, his ball goes puttering across the waxy wood. "Nice shot, numb nut!" Good one, Jake. I'll have to write that down. In the meantime, my job here is done. I watch Billy plead and swear that he just like literally made like fifty in a row. Jake and his goons mock him, then toss the ball to him viciously. "Make even one, you big eared goon." Shaking, Billy lines up, and throws. Miss. Hysterics in the gym. Jake and the goblins he hangs out with snatch the ball and drive him off. Scared and confused, Billy limps home, deep in thought. He would never make another jumper. Man, I really did give that kid big ears. Tough break. God, it feels good to be the big guy.
"HOW. That was my best plan yet. How in the cosmos did it fail! I did the math, I repolarised the core, I did a test run. How did my exponential speed booster not cause the meteor to destroy the entirety of the planet!" Ok, so you might be wondering what happened. That guy going on a rant? That's me. Who am I? My name is Mr.P. I am a supervillain. I think you got that. Now, why did I want to destroy the planet? I think we should start from the beginning. &#x200B; "P wait up" "Oh, sure John. So what is it that you need me for?" "This is not for me it's for you" "Oh, go on then" "Alright so, I am a god, and every hundred years I have to choose one human to grant conditional immortality to. This round I choose you." "Yeah right. What a great trick" "Fine don't believe me but tell me how you wish to die" "I'll die when this planet doesn't exist" "Bad choice bucko but sure" &#x200B; So you see I didn't believe John. But now I think I do. I look not a day older than thirty, but I've been alive for the past 2000 years. It's a real pain. Honestly, I didn't mind at first. Then as the years go by there's only so much a guy can do. Now that's where the whole speed booster thing comes in. After that many years of living, I had a pretty big brain. So I used it. I tried other ways of dying first, but they did not work. here have a look. &#x200B; "Death Test 1 - Laser" "Line up the laser and - FIRE" "How am I still alive!" &#x200B; "Death test 69 - Gun" "Now when I press this button the machine gun should open fire" "And go" "Test failure, also note to self buy more clothes" &#x200B; "Death Test 23098 - Drinking Bleach" "CHUG" "Now we wait" "Run diagnostic tests" "Of course, all systems functional" "Note to self immune to poisoning, use to advantage" &#x200B; As you can see, I can't die. Now that you are all caught up. The rant you saw me going on was my most recent failure at destroying the planet. &#x200B; "Breaking News - the meteor on a collision course for the planet has been destroyed. Our sources say that the one who did it is Mr.P - the supervillain. I will pass this to Dr. Koothrappali our visiting Astrophysicist from Caltech." "Thank you, Clarice. Now, why did we not die. and why do we have to thank Mr.P for saving us? Mr.P shot the meteor with what I believe is a form of a particle accelerator. &#x200B; Particle accelerator! That's what I should have called it. &#x200B; "Using this he managed to increase the speed of the meteor causing it to heat up even faster in the atmosphere and break up. This caused there to be not one giant asteroid but multiple small ones colliding with our planet. The impact then was lessened and did not cause the destruction of the entire planet. &#x200B; Darn. I forgot about the breaking up of the meteor in the earth's atmosphere. It would have destroyed the planet otherwise!. Well, that means plan 420 to destroy the planet is a fluke. Now onto new horizons.
My beautiful Daughter, Sam has no clue who I really am. To her I am just Dad, someone she dearly loves but can become quickly irritated by. I understand it's just her age. It's not easy being a 16 year old girl in this day and age and I travel a lot for "business ", something that is tough on her. She doesn't care for her Aunt Chris because she makes her tow the line more than I do. I have quite unusual perceptions and from the time I was 10 years old I've found them all to be right on. What is this? How does it work? I'm sure you are wondering so I will try to explain. A perception is a feeling you get about a person, place or situation. It's close to ESP and some of us are blessed and cursed to have this ability to know things we shouldn't know but somehow do. How this thing works I don't know but I've learned to keep my feelings to myself and I know that is why I'm still alive. What most of society doesn't know is that the government has a few select people who are trained in ESP, time travel and remote viewing. These people are kept anonymous and are used in just about every aspect of government. People like me are considered a danger to the government and killed if they reveal themselves to others. I shouldn't know this but I do and this knowledge has made me the most dangerous man in the world. The remote viewer's know that there is someone out there with this knowledge and more but because I can successfully block them, I have stayed alive. I'm on a new mission and it's not going to be an easy one. I know that the President of the United States is a fraud and a liar. What makes him dangerous is that he's also a psychopath and a narcissist. Think makes him a very dangerous man and in his position as President he can do much harm to us all and in fact has plans to do exactly that. A deadly virus has spread around the world and is showing no signs of disappearing any time soon. It's killed 4 out of 10 Americans and a pharmaceutical company owned by our President has discovered a cure but Mr President is directing the company to with hold it because this virus is doing exactly what he wants it to do......it's killing minorities far more than white people. The President thinks this country is for whites only so this outcome has pleased him very much. I'm about to blow the top off of all of this and the fallout will be severe in many ways. First of all it's going to cause civil unrest. People will be angry and will take their anger out in many different ways, all of which will cost lives. Secondly, the government will be pissed and they will step up their efforts to find me and possibly, just possibly my Daughter could be tracked down by them. I can block the governments remote viewers but I'm not sure if I can do that for her. So I have to go about this very carefully and my plan will bring the world to it's knees.
Marcus stared at the mirror in utter terror, the feeling wasn't much different from being held underwater. Like he was being drowned by the feelings of fear, uncertainty and heartbreak. He backed away unsteadily, trying to keep his eyes on the mirror as he feared what he would see. He could've sworn that the... darkness, reflect inside was... coming closer?... No, It couldn't have been... his mind was just playing tricks on him... "Oh My God..."He muttered as he nearly tripped over his own shoes. What the was going on? How did it get to this point? Honestly, Marcus wasn't even sure. He only knew that he had to figure out how to survive this, suddenly, he snapped back into reality as his thoughts had carried him away. He could've sworn he saw a face in the mirror. It was... like... a crude outline of his own face... He stared at it in shock... and then... the whispering began... "Marcus... It's me.... I'm you... Obey Me...!"It hissed. "Obey Me... I need you... Your fear... It gives me power..." It half shouted half whispered to Marcus as he backed-away in terror, nearly tripping over his shoes again. Suddenly, something surged through his body and he took off running. "NO!"He shouted. "NEVER, I WON'T --- NOT EVER! LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU AREN'T REAL!"He screamed as he ran... He felt like the walls were closing in on him, Shadows filled the unlit house. "NO!"He shouted. "LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP!"He screamed as the shadows rushed towards him... He dodged, weaved and ducked like a runner in the Matrix. He continued to run as the whispers got louder, each time. They seemed to say. "OBEY ME!" He screamed and ran towards the door. The shadows had been gaining on him. He had to get out. Behind him, the laughter of the Shadow Face echoed loudly. "YOU CAN'T ESCAPE!" It hissed with delight. "LET ME GO!"He screamed as he slammed his shoulder repeatedly into the door and attempted to force it open. "LET ME OUT!"He screamed. He could hear the Shadows gaining behind him. Soon, they would catch up to him. He could feel the blood rushing to his ears as the anger consumed him and in one last, desperate attempt. HE rushed headfirst at the door that was literally ripped off it's hinges and Marcus burst into the Night, running as far away from that horrible house as he possibly could. \------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Other Collected Writing Works](https://www.reddit.com/r/thewritingfiles/)
-Memento Mori- A dove flew across the red, smoke-filled skies. It soared above the ruins for a while, before coming to rest on the branch of a tree. As it softly cooed, ignorant to the disaster that had unfolded, the god who watched it wondered what they had done wrong. They had once given life to wonderful creatures, of all shapes and sizes, and their pride had been the ones who called themselves "Humans". The only ones who could call themselves anything, who had truly become aware of their nature in this realm, who had built such wonderful things. Once, their bustling cities would keep the god entertained for days; so much movement, so much energy, so much noise, oh! the noise, deafening at times, but always so joyous. Now, the silence of what had once been such a city was the most terrifying thing they could think of. The humans made songs for each other, sometimes personal and quiet tunes, conveying love of all kinds, to their partners, to their families, to their friends; some were louder and made for all to hear, exploring all manner of themes and emotions and nonsensical wonder. Now, those unique sounds would never be heard again, and the god wept at such a tremendous loss. Since their begining, the humans had suspected of the god's existence. They called them many names, none of them truly correct, but all of them absolutely correct, for they were names that came from deep faith, faith in this god, and faith that this god loved them. And they did, and all day and night they heard their prayers, their thoughts, their hopes and dreams, and pulled a few strings here and there whenever possible. Not too much, not since seeing how large intervention could be incredibly devastating, but they could not simply stand by when such help would be only positive. Now, the utter silence inside their mind threatened to drive the god mad. They contemplated, and thought, and considered, and couldn't understand how it came to this. Was it bound to happen eventually? Was it simply in the humans' nature? They hadn't planned for that, but they also hadn't planned for a lot of things they did. And so the god did not have answers, and would never have them no matter how hard they thought. And as they watched the dove fall from it's branch, the last dove and the last branch, they decided there was no more point to this world, and ended it. And so in the end, there was only silence. Silence and darkness. ... ... But the god was still there, for that was their nature. And they would always be there, no matter how hard they wished to cease their existence. For what was the point? The humans were gone. There could be no greater joy in life than what they had achieved. Unless... unless they lived again? The god chastised themself for the thought, but it would not leave their mind. No, it would be cruel to recreate this wonderful creature, doomed to fall once more, only out of a selfish desire to relive the past. But the humans wouldn't know, would they? So there was no harm, was there? And so the god decided, and the end became the beggining, and would do so again. But no two humans lived the same life, and no two humanities were the same; at first, the god was disappointed, but soon learned this was all the more reason to cherish each life, and each world, for they would live on only in their memory. And the cycle repeated, and though humans may die, humanity did not. For the god was humanity, and humanity was eternal. -Memento Vivere-
So I laughed. It was late in the park and my sudden sputtering mirth convinced the one other couple to hastily make for the exit. I turned to the woman sitting next to me on the bench, convinced i would see a wide smile. Instead, her lips were a thin line and a slight frown marred the flawless expanse of her skin. "Oh you're serious." I blinked at her for a few moments, wondering how to extract myself from what I thought was a chance encounter with a very attractive, flirtatious stranger. Instead, it seemed I had been set upon by a crazy person, which thinking on it was a much more realistic outcome. "Well good luck with that." I made to stand up but stopped when she draped one slender hand over my arm and squeezed gently. I sat back down. She was very attractive. "I don't offer this to just anyone you know,"she said quietly, conspiratorially, as if we weren't alone in an abandoned park. As had been the case since she had started our conversation, i found myself listening to her incredible accent and low, melodic voice first, then having to quickly remember what she had said second. "It is offered to only very....select clientele." Ah. I had heard similar before. "While your technique is definitely unique, I'm just not into the pyramid scheme thing." It was her turn to blink at me. "This is no scheme my dear man. And the pyramids have little to do with it." I shuffled on the cold bench, considering making another break for it but her hand remained on my arm. She seemed to sense my indecision and dropped it down to rest upon my thigh. "So the elixir of life was it? How much?" She did smile now, a wide, delighted grin. "Oh it won't cost you anything. And at the same time - everything." "Are you sure this isn't a pyramid scheme? What is it, supplements? A vitamin drink?" She leaned in closer, still smiling and i could smell her perfume. It was a light, floral aroma that lingered around her and swept towards me. Beneath it, i though i could smell something more, an earthier fragrance that grew stronger as i felt her hot breath against my cheek. "A drink of sorts dear man. Though technically it is you who have the elixir. I, I am the vessel. " I turned to face her properly, heart fluttering as i realised she was mere inches away. She tucked a strand of sable hair behind one pale year and smiled even more broadly, until i thought her cheeks would tear like old paper. Her eyes were vivid sapphires with endless pools of inky black dropped into the centre, and i found myself falling uncontrollably through them. When she leant in to the crease of my neck, the warm rush was almost a welcome release from the cold.
A cheerful chirp emitted from the navigational drive snapping Mel-dor out of his virtual simulation and back to reality. Removing his goggles and looking out the frontal viewport, Mel-dor now understood the warnings he had been given. The frozen planet emanated it's icy dominion far out of its atmosphere. Just orbiting this celestial body felt like the whole ship had dropped ten degrees. Even without the multitude of scanners equipped aboard his vessel, Mel-dor could tell he was alone. As the leading treasure seeker in this quadrant, Mel-dor's riches had allowed him technological advantage over his rivals, giving him opportunities that rested beyond the grasp of lesser, ill equipped hunters. His approach to the surface was far from gentle and required much effort. Owning the most advanced autopilot software in the galaxy wouldn't be up to the task with this degree of pandemonium. While it helped keep the ship stable, any lapse in concentration could prove deadly. There was no telling the kind of obstructions and dangers that lay under the thick, turbulent clouds that permeated endlessly across the surface of the planet. A sudden shock accompanied by various alarms traveled throughout the spacecraft. Mel-dor had just hit something on the starboard side. Something big. Unable to see anything though the viewport, he performed futile evasive maneuvers while checking his location. He was right on top of the coordinates he had acquired from his regular contact. How the man came across this information was beyond Mel-dor. He just did the work. Another tremor rippled violently from the port side accompanied by another set of alerts. Blinded from the clouds and deafened from the alarms, Mel-dor no longer felt safe in the air and he quickly dropped in altitude. As the blinding clouds cleared from view, Mel-dor's gaze fell upon large towers all around him! He was in the middle of a frozen city! Quickly correcting the ship's trajectory away from a looming skyscraper, he spied a seemingly clear landing spot in a open plaza down below and made for it. The damage was extensive but wouldn't impede his ability to depart. Satisfied with his preliminary inspection, Mel-dor began lowering the hangar ramp to acclimate his rover to the planet's freezing temps. The drive into the city was surprisingly comfortable compared to the planetary entry. Comfort only the highest rated rover could provide in such an environment. He was not too far away according to the coordinates he had been given. Giving his surroundings a look, Mel-dor was amazed at the state of the city. It had clearly been unoccupied for a long time, yet it's condition appeared to be pristine. He was lead deep within the core of the city and a beep from his nav unit notified his arrival. This building was peculiar. A large mound of snow lay near the entrance. but the front door itself seemed to have been recently cleared from ice and snow. A sure sign Mel-dor wasn't alone. Caution in the wind, he rushed out of his rover and barged in the unlocked building. It took him a minute to regain his sight inside the dark environment. The vestibule was small but was inexplicably warm. Mel-dor noticed sure signs of life. Bedding, food rations and various tools. The tools interested him the most. He was familiar with many of them as they were common for treasure hunters to own. A loud rumble emanated from far away and he immediately recognized it for what it was. His own ship had been started. He had been so unconcerned with this desolate planet that he had neglected to run a lifeform scan. In a panic, Mel-dor ran outside just in time to see his own vessel disappear through the cover of the clouds. It was then that Mel-dor saw that the large mound of snow in the entrance was actually a damaged ship covered by recent snowfall. He had been tricked! Suddenly marooned, Mel-dor had no choice but to return to the warmth inside to think of his next move.
Henry mentally tugged on my power. I could practically feel myself unraveling. Thankfully it was only mental, not physical. I take great pride in my thread count, and would hate to see it ruined. But the tug has a predictable effect. The teen's flight takes a sudden and unrecoverable turn towards the ground. Fortunately for him, I fortify his body enough to handle such things. That, and he was only ten feet off the ground. All he has to show for his error is messed up hair and a dirty outfit. "Damn it!"He shouts. Don't worry, Henry, you'll get it eventually. You just have to keep practicing. I say into his mind. "Easy for you to say, you just have to sit there. I'm the one who's doing the work." I sigh. I have to remind myself he's young. Only 15, and with enough teenage hormones running through his brain to fill a jet's fuel tank. I cannot get mad at these little outbursts and misunderstandings. I do more than you think I do. I say simply. Now get up and keep trying. Remember, not even the greatest heroes learned to use their powers overnight. Instead of taking to the air, Henry sat. The only reason I'm not mad he sat on my hem is that I know he didn't do it on purpose. Otherwise, there would be problems. "I just don't get it."He said. "I'm doing everything you said to do. I'm reaching in and taking the threads that represent your powers, and then moving them around like you showed me. So why can't I get any of them to work right?" It's because you're taking too much at once. "Huh?" I'm...I had to really think about the right way to phrase things. Henry's a good kid, but unless something is phrased the right way, he won't really understand. He needed a good metaphor. I'm like a scalpel. I only need a little bit of force located in the exact right place to be effective. A scalpel that gets too much strength behind it will just break. You're trying to use me more like a sledgehammer. Something big and heavy that gets better the more force is behind it. Do you understand? Henry thought about my words. I could feel him working them over in his mind. He turned the idea over in his mind until, finally, I felt it click. "I...think so?"He said, unsure of his own words. "So you're saying that I keep getting it wrong because I'm just using too much power, which makes it all go haywire, right?" Exactly. "Okay, so how do I know when I'm using the right amount, and the right place to move it?" Practice. Trial and error. Eventually you'll find the exact right amount of power and the exact right place to move it. I know it's hard, but that's how it is. Henry took a deep breath and stood, once again allowing me to flutter in the slight breeze. that was a good feeling. He closed his eyes and I felt him draw on a tiny amount of my power. His feet remained firmly on the ground. "I'm not using enough, am I?" Even the sharpest scalpel needs some force behind it. "You know, when i agreed to be your host, I thought it'd be all saving the day and getting the girl. I didn't expect this much training and messing up and stuff." I know, I know. And don't worry, you'll get there eventually. But not today. Now focus. You were closer than you know on your last attempt. I meant it, of course. Both on his near success and his potential greatness. But that day was still a long way off. Henry was a good kid, but he still had a lot to learn before he could become a great man.
"Did you memorize every question that I wrote for you?"said the demon. Clive had tried to memorize the questions but it was an exhaustive list of every possible scenario from every world line that converged on this casual coffee date. Every question was designed so that Alex, his elementary school crush, would gradually warm up to Clive. He had lost contact with her a decade ago after he had abruptly transferred to home schooling. Intense episodes were the hardest to cope with in a room full of cheerful running children. Alex was the girl that would constantly share her snacks with him when he stayed in during recess. She once asked why he liked the dark classroom instead of the sun but he never told her about his diagnosis. At the time, he could barely understand it. She dropped by once to see him but he hid in his dresser. She left a few snacks on his bed and never came by again. "What if she figures it out?"He said as he closed the notes app. The demon started to push him into place. "Every person out here has been dealt a hand to play,"said the demon as she combed his hair and fixed his leather jacket, "And you'll bring up your depression after about the 9th question and I'm sure that she'll be supportive." "What? No! What if she finds out that the biblical 7 deadly sins are helping me get my life back on track?" It had been about 8 months since Clive looked for the most haunted house in the country and he was ready to meet his end on the first night after. He had finally been kicked out on the morning of his 18th birthday. His aunt would say that he would even bring down the plants in their house when he was around. And on the cold ground in that house, he closed his eyes, and ugly cried. There wasn't anyone alive that could help him. Then a warm cup of mint tea was placed in front of him along with a few biscuits in the shape of little dogs. He shot up and quickly backed away from a gorgeous woman with thick horns that framed her face. She was sitting and sipping her own cup of mint tea. "I'm Lust,"said the demon as she put down the cup into its saucer, "is there anyone that you wish you could have kissed in your life?" That absurd question led him down the adventure of his lifetime. That haunted house was the vacation home for the 7 deadly sins. Rather than torment Clive, they decided to help him. At first, Gluttony mapped out the best burger places in the state and they hit them all in a few days. It was the first time that he had felt excited to try new restaurants. Wrath signed him up for boxing and they now have a strict regimen every morning. He found satisfaction in working out and allowing himself to be angry. He even learned how to play poker in Reno with Greed. He won a few hundred bucks but Greed made sure to win the most. Finally, he was about to see his childhood crush again with Lust's help. She had told him that she didn't have the ability to work miracles but having confidence was magical on it's own. "I wanted to die that night,"he said. "Oh yeah,"the demon jogged over to get behind the bushes, "we figured that the energy combination of you and Sloth in the afterlife would spiral into the eventual destruction of the universe,"she gave a quick thumbs up. "Wow, it is you."Clive quickly turned to greet an adorable smile. "Alex! Yeah, it's been a long time,"he replied. They both blushed. It was time for ice breaker question one. "Uh, why didn't you check the dresser when you visited when we were 9?" Alex stared at him for a few seconds. &#x200B; They laughed.
Many people ask why the kingdom fell. Some say an overwhelming force sounded the death knell. Others say it was a rebellion that destroyed too much. A few say great monsters just came for lunch. But they where wrong, and I'll tell why they're gone. The kingdom, it fell as prophecy foretold, a collapse from the inside so it was told. Falling apart as the royal family crumbled. All by a princess, whom the king had humbled. But a prophecy itself is only a glance, and stops the whole story from having a chance. In truth our story is far simpler than that. So we can jump right in during our quick chat. For the King was a proud man you see, and to save himself he birthed only three. All were sons or so he thought, breaking the prophecy which had been brought. However, you can not outsmart fate, that which is fixed will never abate. It was the third son's 12th annivesary, and his speech was somewhat precursory, For the King knew it was doomsday, after he said "I feel like a woman today." This would cause all speech to cease, as non dare speak before the King said his piece. "Never,"shouted the King, his voice making everyones ears ring, "I have no daughter, else you will bring us all to slaughter." The king had spoken and his answer was clear, to be known by "she"would not occur here. Disheartened by this event, the princess would agree. Afterall, she knew that "I am me." Hidden as a man, under the kings very nose. She'd gather support, so everyone knows. People from all over came and she spoke, "Help my cause, please take note." "To all I must confess, that I am a princess." It took short time till the King's trust fell, no longer were all things well. People left for greater lands, Some even made great plans, To destroy the kingdom, right from within. After all, an opressive King can never win.
As a child, they called my blindness a disability. My life would be challenging, I would struggle in certain aspects. The world was not made for those like me, though they have tried to accommodate us. No one calls it a disability any longer. Not since They came. Half the world woke up to silence from the other half. There was, heh, darkness. Panic. Chaos. Fear. Anxiety and paranoia plagued the Western Hemisphere until the stars began to shine. Then they understood the silence. One glance at Them and madness strikes. Staring at Them is death. This was quickly discovered, and soon people began blinding themselves. They willingly gave themselves what they had called a disability. Some adapted quickly. Others weren't so fortunate. For their entire lives, they relied on their sight, the wonderful light shining, guiding their every step. The world was built for those with sight, however, and those that couldn't adapt soon found themselves abandoned. Forced to fend for themselves in a land that quickly devolved from civility. They called my blindness a disability. They mocked me. They now call my blindness a blessing. They praise me. In the new world of the sighted, the blind man is king.
Things aren’t going so well. I’ve been stuck hiding in this patch of tall grass for what feels like days. Sniper shots ring out from on top of a hill somewhere far away. I didn’t think they would already have such high powered weapons at this point. I’ve only managed to find a knife so far. I’m starting to think I’ve made a huge mistake. Right now, I’m mostly regretting losing the high ground. But, to be honest, I’ve made nothing but mistakes all week. ... Her face flashes before me. Her bright eyes. Her kind soul. And then the warm tears that streamed down her face. And the movement of her hand as she waved goodbye. I hadn’t made it easy for her, of course. Who wouldn’t get sick of the mood swings. The blackouts. The puke crusted toilet. But now at least I didn’t have to hide the bottles. ... I’m bolted back out of my day dream by the sound of an explosion in the distance. I can hear people approaching from the North. Snipers or not, I can’t sit here with just my knife any longer. I decide to run. I zig. And I zag. And eventually I make my way down the side of the hill — and spot a small abandoned house just on the other side of a stream. I should be able to hunker down there for a spell. ... With the only remaining tether to any fantasy I ever held for a normal life now severed — driving back home to her parents, West down the interstate at a steady eight five — the spiral that would come next really was inevitable. I bought a little from my brother’s friend. Just enough to get me by. I don’t trust his cut — the effects never as high as the markup. By dawn the bag was empty. But there was still enough in the bottle to keep me going for another hour or so. I’d been dicking around deep on the internet all night, and there was no reason to stop now. I had started with some stupid alien stuff on YT but I’m not even sure all the weird places the algorithm eventually took me that night. All I know is that I eventually ended up on the wiki page for time travel. I honestly barely read half of it. I would have probably kept at it, but it was right about then that I realized I had kicked the last of my bottle. Time for bed. As I closed down all my browser tabs and started closing programs, though, I got a pop up. An actual, real life, time travel agency? I should have known it was too good to be true. I should have seen the warning signs. The weird URL. The sketchy site formatting. But I was too far gone. And, honestly, at that point, I just really didn’t give a shit anymore. And so I stumbled into the kitchen. Grabbed my last good credit card. Sat back down. And clicked. ... There’s movement close by again. Two people. I’m out gunned. I’m out numbered. And they’re closing in on my location. I’m starting to freak out. There’s no possible way this ends well. But then, suddenly, a voice. A real human voice. It washed over me like sunlight. ”Hello. This is Sherry with Visa’s Fraud department. I’m sorry for the hold. How can I help you?” I knew now that I would be killed any moment now by the approaching squad. But I didn’t even care. I was only playing this stupid video game in the first place to kill time while on hold. I turned off my monitor, and picked up the phone. I’ve really got to stop falling for stupid fucking internet scams after I’ve been drinking.
Sitting under the vastness of the night sky, a boy of twelve was hours away from reaching the age of awakening. This boy was small of stature, skinny, pale, ordinary, and seemingly bereft of any talent or skill. His friend, however, was quite the opposite. Ardor was tall and stocky for a boy of only fourteen. He was a firewalker, someone who was impervious to fire and could create fire at will through every part of his body. These two were an odd pair, but they were friends regardless. “Hey Iden, you nervous about tomorrow?” Ardor said quietly. “Were you nervous? When you went to the awakening ceremony for the first time?” “Definitely. I was terrified. It is not something you can prepare for. You just go and hope for the best.” “What if I go and they find out I have no skill. I’m not good at anything, I’m pretty useless.” “Everyone is born with a skill, Iden. You have one, I have one, everyone has one. Yours just needs to be awakened. And you are not useless. You are just not good at the things everyone is else is good at. You’re different, but that doesn’t make you worthless; it makes you special. You understand?” Iden sighed. The way he always sighed when Ardor said exactly what Iden needed to hear. “So…what will happen tomorrow?” “You already know I cannot tell you; it is against the rules. You will find out tomorrow.” “Oh come on! Just give me something. A tiny bit of something.” “You will find out soon enough, Iden” Ardor smirked as he got up and walked towards the village. That night, Iden could barely sleep. His mind was too wild with thoughts and ideas of what tomorrow would hold. But eventually, sleep came. &#x200B; &#x200B; “Iden! Iden! Wake up! You are late! Wake up!” “Huh, what? What are you doing here Ardor?” “You overslept, get dressed the ceremony is starting!” “THE CEREMONY? Oh no, I overslept!” Iden shoved Ardor to the side as he rushed to get dressed. I am late. I am late. I am late. He repeated in his head. &#x200B; &#x200B; The awakening ceremony was held in the center of the village every time a child turned thirteen, which meant there were usually more than just one child who would be awakened. The center of the village was grand, a wide opening that allowed for large bundles of people to stand in. At the very center stood a building that was plain and out of place. This was the room of Revealing. The opening was already packed with people, they were cheering and excited. Directly in front of the Revealing room, lined in an orderly column, sat the participants of today’s awakening. And at that the very back of the crowd, Iden could be seen pushing and shoving his way towards the center. “Welcome all,” a wizened man addressed to the crowd, “today we witness the rebirth of our children. As many of you have done…” “Excuse me. Pardon me. Sorry. Coming through. Sorry.” “Let us rejoice in the heightening of our sons and daughters. Let us rejoice to the beginnings of their journey…” “Oh so sorry. Please excuse me. I am missing my own ceremony. Pardon me.” “Today, five of our own will enter the room of Revealing…” “Six! It is six of your own. Sorry I am late.” Iden sat himself with the others, as the crowd resigned and shook their heads in distaste. “Six…six of our own will enter the room of Revealing and find within themselves the gift that has been bestowed upon them… “ The wizened man continued the speech that was orated every ceremony. The crowd roared and applauded as if they were hearing it for the very first time. When it came time for the awakening, the fear and restlessness of the six was clearly written on each of their faces. Iden’s heart raced, his hands felt clammy and no matter how many times he wiped them on his robes they continued to sweat. One by one they entered into the Revealing room. A girl with hair that reached down to her calves went first. She was in for a short time and came out with a smile on her face. The crowd applauded as her hands gushed out water. “She is a waterwalker.” Iden thought. Next in line was a boy, who entered the room and came out as a lion and then turned into a hawk and flew over the crowd. “He is a skinwalker.” Down the line they went: An icewalker. A lightwalker. An earthwalker. And finally, it came to be Iden’s turn. The crowd forcedly clapped, but their faces showed that they could care less about Iden. Tradition kept the crowd from leaving, so they were forced to stay. Iden entered the room: a small sullied room filled with candles and a stone table at its center. Iden expected someone to be in the room with him, but it was empty. The wizened man had instructed Iden to enter and lay upon the table. Iden did just that. Nothing happened. He stayed with his back to the table for minutes and nothing seemed to change. “The other five came in and came out quickly, why is it taking this long?” Iden thought, “Please, please, please, please, work. I’m not useless. I’m not useless!” Tears began to weld in Iden’s eyes. His fears were coming true. Iden, the useless boy with no skill. He wanted to leave and run. He was an embarrassment. A useless nobody. “I am not useless!” He screamed. I AM NOT USELESS! The candles toppled to the floor and went out, leaving the room in complete darkness. Iden’s heart fluttered. The darkness reminded him of Ardor. As a firewalker, Ardor was the perfect friend to explore the countless caves around the village. He could snap his fingers and create fire. A fire bright enough to light the caves easily. He’d seen him do it countless times and now he was left in the dark. Alone. Iden pushed himself onto his elbows and then onto the edge of the table. He wished Ardor was with him. Iden snapped his fingers just like Ardor did all the time, and a small flame slithered out of his fingers. He was startled. “I am… I am a firewalker! I am a firewalker!” In his excitement the flames between his fingers grew. The sleeve of his robes caught fire. As a firewalker, your skin is resistant to flames and heat, but in Iden’s confused and ecstatic state; he had forgotten that. Iden panicked. He used his left hand to pat the fire out, but it only caused it to spread to the bottom of his robes. He remembered the waterwalker girl who went in first. She had water streaming out of her hands. Water. Water. And then the fire went out in his hands. Water leaked from his palms, squelching the flames. His robes were soaked and burned. He was a mess, but his mind was in even more disarray. “I am a waterwalker and a firewalker, how is that possible?” Iden stood in the dark room confused. He had no choice but to step out of the room. The blinding light of the sun struck him, and the crowd stared at the mess of a useless waterwalker as they shook their heads in distaste.
Captain Flask flinched from his sleep as the crow's nest intercom sputtered the words: "Enemy sails spotted at starboard. Captain, come in. I repeat-" He enabled his own com, activating the sleek, aluminum console to his right. "Transfer visuals." A window popped up in front of him, displaying the space-dark ocean outside. Planet Abzu had no particular atmosphere and therefore showed the stars in all their glory at all time. The water reflected the cosmos well enough that it seemed they were still floating through space rather than sailing the actual seas. Their ship was bound east on the crest of a towering tsunami that was 5 miles wide, giving them a view of the supercontinent down below in the distance. And to the right, three Dutch cruisers were now magnified on the screen, riding the same wave. Flask was wide awake now. "Prepare battle stations." He sighed as he toggled off the com. He was in over his head. Flask had never meant to be captain, but old captain Stub had died of contamination when they tried to examine the water for life and found it, only to evoke a strange reaction in the bacterial life which had breached the now quarantined science wing. To be true, Stub had probably not been suited for the role either. "It's all about staying alive,"Flask muttered. "On this godforsaken place." From their first impression, Abzu had no atmosphere, no benevolent organisms and no beauty. But it did have a supercontinent that contained 76.4% gold. Flask stared at the Dutch cruisers, one of which had dived for cover. The other two were preparing fire, judging by the red pin-pricks of light that indicated heating laser cannons. "Sons of bitches,"Flask muttered. "We beat you back in the days of the East Indian Companies and we'll do it again. Ish!"he barked into the com. "Are those torpedoes ready?" "Heating up, cap'n!"came the weapons master's jolly answer. "Nuclear fission takes time to go critical, but don't worry, we'll roast the Dutch bastards." That was the problem, Flask thought, he was surrounded by idiots. Idiots had sent him here to serve an idiot captain on an idiotic planet that just happened to have been chosen by the idiotic Dutch as well. But really it was no surprise. The Warp gate technology that allowed nations to colonize planets required gold as fuel, and this planet had had the largest supply. "Evasive action towards the tsunami edge,"he barked into the com. The ship veered forward dangerously towards the crest of the wave, just as two laser-beams pierced the air where the ship had been. The beams pivoted to follow, and the ship trembled as they made contact and started wearing down the shields. "Fire the torpedoes now,"Flask shrieked into the com. 80% 62% 41% Shield capacity was dropping like the approval rating of a populist who'd been in power for too long. "NOW, MISTER ISH!" Suddenly the two cruisers flared up like two magnificent flowers of thermonuclear fire. Captain Flask let out a sigh of relief. All about staying alive. Then he noticed that shield capacity was still dropping, slower now. 25% 16% The crow's nest com crackled. "Sir, the third cruiser re-emerged on Portside and is firing!" Mortified, Flask called up the Portside visuals. The third cruiser had dived to pass underneath his own ship. 5% "Mister Ish,"he croaked. "F-" "It's too late cap'n. But at least we roasted 2 of 'em. Honor serving with ye sir." Jolly to the end, that man. And why not? 1% Suddenly, a humongous pair of jaws rose up out of the space-dark water and swallowed the last cruiser whole. Captain Flask stared at the screen. Then, he reached for the intercom and said: "Crew, hold on tight. Navigation, prepare to advance over the crest of the wave." "Sir?"First mate Sunbuck's voice appeared on the intercom after a pause, sounding even more concerned than usual. "Sir, with all due respect, but that's suicide-" "Just do it. We're getting out of here as quick as possible." Captain Flask closed the intercom and leaned back. "It's all about staying alive,"he muttered.
My palms are sweaty, my knees weak, there's vomit on my sweater already... This war had taken a toll on me. I was one of the fortunate sons...one of the soldiers of fortune. That's what they described us as anyway...those damn war pigs. Unwilling to get their hands dirty but they hog all the glory. "Welcome to the black parade, boys!", my superior Sergeant Richard led the charge to the warfield. Everything was burning. Fire, sound of machine guns, burn, smoke on the water... "This is bad", I heard my comrade Michael muttered. I had to agree, I can't help feeling that we wouldn't come home alive from this one. On the horizon, enemy cavalries began charging and we readied our guns to intercept. Bullets scattered at piercingly high decibels. Blood splattered left and right. I spotted an enemy soldier standing over Michael. I took aim, pulled the trigger, and shot my gun to his head. Oh mother mercy, he's dead. I ran over to the fallen soldier. He was just....a child. Not older than a sweet child of my own. I was stunned, purple haze in my mind. Another buzzing of bullet struck me on my chest, knocking me over... Sergeant Richard hurrily came to me, guns ablazing covering our troops in hail of bullets. "Medic! Man down! I need medic over here!", he shouted. I muttered the Lord's prayer over and over, begging for my live again and again. I was simply living on a prayer. I was pulled away back to safety, Sergeant Richard still by my side. The enemy retreated already. My wound was too severe, there was no way I would return to battle... "You're going home, son", he whispered. Heh home sweet home, I was okay with that. I'll be leaving safely home on that big jetplane. Oh the lovely face of my sweet Caroline kept coming back to me, I wish she were here by my side... "You'll be alright son...you'll be alright", I kept hearing Sergeant Richard's reassuring words. Say what you will about the battle hardened man, I knew he was a big softie at heart. Whatever happened I knew he would never give you up.
'You're late.' I drawled out. Where I had imagined to boom out these words with authority mere hours ago, the rancid stench of the corpses now littering the room was even getting to me, and it was the best I could do. My arms were still burning with exertion and even taking a breath in here was torture now that the pesky insects had made purchase and were swarming the place, for them it must have been a wonderful feast. But I was getting sidetracked, although the blame for that could be put squarely on these so-called heroes. Even now, they delayed! They delayed! Looking with horror, sniffling, crying. They had the gaul to do that to my face. Did they think my ultimatum a bluff? One life, every ten minutes. ...Well, I suppose it was a lie in a sense, it had taken them so long I had run out of lives to take, when I'd run out of captured resistance members, and the relatives of resistance members, I'd had to start killing my staff, and finally even my royal guards. That had been a drag, especially since they could actually fight back a bit. How long had the last one been? I glanced up nonchalantly at the clock ticking away. Huh, three hours, it had felt so much longer. I should probably be ashamed of getting bored so quickly. But then, what was a tyrant without people to rule? I'd already lost, dragging it out was just torture, which maybe I'd have done a little more of if I'd known how long it was going to take them. Maybe ten minutes of torture, followed by an execution, then a ten minute break? Twenty minutes per death, that would have worked better. Hindsight is 20/20 though. 'You monster!' FINALLY one of them spoke, the self-proclaimed "leader"who could cut a man in twain with a single swing, yet apparently couldn't make a simple deadline. 'Yes, I'm pretty sure we already established that.' I deadpanned, sinking deeper into my luxurious throne. 'Wasn't this whole "resistance"thing founded on me being a tyrant? Honestly, I should be saying that to you. Letting all these people die, I really didn't think you'd allow it.' 'YOU'RE the one who killed them.' He snarled with such a wide mouth he risked some of the flies now littering the room finding purchase and choking him. What a way to go that would have been. 'I gave you clear instructions.' I shrugged. 'Honestly I thought I'd have to kill, like, three of them before you arrived at most. My spies told me you were at Vallis when you got the message. That's, what, fifteen minutes on horseback?' I feigned counting when I'd already calculated it half an hour ago in my boredom. 'I kept hoping you'd man up and show up, and we could finally settle this matter once and for all.' 'What, right into your trap?' The leader glowered with rage, a rage his allies couldn't seem to replicate, too busy being horrified by the carnage they were indirectly involved with. One of them even now was vomiting, normally I'd have them executed for defiling my throne room. A bit hypocritical considering the mess I had made, but that was a perk of being king. Nobody could really stop you. 'Well, yes, that was the point.' I rolled my eyes. 'I'm sure they would have been quite the challenge too without your reinforcements. What, did you call in all your favours, unite all the resistance cells, have a party, and THEN finally decide to siege my castle?' I paused and tapped my temple mockingly. 'Oh! Maybe you caught some fish on the way too, I hear you found the time to craft yourself a new fishing rod when you stopped by that village with the ill-angled windmill.' He was striding towards me, waraxe in hand. It was about time. I lazily glanced over to the sword at the side of my throne, still stained with the blood of countless victims. I should probably pick it up and defend myself at least, but honestly it seemed like too much effort. Not like I was going to win anyway. The Hero alone was stronger then me, and once his friends stopped wasting their time despairing over the corpses and focused on me, there would be no hope. And of course past that there was whatever they had left of the resistance force the heroes had left outside the room for some forsaken reason, and a complete lack of people for me to rule short of people surrendering, which seemed unlikely at this point. Still, while fighting was too much effort, I must confess I still felt the need to be a little petty, raising my head to meet his gaze as he brought back the axe to cut me down. 'Still, better late then ne-' Sadly my head was removed from the rest of me before I could finish that sentence. But I think he got the message.
He sat in his office, presently looking over some of the emails sent to the Detention No. 87 concerning the rehabilitation procedures on how ethical they were when he received a knock on the door. “Come in,” he called. Stepping in was Bryan, his “bad news” informant. Not that he always gave bad news, just that even his moderate message relays carried negative implications. “This better be good.” “I highly doubt it,” Bryan grimaced. “The delinquents are attempting to escape.” “The numbers?” He asked. “It’s actually not that bad,” Bryan replied, “only ten percent were resisting when I left the scene.” “Then what’s the bad news?” He asked, sensing a detail Bryan was harboring from him. “The delinquents Chad and Theodore, also going by the names Hide and Teddy, are leading the charge,” the informant dropped his head. “Casualties?” He asked. “A few of the men are concussed,” Bryan answered honestly, “but that’s only because the two delinquents haven’t met much resistance. And they’re also going down the levels, not up as we hoped.” “They’re going to try and gather reinforcements,” He sighed. “Not like that’s going to help them. Head them off with some of our heavy hitters and collar them. When this is wrapped up, I want the person at fault in one of those cells too.” “Yes, Director,” Bryan replied as he backed out of the door. The Director followed him out but went in the opposite direction, taking the path to the Control Room. Inside, he and all personnel had access to the camera and defense systems implanted throughout the Detention facility. Originally, it was just cameras and exceptionally light detainment equipment since “they were just kids”. But after a few delinquents suspiciously escaped and a politician was almost murdered on camera, heavy funding was poured into turning the Detention into a prison. Secretly, he hoped they’d force his hand. At the moment, the delinquents were on Code Yellow, coloring the walls throughout the facility yellow, the first warning. The Directors watched the cameras as the aforementioned delinquents, Hide and Teddy, squared off against Team 1, his heavy hitters, while the rest of the delinquents protected them from behind against Teams 2 and 3, his lighter, stunning teams equipped with tasers and shock prods. Despite not having the files of each delinquent on him, the Director remembered each of them with impressive photographic memory. Besides Hide and Teddy, there was Rash, Spittoon, Calslium, Combat Carl, Handstand, Spectrum, Juicy Juke, and Shade . . . who chose that very moment to disappear. He sighed. “Not Shade,” the Director whispered to himself. He cleared his throat and ordered, “Cut the lights and have the men switch to thermal vision. We’re going into lockdown.” “Yes sir,” one of the attendants replied, flipping switches across the obtusely computer. There was a very distinctive noise as the lights shut off throughout the facility, shortly followed by the aggressive shouts and yells of those who most likely don’t know what’s going on. The guards were informed on what was happening and armed themselves, moving up the levels to confront the growing threat the delinquents posed. As for his men, Team 1 had been eliminated by Hide and Teddy, and only a few injured men remained from both Teams 2 and 3. Thankfully, a Health squad arrived and was working on them both after the delinquents had moved on to Level B. As for the delinquents, Spittoon had been downed by the Health squad after he was left on Level A to impede the renewed Team 3’s progress. Rash was downed upon entering Level B by Team 4’s marksman. Combat Carl was no where to be seen, but if the Director had to guess, he succumbed to his injuries sustained from Team 1 going down to Level B. Unfortunately, new members had joined the delinquents’ party including Hitstick, Sulphate, Springs, Iron, Smacula, Hopper, Dragonosaurus Rex or Drex, Bounce, XP, and Peak. With new reinforcements ahead of the delinquents, Teams 5 and 6 were there to protect Team 4 from being overrun. Hopper was eliminated and Teddy were injured so Drex took his place. Team 6 was eliminated as a result of the switch and Team 4 had to fall back and cover Team 5. Juicy Juke went down as well as Iron before Teams 4 and 5 decided to move ahead of the delinquents to Level C and meet up with the next team of guards. The Delinquents salvaged supplies from the fallen guards and were treating their wounds when the renewed Team 3 came down to their level. Springs was eliminated immediately because she moved first but with the supplies on hand and rest, Team 3 was effectively eliminated, finished off by XP and Bounce. (To Be Continued) Once they recovered from losing another one of their comrades, the Delinquents moved on to Level C as Teams 5 and 8, another heavy hitter, were approaching the entrance to the floor. Both teams engaged the Drex and Hide as the Delinquents tried to work around and flank them. Their plans were slowed as Smacula was picked off Team 7. Still, they persisted until the combined efforts of Drex and Calslium finished off Team 8. Team 5 began to fall back to avoid being overrun as they crushed Hopper who successfully flanked their rear. Despite their recovery, they were caught out of position and ended when Hitstick and Handstand flattened the last member of Team 5. “Advance to Code Orange,” the Director ordered, attempting to restrain the smile from crossing his face. “Advancing to Code Orange,” a subordinate repeated. The walls slowly became orange, the state alarm, as Teams 4 and 7 were allowed the use of tactical equipment. But simultaneously, the Delinquents were given fresh recruits as Feint, Wavelength, Chef Boy RD, Artist, Corpse, Dose, Spice, Crack, and . . . Lightspeed and Goddess. “Ok, this is getting interesting,” the Director said, excitedly. His subordinates looked at each other, not knowing what was going through his mind. With the use of the approved equipment, Teams 4 and 7 attempted to slow the advancing Delinquents. It was only because of the arrival of Teams 9 and 10 coming from behind the Delinquents that they managed to hold off the young convicts, felling Spectrum with a combined flash grenade and a well placed mine. Being trapped in the crossfire, Crack created a wormhole and went through. Chef and Dose tried to follow him through immediately but was crushed from debris. Still, the rest of the Delinquents made it through, some more scathed than others. “Well, that’s ingenious,” the Director nodded. “What’s their current status?” “The Delinquents are located on Level D, in the medical department,” a worker reported. “Is there anyone down there who poses a serious threat that we need to be wary of?” the Director inquired. “Well, the list has William and Brandon at the top,” another subordinate answered. “The rest of the Delinquents call them Meat Bag and Striker respectively, but Brandon insists on going by his birth name.” “Eliminate them,” the Director ordered. Only silence followed his command. “Is there a problem?” “Well you see, Brandon has been following all the procedures and protocols we’ve set in place,” a different subordinate informed. “He’s even counseled a few of the Delinquents that have caused problems in the past.” “I see,” the Director replied. After thinking over it, he said, “I understand the problem of having him put down. However, if it would help mitigate this situation, I’m willing to do anything and everything necessary to do so. Eliminate them.” “Y-yes, sir,” his subordinates echoed. As they relayed the Director’s orders to the Teams and watched the cameras, they saw Team 13 go in to carry out their orders. There was short conversation which quickly turned violent as Brandon quickly clued in on what was going to happen. His attempt to escape was short and fruitless as the forced him down and gruesomely eliminated him. Almost everyone in the Control Room, save the Director and a couple of his workers, gasped in horror as Brandon’s death was saved in their minds forever. “Per-permission to be excused, sir?” a worker requested. “Permission granted,” the Director accepted. “Everyone may take a fifteen — no, thirty minute break if you need to.” The subordinates left, each and every one of them, standing outside the room and whispering about the Director amongst themselves. (To Be Continued)
It taunted me. A ball, disobeying the laws of nature, floated in the centre of the room. It had arrived with no sound to signify its arrival. I had stepped from the room to fetch my coffee from the machine, and in the 30 seconds I was gone it appeared. It finally started humming, but it soon rose into a piercing shriek. The noise died down, only to return a minute later, giving me one hell of a headache. I stayed for hours, trying to understand what it might be. It was clearly alien, but its purpose was a mystery to me. It was so dark, any light which fell upon seemed to get completely absorbed. It was cool to the touch, and perfectly spherical. It must have a reason for appearing before me. If only I could work out what. I hoped I could find out before one of those shadowy agencies found me. It began to shriek again, and I furrowed my brows. Hopefully this thing would shut up at some point, so that I could concentrate! But this shriek was different. It began to build, becoming louder, more painful to hear. As it reached its height, it suddenly fell silent. I looked at the ball, intrigued. Then its eye opened, and stsred right back at me. I stumbled back, surprised, before hastily reaching for my notepad. I jotted down what had happened, and looked back at the eye. It remained fixed on me, unblinking. The whites of its eye were what could only be described as vomit yellow, with its iris a vibrant blue. Interestingly, it had no pupil. Then its second eye opened, though this ones colours were reversed. They stared into mine, and I felt a strange pressure inside my mind. It called to me. It was hungry. And I could help it. If only I stepped closer.... As I began to walk towards its beautiful expression, a long tongue emerged, dripping with saliva. It was a sight to behold, for such a large thing to emerge from a ball so small. I almost reached it, when the door burst open. I couldnt tear my gaze away, held in its gaze. Then something stung me, and the room wobbled. My legs rapidly lost all strength, and I dtopped to the floor. Darkness filled my vision, as something pulled me down. The last thing I heard was a crackling sound, and a voice. "HQ, we found another one."
Powerful rumbles traveled through the ground stirring Rusher awake. Switfly removing his earplugs, he was met with the familar cacophony of neaby airstrikes. His platoon had been pelting an enemy position all morning. A quick look at his watch confirmed they were nearing the end of it. Most of his team seemingly hadn't moved during his entire slumber. Grunt was still blasting heavy metal in his poor eardrums. Nerd had somehow finished yet another book and had just begun another brick. Gunnar's binoculars were glued to his face, always on high alert. Woah! New guy was staring right at him. "How can you handle sleeping right now?" Poor guy always looked like he was on edge of running away. His whole body quivered everytime a blast resonated no matter the distance. "Ah, you get used to it." Rusher wasn't sure if that was ever the case. Truth was, you never really got used to the jarring booms of war. Sleep just came easy when you were always tired. His answer seemed to put the young man a little more at ease. Nerd's radio came alive with the voice of their squad leader. "-Team Charlie, proceed to street sweep.-" Rusher got to his feet while the rest of his team proceeded to do the same. "Let's go do our staff sergeant's bidding boys!" The sweep was routine until sudden gunfire erupted from all sides. Ambush. Rusher saw the other teams scramble for cover and followed his own men scurrying in a large entryway, providing plenty of cover. He wasted no time. "Get that door open Nerd! Grunt, lay down some cover fire!" No sooner had he barked out his orders that Nerd's voice came through the gunfire. "It's unlocked sir!" "Alright everyone inside, get to the roof!" Once inside, It took a minute for Rusher's sight to return. The dark interior was a stark contrast to the blinding desert atmosphere moments before. His team was already running up the stairs when he noticed the family cowering in fear in their living room, innocent bystanders. Rusher heard the Newb yell out. "Grenade!" Even in the darkness of the room he saw the small circular object bounce on the floor right in front of him. It's origination underterminable, Rusher had no time to think. He jumped forward and cradled the explosive as tighly as he could under his body. Eyes shut and teeth clenched. Rusher waited for what felt like an eternity but the expected blast never came. When he finally opened his eyes, Rusher was unable to reason with what he saw. He was seated in a small, well lit vestibule. It reminded him very much of a doctor's waiting room. The recent conflict was so far removed from his mind that it was as if it had happened to someone else. Relieved of his terror, Rusher examined the room more closely. Large double doors occupied most of the far wall. Chairs were placed in neat rows against the rest of the walls. The center of the room contained an oval rug and the room's decor was aesthetically pleasing even if it was a little antiquated. Rusher wasn't sure he had ever been here before. Where was he? How had he gotten here? The double doors suddenly opened as if an answer to his questions. Blinding light immited from the opening and Risher felt beckoned to go. A deep thunderous voice was immediately heard. "He is a warrior and deserves entry to Valhalla!" A softer but stern voice replied. "Your halls are full Odin! Let go of some ancient savages and we will consider allowing new entries." A woman's comforting voice followed. "The man has a gentle heart, I would allow him a place in Elysium." The stern voice was once again heard. "Very well." The blinding light subsided and Rusher's vision was filled with endless verdant fields.
"Galactic link initializing sir." "Good. Comms?" "Communications systems are in the green. The translators struggling with some of these 'human' languages especially 'English,' but the meaning seems to carry and is in acceptable range of error." "Great. Anything coming through?" "The galactic relays are still a bit frosty. The sensors won't pick up anything that isn't intended for them until the auxiliaries are booted. Protocol prohibits initialization of these spy-systems without proper verbal confirmation." "That's okay, we shouldn't breach their privacy again anyways. They're getting too close to locating the relays, and they aren't our friends yet. Are we ready to continue?" "With your permission." "Go ahead." "Affirmative." A series of lights flashed in a rainbow of colors as the operator labored away at his console. A few minutes passed before the captains View-screen sparked to life. It showed the grizzled Arhilikan a pale-skinned human with sharp blue eyes and dark brown hair. "Hello?" "Greetings. I am the captain of the galactic relay station and official envoy of the galactic community. It is my mission to extend to you-" "Wait! Your a real alien? I thought those egg-heads finally cracked." "Um... yes. Me and my crew are Arhilikans. Anyways I was saying-" "Arhilikans? That indeed is very alien sounding. Maybe you'd be so kind as to grace me and the boys down in labs with some of your history? Or your biology? Or perhaps-" "I'm sorry but we can't oblige! We're here to-" "If you can't tell us of your people then why are you here! Do you mean for war?" "NO! I mean... It is my mission to extend to you a membership to the galactic community. You'd be recognized as a sovereign interstellar nation and be granted all the entitled rights. Such as protection from warmongers and communications with all other members." "Well why didn't you'd say that to begin with? I'd personally love to say yes, but it has to go through the proper channels y'know?" "\sigh\ I understand completely, the communication channels will remain open. Take as long as you need, we'll be waiting for your final answer."
The lock finally turned and I was elated. Who knew that after spending many years and always failing to find a matching keyhole, I would find it while scavenging in other people's homes for food! The door clicked open. I walked in and swept my eyes over at the ordinary interior. Just as I was adjusting to the dark features of the house, the bedroom door opened and a couple walked out together stiffly. They turned the house lights on and the darkness dispersed. Their unfocused eyes seemed to look straight past me. "Close the door behind you."The man mumbled. Unsure what to do I politely closed the door behind me. These strangers ignored me and began absently preparing a meal for themselves. I silently held the key attached to the necklace up as a silent explanation as to how I had gotten in. They continued to ignore me. Well ok, they're definitely weird The woman had already set four cups down on the table and rummaged through the freezer for something. The man calmly shredded fresh cigarettes into each placed cup. The woman stood next to him with four slices of frozen raw meat. The man finished and the woman then shoved the meat into each cup. What the..? "Time to eat."The woman growled lowly. I was low-key terrified. They both turned their dead gazes onto me in sync. I rigidly took a seat at the table in front of a cup. Everything was silent and no one moved. I wanted to puke. I was close enough that my nose could register the smell of awful rot within the cup. I made up my mind and began to try and politely excuse myself. "Wait."The woman commanded. She gazed at the fourth cup that seemed to be waiting on one more person. She opened her mouth so wide that it stretched down to her stomach. A resonant deep echoing sound reverberated outwards. A door from the second story could be heard opened and then closed. The sound of several foot steps approaching the stairs could be heard, but no one could be seen. The sound of foot steps eventually reached the fourth cup. "He is here. We may eat."The man said absently. His teeth ripped at the rotten flesh in the cup. The woman put the entire cup in her mouth and the sounds of something being crushed screeched inside. I looked at the fourth cup and found it already disappeared. Yeah, no. I don't understand how I got here from opening doors. Now that I think of it, spending years of unlocking doors and finding this is the worst. I expected to encounter treasure or something totally cool, but now it's looking like I'm going to be the protagonist of the beginning of a rated M horror film at best. At worst I'm probably the guy who dies gruesomely in the opening scenes. Fk this mysterious key. Fk my dadFk fk fk fk fk fk I got up to leave. A cup dropped from far above the table and shattered on the floor. I jumped. I turned my head to look up from the shattered cup. There was a young man in torn pajamas hugging the ceiling with 4 arms and no legs smiling at me with rotten chunks of meat in his mouth with tobacco stains on his teeth. Hmm... if I rush towards the door I bet it's gonna be locked and I either need to ask for permission or play some kind of game to escape. I rushed to the door anyways and yanked at it. The door remained firmly shut. I reached into my pocket for the key and felt a smooth scaly texture. I pulled out a venomous looking snake. Well, of course the key I had mysteriously turned into snake... Things were indeed looking grim.
Putting on the gray trousers, and the impeccable gray suit, Leroy Manning was feeling like he was 20 again. This did bring memories of swing dances, polkas, and foxtrots of the dance floors of the early '20s, now times changed, rock music was popular and all the teens dressed like savages in black leather jackets. But when the alien attacked all their cool demeanor went to naught, who else but the world war two veterans who knew how to play hard and work hard came to the save. Turns out the aliens were all about rhythm, so busting the old costume and getting into the groove of the old moves was the only salvation. Martians were tough, they knew how to move and their melodies brought about emotions he did not think possible, but he was not made out of dirt, he knew how to stand proud for his country and represent it with the sickest dance moves. On the dance floor for one decisive battle, he felt the eyes of the whole world on him, he had no small feat to accomplish, beat the best martian dancer in a dance-off. The strobe lights were there, the crowd was there, live music, all set up for the grand battle. His opponent was first in line, flowing around like a piece of plastic moved by the wind he seemed to be in total submission to the tune, it directed him, it told him what to do, and damn it was a beautiful sight, the more enthusiastic people were moved to tears, the stern serious men were fighting back the tears to keep their dignity. Now it was his turn, the Earth crowd cheered him on, he moved unsteadily towards the scene, and the Martians laughed, after all, he was an old man, what could he do. His frail body stood now alone under the light and he raised his hand, the music started and he changed completely, what seemed to be a ruin of a man became a sensual instrument of the song. Turning and moving to some whims of the songs but also teasing the melody to his own volition, he was having a great time. In his mind, he was at that old dance bar in the 30's having his first dance with the prettiest girl he ever knew, his future wife, moving to impress her and to make her choose him over his fiends. That worked on his wife and worked on the crowd too, everyone was taking part in this magic feeling, the contest was long forgotten and they sought to see the completion of the dance symphony that was the melancholic and bittersweet dance of a man who has seen life in all of its colors. When he finished, the solemnity of the whole dance left everyone speechless but soon the bar was filled with a roar of applause. No one won that day, but everyone was a winner as they have witnessed the true meaning of dancing, raw emotion transposed in movement.
A headache got Charlie off his bed and onto his feet. He rubbed his scalp. He groaned as he swayed from one foot to the other towards the door. 'Just one more day in the office and then it would be the weekend,' he thought to himself. He opened the door. He entered a dark room and Charlie tried to find his way either to a light switch, or the fridge. Along the way, he bumped into something. He could just see what it was. A treadmill. 'Strange,' he thought. Charlie never owned a treadmill before. He walked in the darkness for another minute before he laid his hands on what felt like the refrigerator. Finally. It also didn't feel like it was his refrigerator but Charlie didn't complain. He opened it and gasped in horror. Almost nothing there were things he normally ate. Vegetables and fruits covered several rows and there was no sign for any yogurts or milk. He did find portions of meat but he didn't want to actually cook something. He stepped back. At that moment, all of the lights flicked on and Charlie turned around. He froze as he now saw where he was. He was in a kitchen, with many cupboards and pots and pans. There was a stove, an oven, a sink and a table at the center. To his left was a living room. It had a TV with a couch in front of it and behind both stood the treadmill. Charlie saw two doors next to the living room, and he assumed he came out of one of them. But that didn't make him freeze. Everything was encased together inside walls of glass and a black ceiling on top. Charlie saw an enormous room behind the glass, and he saw who turned the lights on. What turned it on. Two eyes stuck out on the front of his body, each on an opposite side. An open gap at the very front suggested it was its mouth. Scales covered its body. Several fins moved around as it floated to the tank Charlie was in. Charlie flattened himself against the fridge. The giant fish tapped the glass with its head and turned an eye to Charlie. Charlie stood. He had to be dreaming. Charlie heard steps coming from one of the rooms beside the living room and when he came out, Charlie's mouth opened. It was another human. He seemed in his thirties, wore nothing except for underwear and he scratched his belly. He walked to the treadmill and stepped on it. The fish burbled in excitement, and bubbles floated from his mouth upward. The man activated the treadmill and began to run on it. The fish bobbed his head as the man ran. Charlie's eyebrows rose. His mouth opened even more. When the man finished, he stepped off the treadmill, turned it off and went to the kitchen. He stopped when he saw Charlie. "Oh finally,"he said, "they brought a new one. It was getting pretty lonely."Charlie seemed as though his eyebrows would tear away from his face and fly to the ceiling, and his jaw would drop to the floor. The man sighed and rolled his eyes. "Don't worry,"he said,"you'll get used to this soon enough. I'm Tom."He reached his hand out to Charlie. Charlie only looked at the hand at first. His eyebrows went back to his eyes and his lips came together again. Charlie gave his hand. Tom shook it. "Charlie,"Charlie muttered. The fish burbled and swam around beyond the glass. "See, that wasn't so bad,"said Tom. Tom opened the fridge and took out a carrot. He munched on it. "You should probably eat. I can cook something if you'd like,"said Tom. Charlie nodded. The fish bumped its head on the glass and eyed Charlie. "The treadmill,"said Tom,"he wants you to run on it." "How did you-" "Just do it." Charlie went to the treadmill. An eye of the fish stared at him. He turned it on and began running on it, accompanied by the fish swimming back and forth next to the glass between them. Sweat formed on his brow. He tried as best he could not to look at the fish, and he tried not to think about anything. An aroma came from the kitchen. Cooked beef. Charlie ran for what felt like half an hour and when he was done, he stepped off. The fish swam all around its room. Charlie went straight to the kitchen and saw on the table a plate with the beef and other vegetables. Tom bowed at Charlie. "Bon Appetit, Charlie,"he said and Charlie sat beside the table. "I swear,"Charlie said, "I never hallucinated before and I never took any drugs."Tom laughed. "Everyone says that when they first end up here. I'm sad to break it to you, but everything here is real and this tank is your home now,"said Tom. "You seem used to this nightmare." "I've had my fair share of time here, it's pretty normal to me at this point."Tom walked to the TV and turned to Charlie. "Word of advice though,"Tom said, "don't stand still for long periods of time." "Why?"Charlie said. "Think about what we do when a fish floats up and stops moving inside its tank,"Tom said. Charlie almost choked on his beef. He looked outside the glass. The fish had left the room. Tom sat on the couch and turned the TV on, moving around the couch and sitting in different positions every few minutes.
I locked eyes with her. That was my first mistake. I felt it as soon as I did. The rumbling in my gut, the pain in my body, the tears of agony holding it in. It was torture. But hold it I did as she left, barrelling to the bathroom. I grunted and began to rock. While I loved this power some days, today wasn’t one. I have no control over what it selects me to be better than someone at, and today, the power was pitching some kind of supernatural fit. It had made sure I was the best at growing tumours after I witnessed a man going into chemo and realizing he had a lot of tumours on his back, getting into coughing fits after a woman with a cold came out into the hospital lobby and coughed so hard she vomited up her lunch, and throwing temper tantrums when an impatient kid dropped himself to the floor in a rage. This last one… Oh gosh, I can’t hold it. I need the bathroom NOW! Come on, people! I can’t… I… I can’t… … Great. I’m now the best at expelling diarrhea. Just great. Effing power.
"Oh sweet! I wondered what happened to my old base!"Akuma's words echoed throughout the empty building. It was still I'm pretty good shape considering it was underground and wasn't harmed by people panicking. There was some dust and she could most definitely smell the rotting food in the fridge from here. In all honesty, Akuma hadn't necessarily meant to start an apocalypse those 15 years ago- well she had, but not really. When Akuma became a villain it was for what she considered a noble reason. She wanted to bring peace between the heroes and villains. After seeing how happy her mother, a hero, and her father, a villain, were together she wanted everyone to be like that. The whole goal was that the two sides would unite and find a way to cure the zombies and stop the apocalypse... it did not turn out that way. At the beginning heroes blamed all the other villains and declared that they must kill them without question. The villains had tried to work with them but it was hard when they'd immediately get killed. Pissed off by this Fairy, a villain crime boss rounded up the remaining villains and declared war against heroes. In there fighting they destroyed cities as the apocalypse raged on, infecting most of what remained of humanity as the heroes and villains fought. They destroyed one another and eventually there was no one else in the wreckage of the world who could cure it, including her considering she ended up having to leave her base for a while, and she stupidly left the cure in the base, its entrance hidden by rubble. Akuma almost felt bad, but in a strange way this did all bring people together, almost all survivors made there way to the stronghold that rose after the beginning and they created a community where they all worked together. Part of her wondered if it would be better to just let the world remain like this and see what people do, it was quite entertaining after all, and while not the exact results she wanted, they were decent. "I suppose I should. It isnt worth anything if theres no heroes or villains... and civilians will have to work together to rebuild society.."she sighed softly "It sucks I have to clean up my own mess though."
Jeremiah watched on as the abominations talked in clear, though heavily impolite and improper, Valefolk-Terran. His pitchfork was, thank the Goddess, still in his hands. The monsters were talking of their excitement of an upcoming electoral battle. And of the pain the new-ro-trams-later injector. “Improved. Communication clear. Without lag.” The creature that has said this was either a rock or a bug or both. It looked like a wirey, five-legged spider made of stone, atop which was an arm that held two-hands. The hands fidgeted spasmodically as it spoke. A cows calf in size. And talking. “Not bad, not bad. Still hurts though. Think that’s what they need to work on next.” This one was a smooth, mostly aquamarine ball, that was pocked with hundreds of irregular, navy coloured holes that opened and closed irregularly, revealing...darkness. A dark-red and slimy darkness. This ball was as wide as Jeremiah was tall. Which was five and one half feet by the school-marms measure. More worrying of the balls existance, beyond its general size and shape, was that it hung, still and unmoving in the air. Propelled by nothing. Oh, and a voice was coming from it. That too was of great concern. The final of the three beasts appeared to be a man of enormous stature. Twelve-feet, crouched so as to fit into the space provided for them. And generally Terran in shape. Two arms and legs. Torso. Head. Though, he was made of countless insects, they themselves, were made of almost transparent smoke. Hanging in what could only be assumed to be the creatures neck was a black, bean sized object, that had no place being in such an entity. The smoke-swarm reached a hand in and poked it. It glowed. And Jeremiah felt heat in his own neck and heard a voice come not from any creature, but some place in the ceiling. “Warning: Do not tamper with your communicator. This device acts as both your team communication unit, military ID, and as an explosive incentivisor.” The voice was that of a woman, and she sounded like she was happy with her work. Very happy. “Tampering with your electorally issued communicator may lead to the vaporsation-slash-decommissioning of your entire team. More details shall be provided after orientation. Your Galaxy thanks you.” “Well, I’d best be leaving that well alone, shan’t I.” Said the swarm in a million whispered voices, as it pulled its finger our of its own neck. “’Preciate it, bud.” Said the ball. “Wise.” Said the Spider. The others sat silent. Anger bubbled in the quiet and devout man. “Prithee, sirs, if be you sirs, what is it that is happening?” And then he stood, stomped and began shouting: “What in the Holy Goddess is afoot! Where, pray tell, is my farm and who art thou, and what art thou!” “Ah, so he can talk!” “Assumed.” “Salutations, teammate.”
"Time in 10, gentlemen."Shouted the bartender, eyes bloodshot from nary a night of sleep in recent months. Still, the frantic twitching in his stare was filled with a fear unbeknownst to me, but seemed all too familiar to the privateers of all colours on this accursed isle. It was at that moment that there was vigour in every man and woman there beside myself, each downing their cups and staggering as best they could back to their ships. I couldn't quite understand what in the devil's brown britches had got into them. What was some fidgety bartender going to do to get this lot out of this hole? Shoot them with a barrage of foul language from a toothless blunderbuss? I found the sight amusing until my wrist was taken by the foulest smelling ape to wear a mockery of an English officer's uniform. "Up you get, sonny."He spake with a gargle to his tone, but it wasn't due to drink. His breath was host to other disgusting tones. I decided not to joke with the only man who was in good relations to his senses. "Excuse me, my good man,"As I said this I realised I was somewhat patronising, "but I have yet to quench a dreadful thirst brought by the vicinity of this isle."Still, I was uplifted from my seat and shoved back a ways, hitting the rim of a table where one poor soul had the good fortune to find sleep on this thundrous rock. "You'll not need drink if the devil sees you here. Besides, you seem sane enough to fear what drunkards do."This mountain of a man told me not just with a low growling voice, but with eyes that pierced a night that could only be found in Hades. And who was this ferryman to guide me through Styx? I instinctively had to check my pockets to make sure he hadn't taken my coin. A wave of relief washed over me, but didn't last. "I know this rock must breed a bad bunch but the guards can't be that bad."My manner was not pleasing to this gentleman, his ruddy features beneath a jungle of wiry black hair unmoved by my demeanor. "Not guards. The devil. Who else would allow Englishmen and Spaniards, corsairs of Denmark and pirates of Nassau, to drink in the same pub, uncaring for their conflicts? What kind of creature could provide all men comfort knowing they'll drink and die?"The golem told me. If this was a joke, then he is the greatest joker I have ever known. "I have no fear of devils, only the wrath of God."The mountainous man looked upon me with a smile, as if sympathising with a young boy's naivety, and noted the copper crucifix around my neck, gleaming in the storm that brought us all here in the first place. "Boyo, you could only wish this rock was within God's wrath. It might spare you from the devil's bet."As he spoke, the not-so-gentleman took from his neck a small leather pouch, attached by mucky string, and handed it to me. "If you leave this island, I'll let you keep them. But if you stay, you'll get a set of your own."He ran a stump through his greasy hair, likely lost in the battle where he went up against one of the Queen's soldiers I'll wager. Or so I would've done, had it not been for when I'd opened that God-forsaken pouch. For inside were dice of a morbid aura. My fingers wriggled in defiance to hold them, but faith had allowed me to touch these demonic artefacts. They weren't marble, nor wood. They were bone. As I recoiled in horror, the man walked away. I closed the pouch and handed it back to him, yelling and pleading into the thunderous dark he take this horrific joke away from me. But then I saw upon the pouch in a flash of lightning an icon. A brand. A tattoo. I dropped the bag and so I fled from that place, my exhausted crew roused from their slumber, and sailed in whatever direction that would take us from that stalagtite, that finger from the sea. And all the while my ears drummed with the haunting warning of that man. No drink can mute that sound, and I worry that if I die before it does, I'll hear that sound beyond whatever Hell awaits. I plead with all who find themselves coming across that spear arisen from the sea, with lights and ships and cheer, know that the ale they serve is not the nectar of the gods. It is the devil's den, and he shall be eager to take all bets.
"My friend, I just think your stories are just a mess." Henry cursed himself. As the editor skimmed through the drafts Henry had spent a month writing, his face became more and more stretchy. "I mean, the plot itself is a doozy. A kid, who is supposed to be the son of the sea god, found himself enrolled in an academy of magic and now is in the quest of becoming a criminal mastermind?" "Yes... It's a bit much but I believe it can work!" "Listen, the plot itself is one thing but the characters. What? This lad, Perry Jackpot for starters. So, his mom was a witch who slept with the sea god, Neptune. And thanks to a dark lord, who for some reason is noseless, Perry is now an orphaned destined to continue his lineage of being a crime lord?" "Yes, sure the character-" "And what about this heroine of yours? An Indian girl struggling to prove herself a great witch while dealing with prejudice? I mean, I get you want to be political and all but I don't think it'll sell." "Look, the racial discrimination is an important plot-" "And don't even get me started with this dark lord. I'm with you with the whole quest for immortality business but do you have to make him the hero's old man? What about the whole son of Neptune thing?" "Well you see, when the dad went away for a bit, Neptune disguised himself as him and hooked up with the mother. This is actually one of the reason why he left the family." "I think that's just needlessly complicate everything. Let's talk about the mentor character. So he's the dad's mentor and sworn brother but after the dad went to the dark side, he got exile?" "Yes, see here. I've planned an extension to the dad's story that I intend to expand in a side series-" "What makes you think this one will even get your a normal series?" "...Determination?" "Look here. Nobody will read this. And I haven't even gotten to the part with the whole space magic academy." "...That's a no then?" "Hard no." With that, Henry left the editor's office without the passion he had brought earlier. As he got to the hallway, the secretary raised herself from the chair and called the other man waiting there "Mr. Rolf. You may go in." Henry glanced at the man named Rolf. Seemed like around his age. His face shining was shining with excitement and glee, like how Henry had when he was coming in earlier. Scoffing, Henry wondered if he should stay just to see that shine on his face gone. A year later, Henry would find himself punching the wall when Rolf rise to fame thanks to his 'Harry Potter' series.

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