Stories tagged “challenge”
-
Old Tyme Cough Syrup
“Don’t drink that!” Professor Quick screamed as his brew spills down my throat: “So it’s you who’s been stealing my Old Tymer’s Syrup!” The lab floor lifts up like a heaving tectonic plate, and then drops...
-
And Then You Lock The Door
It’s one of those nights. Things blend in an amalgamation of dream mush; envelope you in a world constructed of reality and beyond. The light overhead: is it more orange than usual? It flickers and you swear you hear static. The creepy old-timey ...
-
Sir Tad of Winslow
Sir Tad of Winslow shambles up to the circle of contenders bearing the bites of a savage battle on his slashed cheeks and punctured shoulder. On his chest, under a swath of shredded cloth, hangs a necklace made of fangs. Each milky tooth is capped at i...
-
So Many Battles
Dust and sweat, god, all I know is dust and sweat. Upon the rise outside the arena the captain of the Asclepian Guard tugs at the cloth armor about him. Jealous eyes consider the frivolity of the arena, while his soul, a slave of duty, adjures his glan...
-
A Diamond Heart
My baby grew up without me. After she was born, a woman lifted her from my weary arms, and she screeched as she left her mother and gained another. She will never know. I met her five years later. She was beautiful, with her sun-golden locks, her dazzl...
-
An Honor to be Chosen
My prey had taken refuge in a metal hut. I had only hunted them for fifteen minutes and I counted myself lucky. There was no way out of there now. Though short it had been a dangerous journey, navigating the slick black ground that randomly spat fire. ...
-
Moonlighting
A glint of light off metal caught my eye. I stopped to inspect a pair of knives. I’ll probably need these. Placing them in my cart, I consulted my list of things I’d need as a full-time maid. Kitchen knives were not included, but something ...
-
The New Guys: Second Thoughts
A dapperly dressed scarecrow of a man took the stage and bowed theatrically. “Welcome. My name is Gustav and I’m glad to see all of you. It’s not every day that we get to welcome so many into the hallowed ranks of the Hunters.” ...
-
A Woman's Ways
She knew there was something wrong as soon as she looked in his eyes. They were black as night and devoid of emotion. He quickly looked away, knowing he’d been made, but he still persisted in his endeavor. Most likely he underestimated her, think...
-
Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword
Tex was impressed as he surveyed the damage that Noble Six had done. He had killed a lot of people but this was a whole different level, this was a storm of slaughter. He was about to tell her when the air behind her shimmered like a mirage. He was alr...
-
Funny Names We Use
“We so shouldn’t be doing this,” he huffed without really stopping or slowing. “Shh, shh, not now.” Her response was teasing, just above a supressed giggle. Her grin spoke volumes, the sum total effect of which was to draw...
-
An Unusual College Experience
“So about the girl you’ve been seeing…” Phil began. Derrick kept his voice neutral. “What about her?” “I got some some bad news.” “I kinda figured by the way you started the conversation. Out with i...
-
Tactical Reversal
The front of the ghost was covered in plasma grenades like barnacles on a whale. Monica steered it straight into the middle of the last group and as first grenade exploded, leaped out. A thumb activated the shield which she had placed under her feet li...
-
One Woman, One Ghost, One Army
Her stolen ghost gave her speed, maneuverability, and nearly unlimited ammo. Her training and her AI’s ability to integrate and interpret data and deliver real time responses made her unstoppable. She zipped through the enemy ranks mowing down th...
-
Illr
They stared at each other for a time. Kerwin didn’t know what to say to the strange sight in front of him and the naked girl stood there oblivious to cold and propriety. “Would you like to share m’fire?” Kerwin asked. The little...
-
Surprises in the Night
By midnight Kerwin was lost. Even by the light of a lantern, he couldn’t tell where he was going from where he had been. Everything looked the same in the dark. He cursed himself for not bringing anything to mark tree trunks with- extra handkerch...
-
Following in the Footsteps of the Apprentice
Kerwin waited two days for his apprentice to return, before setting out himself. He had sent the fool boy into the forest to pick mushrooms. He had thought the townsfolk were having a go at him when they said the forest was haunted and cursed by both g...
-
Dreams of Cassandra
It was half time and the lines to the concessions stretched out, winding back and forth until all of humanity was reflected in the hopeless eyes of the sophomores who had volunteered to staff the stands. The sweltering heat of the day never left and wa...
-
Muddy Understanding at Best
A hard fought game long done, the dragging squeak of tennis shoes betrayed the passage back into the stadium of one weary athlete. In the shadows of the concession stand counter sat a dirty fellow, unshowered, still clad in the school’s proud gre...
-
Playing House
At least when they cheat on you, you get to have an extra person to hate. It’s as if the bad feelings are given a face to gather towards, like fruit flies on the rim of a long-forgotten juice glass. But when there’s nobody else – it c...
-
Post-Suburban Sprawl Commentary
“This place is creepy.” “That’s the point, Sue.” “Then why am I wearing a prom dress?” “It’s a juxtaposition, the beat down house with the fancy outfit. Try standing more towards the window.” ...
-
Blow me away from today
Love was a room. It was a room beginning with stark white walls and emptiness. Every day yielded new memories for them, and every memory became a photo they tacked to the walls. They surrounded themselves in snapshots, and they were happy, even as phot...
-
Where, or when?
He stood at the doorway, anxiously patting down his pockets while looking with wide eyes at the ground around him. “I can’t find the keys.” A somewhat bored and not quite disbelieving voice chirped over the headset “What do you ...
-
Warrior's Sonnet
Low and fallow ground below us may lie To seek that soil’s embrace, cradle of life Humble aspiration, kingly reward Take part with yon god, gods or some goddess Urge and shelter, worship green creation Tis not for us this peaceful endeavor Climb ...
-
Falling Day
The best part of Autumn, he’d decided, was the leaves. Any child who’s ever had any fun has jumped in a big pile of fallen leaves. There was something simple and satisfying about the experience. It never failed to enrage the elderly, someth...