Catching a Break

“Subject entering the dining hall.” The tired man in the construction hat rolled his eyes.“Do you really have to tell us that Rince? We can see.” “Following protocol, boss.” “Well stop.” The boss looked at the schematics before him. “About time for a trip, I suppose.” He pulled a lever with a kind of weary […]

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The Sandcastle (final)

The ants began making a kind of clicking and hissing noise. And then, like a surge of evil ocean water, they attacked. Sam saw the wall advance and waited. Waited while they closed the distance, waited as the moon on their helmets shone more and more brightly. Waited until they had completely covered the sand […]

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The Sandcastle (part 3)

“Sam,” Aira said, “what is that?” “That,” Tommy said, “is Sandaxtron.” Sam looked at his brother, puzzled. “How do you know about Sandaxtron?”   “Glem showed it to me. On his phone.” Now that they were closer, Sam could see the walls soaring above him. They looked like stone, but as he reached out his […]

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The Sandcastle (part 2)

“No one’s ever going to save the earth because they know castles,” Tommy said. “And who’s going to save the earth with Bernoulli’s principle?” Sam asked. His voice a tad more desperate than he intended. It was supposed to sound clever, conclusive. “Maybe not the world, but you can keep planes from crashing,” Tommy said. […]

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The Sandcastle (part 1)

“The oldest legend of Kenlow island is the Midnight’s Day. A magical night, a time of the dire, and the wonderful. From sundown to sunrise, a strange wakish light pervades. Not quite dusk, and not quite night. It is then, and then only that strange and magical things can happen. No one knows for sure […]

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Unfinished Business

This story segment comes from another website I help to run: Light in a Glass. It allows different writers to create characters, and every month the story is passed on to someone new. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys spur-of-the- moment fiction, this could become a favorite website. The excerpt below is from […]

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What the Wall Told

“You want to what?!” “Listen, Krea, it’s because I really think he’s going to anyway—” Alston began. “So because you’re sure Quinn is going to do it anyway, you’re going to stop protesting and just help him? That’s how you keep your friend safe, by helping him plot his own death march?” “When you say it […]

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Variable Part 4–Reset

Tara pulled into the parking space at Johnson’s Grocery and jumped out of her car, tossing her keys in her handbag and slamming the door. She had to hurry if she wanted to get home in time for the latest episode of Game Plan. That’s when she saw him—Jay-Jay across the street with his mom—and smiled […]

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Variable Part 3–Jay Jay

Jay-Jay wailed and seized Tara’s legs in a death grip. “Hey,” Tara said, kneeling down. “It’s okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jay-Jay’s eyes spoke for him. He was unconvinced. Tara placed her hand on his shoulder. “Jay-Jay. I’ll see you again.” *                      *                     * A tear slid down Tara’s face. The screen was merciless, showing […]

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