Long ago, in a distant land called Dryer, there lived a king named Dio, who had no desire to assist his fellow humans, let alone animals. He only thirsted for power and domination. The subjects suffered under his rule; they were plagued by expensive taxes and inhospitable conditions. However, nobody raised concerns; those who stood ...

September 1964: The mid-morning sun shone on the uniform lawns on Juniper Street. The area, in an affluent Sacramento suburb, was lined with brick houses and bordered by two large bushes, marking its separation from the outside world.  To Martha Baxter, this was the place those with materialistic desires loved to call home. At eleven ...

First, the plane landed late, and now she was calling him, and he hadn’t even picked up his luggage. “What do you want, Rachael?” Okay, maybe he was being impatient with her. Tom had been away on a business trip for the last three weeks. So, he calmed himself down and tried again. “I’m sorry, ...

I’m a sour patch kid.First sour, then sweet,dancing on taste budsuntil I’m gone. I can be innocent.A slice of heavento make all your dreamscome true. Or I can be cruel.Your match made in hell,a perfect storm wrappedin a tantalizing package. A temptress full of desirebeyond imagination.A heartbreaker to leave you cold and empty. “It’s not ...

a twist in your gut marks this violent path a heartbeat taken a breath driven out his smile shadows your memories and the blood that soiled his face when he died father’s ghost taunts you in the night where peace can find no purchase in your dreams thirstful vengeance marks your violent path bodies in ...

I woke up back in my bedroom with the starlight streaming on my face. I used two fingers to massage my temple to soothe the sharp pain in my skull. I swung  my legs over the bed surprised that I didn’t need to use an arm to support myself as I sat up. How did ...

You can read chapter one of the story here. People always said that when you die you finally feel at peace. You are no longer bound by your obligations in the mortal realm. Can those people tell me why I still have a headache, and my neck still hurts? I just got executed. Where is ...

I woke up with a warm breath against my neck as the sunlight streamed through the stained glass window above my bed. The headmistress brought this on herself when she put me in the old chapel. I tossed off my pink comforter and hit my companion with my pillow. “Get up. You are going to ...

Fifteen-year-old Rowan creeps into his house and eases the kitchen door closed, hoping not to alert Gary, his abusive step-father, of his arrival. He sets his backpack on the table, then tiptoes to the fridge for a serving of chilled apple juice to combat the effects of the extreme heat. The refrigerator’s cold air soothes ...