They told us it was the greatest technological achievement in human history. They told us it would forever change our role on the cosmic stage. They told us it would lead to a Golden Age of exploration, prosperity, and expansion. They were lying. Even after the expenditure...
The faucet is dripping in the bathroom. It has been the whole night. I haven't gone in yet. Yet. I moved here two months ago. It's my first house and I had no idea what I was getting into. I've been tearing down wallpaper, ripping up...
Hope didn't like being home without her parents. All of her friends did, and they had all shared wild tales of what exactly they had done when their parents were gone. They all seemed to get a sense of satisfaction at disobeying their parents and...
Mark’s head rocked wildly in the pillow as a muted moan popped from his throat. His eyeballs thrashed about under clenched lids, kamikaze fireflies trapped in a skin jar. He jerked awake, and his first sight was the glowing bulb of his bedside lamp. It...
Friday 13th November, 2015. At 3:42pm GMT, it happened. The world descended into a sudden, complete darkness. Chaos ensued. In our little office on the 10th floor, we huddled together in that ominous pitch black, awaiting the light. There was a television in our break room, and...
To whom it may concern, I don't know your name and you do not know mine. That's just as well, because I have tried to speak with you these many times before as you leave for work, get your mail, bring your children home from school,...
“Alright, kids,” the counselor announced, a devilish grin stretching across her face. “You know what time it is!” Jack nodded vigorously, bouncing up and down with excitement. He had been waiting for this moment all day. “That’s right!” she responded. “It’s time for our scary story competition!...
Growing up in small town in the middle of Kansas in the 1970s meant that not only was there not much to do as a slightly mischievous teenager, but if you did want to do something, anything, you had to come up with it yourself....
This was it: night one of my new job as the night watchman for Disneyland. Anywhere else, I'd be referred to as an ordinary security guard. Here, I was a cast member. Something about that label just oozed sophistication and privilege. It was now 12:00...
My name is Jim Hutchison. Most people call me Hutch, even in my professional life. My family-owned business is as a concrete contractor, and we perform work for a variety of private and federal clients. One such client is the Texas State Department of Corrections....
“Bobby! Pay attention!” he heard his teacher say. He snapped out of his reverie and looked up to see her glaring at him. “Did you hear anything I’ve been saying?” she continued. Bobby shrugged his shoulders. Prior to being disrupted, he was daydreaming that he could...
Until recently, I had considered the reserve near my home just another quiet, if slightly unnerving, relic of pre-suburban life. With sub-divisions and commercial sectors rising steadily around it, the knot of thick trees, greenery and long, straw-like grass had been cast aside by time;...
If there was any doubt by the turn of the twenty-first century, by the dawn of the twenty-second, it was an unmistakable reality: technological civilization was unsustainable. In 2130, with the global population nearing eleven billion, Earth was Hell. We all but exhausted our reserves...
Have you ever wondered why we see ghosts? Maybe they have a message for us. Perhaps they’re trapped somewhere between our world and theirs, oblivious to the fact that time has gone on without them. There have been tales of long-lost family members visiting us...
“Will you be with me when the time comes?” Caitlyn asked. Her voice was soft and cracking due to dehydration. Even with the saline solution being pumped through the IV she was still far too weak to talk properly. Her lips were white and cracking like...
Chambliss, the wealthy only son of a prosperous sugarcane plantation owner in Louisiana is madly in love with Camellia, a slavewoman, though they keep their relationship secret from his father, and are separated until the father’s passing, upon which Camellia moves into the house with...
There it is! In between the static. It's faint at first, buried deep in the hiss, but after you hear it, after you know it's there it becomes so loud you want to cover your ears and scream. I can sound the words out for you,...
"I'll never ask for anything else again, I swear, Mom!" As kids, we've all said it at one point. We find something that seems the most amazing item in the world and we just have to have it, no matter what. For me, it was the...
“You may commence, Chief Inspector.” The two constables started to write down notes as I began, my sweating forehead reflecting the bright shine of the desk lamp despite the harsh cold temperature. A notebook with a cheap webcam was recording our talk. “We...
Juliet stood on the sidewalk, hands on her hips, and stared at the house. How depressing. Her Aunt Camilla had passed away just three short months ago. An aneurysm or stroke is what the doctors had said. Camilla had been in her nineties and a...
Every culture has its own unique folklore- traditions and tales passed down through generations. In the modern day, these are often looked upon by most with the idle interest of a time gone by, but I have always found them to be quite fascinating. They...
I've been blind since birth. This in and of itself is not what this is about, but it's a crucial part of the story. Throughout my life, I've used lots of different kinds of assistive technology; braille keyboards, voice command apps, adapted smartphones...
As some of you have already noticed, the ratings stars have once again turned to pumpkins. This means that it's finally October again, and thus time for our annual Halloween discussion post and giveaway! Just like in 2014 and 2013, the October discussion post will serve...
It has been six weeks since my first sighting of the wicked old hag. I woke up in the middle of the night and went to roll over, but my entire body was paralysed. I lay there, scared and helpless, contemplating my predicament when I...