I pushed the mop back and forth slowly as I circled near the door for a third time. I eyed the lock. They should’ve known better than assigning a former locksmith to mop in the prison laundry. That door was all I could think about now.

Or so I think my father thought. I wouldn't know exactly because that was the last time we all saw him. He knew he was risking his life out there, but when he promised me that he'd be back, he looked like he really meant it. Or maybe it's because I believed him that I broke down.

Never leave a container of mint balls next to a witch's cauldron. But the trick to this is, what exactly is a witch? When I first came across this warning, I avoided every kitchen of every woman senior citizen that I came across. I even avoided my grandma. But a witch is nothing

Maybe it was the length of time I’ve spent in the silence of space, but music has meant a lot to me these last 5 years. I’d gotten used to only hearing my own breath and cursing inside my helmet, no matter how much damage my blaster did. Music helped. Time for some Hendrix.

Grind the beans until they turn as smooth as sand in an hourglass. Pull the lever until the water streams down in an iridescent cascade. Pour the mixture from the pot into the cup elegantly and with a cold expression. Hope that you're not pretty. That is how you survive as a maid

It had been eleven months to the day since the storms first began. Most cities were but flattened piles of crumbling brick and rotting wood. People—those who survived—lived in small shanty tent collectives under highway overpasses. My sister Gwen and I had found an empty trailer

How do you know if you’re crazy? What if you’re actually on to something you’re not supposed to know, and being labeled “crazy” is just a way to bully you into submission? Layla peered between the slats of the blinds at the black car parked outside, its tinted windows hiding

I twisted the noose in my hands, curving it into a heart shape. Happy Valentine’s Day, I thought. Nothing else I’d done or tried to do had ever meant anything, so here I stood on my wooden stool, steeling myself to perform the one gesture that I knew would be appreciated.

Once upon a time there was a man who likes seeing stars. That man was married and he had 2 daughters. One day, while he stayed at home, he had an idea.

I had always been an unremarkable demon. I came from a proud bloodline of many a well known incubus that had seduced some of the major players in history in order to alter its’ flow, but I was stuck with only the ability to ask charming questions and receive a truthful answer.

There is snow everywhere. It keeps piling up. It is not melting. It’s almost June.

The night was cold and foggy, the perfect scenery for a gruesome crime. Detective John Mason was assigned to the case, he was the best. This time the victim was a girl, between 20-23 years old, blond, thin, she was found near the lake with strange markings on her wrist.

Day 304: I am still all alone with no answers, just as I have been for the last nearly year. The lack of human companionship is finally beginning to chip away at what little of my sanity remains, and I find myself less and less able to enjoy the things that used to distract me.

You think you know me. But I’ve fooled you with my ordinary clothing and passive manner. I want you to think I’m weak, submissive. I want to gain your trust. If you only knew

The damp murk of the cellar, unaided by the arm of moonlight reaching in through the grime of a solitary window, was silent and still. Motes of dust, turbulent as stars, slowly twinkled in their passage through the blue light the nature of their disturbance unseen.

Before their eyes was the frozen ocean, fractured but solidified once more underneath. It seemed like an undulating ballroom floor of some psycho snow queen. Dark shadows the size of humpback whales moved restlessly underneath their feet encased in ice. It's been hours since the

I ran up as fast as I could. I could hear the loud booming voice ahead, bellowing "Giddy up, Giddy up! Last train out to your new life! Giddy up." I looked at my feet excitedly, clutched my single half-filled suitcase, and leapt up with all my strength into the

Jim had been stuck in a time loop for—by his estimates—a hundred and fifty years. At least the day he inhabited was sunny and warm, although he was often sorry he’d never again get to experience Christmas. Or his birthday. Or any day that wasn’t June 23rd, really. But June 23rd

The flickering lamp was the only source of light in the darkened field of buttercups. The bunny couldn't pause to think of why it was there in the first place- it was too terrified. Quickly, it hopped up to the base of the lamp and surveyed the sprawl of impenetrable darkness.

I was walking, book in hand, when I bumped into someone. I was met by a familiar face. My friend, Kate, looked back at me. But then it hit me Kate died in an accident 3 years ago. And I saw it happen. There was no doubt it was her, but how could it be?

I was there alone.

The gentle hum of the blowing fan in the corner, the slither of sunlight strewn across the room and settled on the tired, angelic and hopeful face before me. Powerless to do anything, holding her hands, I smiled, starring at the palm lines, in a daze, "Will I still remember?"

The hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach was overtaking me. I reached for the bottle of Lorazepam, only to find that it was empty, and cursed. How could I be expected to function under such stressful conditions? It was like torture. Pure, unrelenting torture.

"Baloney!" cried the clown. "I'm telling you, thanks to Stephen King, all the children in the audience were terrified of your antics. One even called 911 before I could stop them!" His boss sighed as he rubbed his bald head. "Look, I'm sorry Danny. You're fired."

Every morning, before the day started me and Lucy would watch the military boys run along the country side. Everyday I would ask Lucy, “How come you don’t marry one of those boys?” And she would give the same look and say, “They were the ones that started this war.” But one day

There are so many beautiful and subtle things about this planet that make it unlike earth, but the most striking has to be the red snow. It never diminishes in vibrancy, despite the fact that winter can drag on up to a year. It’s also the reason I am as wealthy as I am.

He approached me in the in plaza, smiling. Without a word, he handed me a card. It read “Marcus Wallaby the Third. Effing up the ineffable a specialty”. I was befuddled. He said “what can I do for you?”

This is how the story goes, how it ends, no one knows. Line by line, we fabricate it ‘til we sound inebriated. Using only context clues, cleverly we get to choose where the story goes from here. You’re up next! Good luck, my dear.

Jerry glanced down at the photograph in his hand, then back up again at the woman sitting alone at the back of the cafe.