Byline
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All stories on Byline
Becoming One
He looked at the night sky and imagined other worlds. Alternative universes where he was happier, wealthier and maybe a couple of inches ...
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The Mythical Sword of Fromage
It had been eleven months to the day since the storms first began. Most cities were but flattened piles of crumbling brick and rotting ...
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From Wicked to CEO
Featured 🌟
I started out as any normal child. I’d pass the days away playing silly childish games, like duck-duck goose or tag with the neighborhood ...
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The Doorway Effect
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 ...
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The High Fructose Fun Tour
I watched the fire burn what was left of the rubble away. My nose filled with smoke, my heart with vengeance I walked to the woods ...
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Time Flies
The plane was landing, and I was running out of time. I frantically looked across the aisle at his slack-clad legs, crossed at the ...
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From Aliens to Demons
“A hero’s journey is long and winding, but a hero always finds the way,” my mother read. “That’s the end of the story, Anya. Good night.” ...
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Donut Hunt Monsters: Part III
The buttery crumbs spilled out of my mouth and onto my velvet robe. As I devoured the ethereal croissant I began to feel drunk with ...
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The Holiday Mixup
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 ...
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A Voice In The Dark
“Please don’t hurt me...” Kay was curled up into a ball, her arms over her face. In the dark she couldn’t see who was there. “No, stop!” ...
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Spain or Ukraine?: Part II
Days later Houston, having recovered from the attack, stood in a dusty atrium in one of many deserted, faceless municipal buildings ...
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World Widening Web
When humankind first encountered an intelligence equivalent to its own, it was not at all what we expected.
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Penance in the World Hereafter
Fortune cookies. I've been making them for eons, directing entire Chinese restaurants in the delicate art and penning the predictions ...
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Dreams Wash Away
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 ...
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The Glory of a Face
Wearing a mask is a beautiful thing until the moment dawns on you that taking it off is a lot harder than putting it on. I had been ...
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Demonic Dissent
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 ...
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The Ghost of British Rock Past
It was a beautiful night. The moon was shining over the mountains, illuminating the treetops and silhouetting the owls and other night ...
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Winter’s Tail
There is snow everywhere. It keeps piling up. It is not melting. It’s almost June.
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Furry Friends
Whenever someone asks me about my childhood, I don’t smile and think of good times. I shudder. I think of the only thing from my childhood ...
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John Mason and the bizarrest case ever
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 ...
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Living Time
Crunch. The bug bit into its snack once more, covering yet keeping in time with the ticking of the clock it was captured in. It gleefully ...
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Short Term Memory Loss
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 ...
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Lessons Learned
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 ...
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Burt's Discount Dental review: ⭐ 1 star
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 ...
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Under the Icy Siege
Before their eyes was the frozen ocean, fractured but solidified once more underneath. It seemed like an undulating ballroom floor ...
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Ballad of Mary Blue
Felce had always been a quiet town on the cliffs bordering the sea, the only racket emanating from it coming from the waves crashing ...
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The Mars Experiment
Well, it's not every day that you discover your mother is the most despised supervillain in the history of Mars.
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Train Wrecked!
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 ...
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Lost in Greg's Beard
All was quiet in the Musick household save for a mechanical hum emanating from the attic. A keen observer watching from the across ...
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New Head, Who Dis?
How is it possible for a person to suddenly grow a second head? Of all the maladies that I have researched, I never suspected that ...
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Fraught with Battle
"Fellow Blockians, this is our hour of battle. We must not falter! To victory! Battalions 8 and 9, prepare for ambush!" The legoes ...
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Jim’s Bad Day
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 ...
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The Companionship of Cyborgs
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 ...
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The Catfight That Saved His Life
The end of my life was near. I could feel it in my bones. “Make it a double,” I said to the bartender. What would a few extra drinks ...
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Seeing Kate
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 ...
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The CVS in Wonderland
It was a crisp fall day. The end of our hike had led us to a clearing in the forest, just behind the CVS. Holly was standing still ...
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Destroy all humans
I was there alone.
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The Coral Cure
Everyone loved Lora's laugh. It was low, full of humor and light and everything you could want in a sound meant to elicit smiles. It ...
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A DREAMY NOON
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 ...
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Fish Talk
The tiredness enveloped her as she closed the call room door. She hoped for just an hour of sleep before the nurse called saying that ...
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Leisure Wear is Serious Business
One of the only good things to come out of the pandemic was this: by 2025, sweatpants have become acceptable garments in every situation ...
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RG09LBJ: Part II
Oblivious to my lifelong mental condition to which he had just contributed (motorcycle-phobia) RG09LBJ pootled down the street on his ...
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Cecelia’s Personal Storm
Somewhere outside, someone—or something—was wailing. A blizzard was due, and Cecelia wondered if perhaps it was a banshee warning the ...
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RG09LBJ
"...vanity plates are cheap in the USA, but here in the UK they can cost a fortune, so I saved myself a few thousand quid by changing ...
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The Axe Conspiracy
Kim rolled over and snoozed her alarm, even though she knew there was no getting back to sleep. As the comfort of dreams wore off and ...
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Who was phone!?
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 ...
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Clownish Fate
"Baloney!" cried the clown. "I'm telling you, thanks to Stephen King, all the children in the audience were terrified of your antics ...
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The Boy who Stopped
Every morning, before the day started me and Lucy would watch the military boys run along the country side. Everyday I would ask Lucy ...
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Lodai Laundry
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 ...
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The Luck of Subject D
Day 154 of the genetic mutation research: Subject D has started to repond to the treatment. The other subjects didn’t run with the ...
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The Stoat Gambit
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 ...
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His Sand Water Doom
"So you sold our perfectly good camel for those date seeds and not at the bazaar like I told you to?" I could see my father shudder ...
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Adventures in WTF land
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 ...
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Gnomes and Gardens and Stones, Oh My!
It was the weirdest plant Charlotte had ever seen- and she’d seen many in her 22 years as a Master Gardener. First of all, it seemed ...
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Codependent Incarceration
It was over. It was finally all over. Completely and utterly finished, no chance of returning.
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Art
Ahhhhhhhhh! The girl screamed.
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Escape From the Medusa
"Beautiful, aren't they?" The boy could hear the medusa hiss right next to his ear from behind him as he stared. On the wall opposite ...
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Turds and Tentacles
"By Balu's beard mother, how many times do I have to tell you"? Gurok paused, holding the edge of the door looking back into the room. "When ...
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Missed Connection
The palm trees swayed in the breeze as Vivian gazed at her dog-eared airport novel—an airbrushed photo on the cover—not reading a word ...
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New beginnings
Terry “The Terror” Lunderbuff was a local legend. It was said he was a cheat, a thief and an aggressor whose history as a secret agent ...
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Pooch and the Ludwig Solution
| ##Problems: p.1- it's too big and doesn't fit | p.2- it makes a loud noise all of the time | p.3- squeezing it has no effect | p.4- ...
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The Agent and the Elf
A stakeout wasn’t what David had in mind for Christmas Eve, but here he was, shivering in his car with a cup of cold coffee while “Last ...
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The pickup line that actually worked.
The night, like most nights on the Newfoundland coast this time of year, was appropriately dark and stormy. Eileen sat at the bar ...
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The Secret Life of the TY CEO
Wiping sweat from my forehead, I took a step back to admire my work. The cat house was finally complete, and I couldn’t wait for my ...
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Crazy Fairytale
Byla jednou jedna malá chaloupka.
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A swirl of uncertainty full of pink
Do you know or at least imagine how is to live in a Pink world? That is my case, I live in the pinkiest, sweetest and most cloyiest ...
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Special Delivery!
If John never saw another package again, he’d die a happy man. Lift a box out of the back of the van, scan it, trudge up to decorated ...
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Getting Donald Home
It was a very snowy day, depressing and bleak, when we had our first fateful encounter. His name was Jacob, and he wore a long, black ...
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How Humans Ruined Arbor Day for the Fae
Emily started seeing the fairies as a child. At first, they only came to her at night, rearranging her toys and giggling as they did ...
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Vans
My parents got a call from the principal. The principal told them that I had punched a kid in the face today. When a got home, my parents ...
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Foodie Syndrome
"I believe that your poor-" "Nachos!" "...cousin has caught a-" "Mozzarella, you ignorant fools!" "-very rare disease-" "Kimchi! Creme ...
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Knock Knock, Who’s There? Banana.
A siren sounded in the distance. Wendy ignored it, deeply involved in reading an article on her phone, but Alex’s entire body went ...
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The Haunting of Harold’s House
The house Harold haunted had been on the market for a year. It just wasn’t the same without people living in it. To emerge from a linen ...
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The Ballad of King Markie
First things first. If you are reading this without fear of being caught, we won. I don't have much time, as I can hear the troops ...
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Fraternal Pranks
"So let me get this straight. You were walking home at 1300 AM when you saw these seven short men vandalizing your property by tap-dancing ...
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Cats and Dogs Raining Together
The vacation rental was small, just a one-bedroom cottage in a semi-shabby urban neighborhood, but it was renovated and even had a ...
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Furbies
The girl looked up at the creature. It was an alien!
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Shi Ling and the Dragon of Destiny: Part II
Shi Ling and the dragon quickly turned their boat over and used it to shield themselves from the barrage of flame-tipped arrows heading ...
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The Octopoda Wars
We were living difficult times. Life was not the same since the last war. We lost a lot of people, a lot of friends...but although ...
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No Patch for you Today
Hi Mr. Monkey, my name is Banana Nana, I am a junior Ape scout and I am so excited to be here in this tree! I will win my climbing ...
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Shi Ling and the Dragon of Destiny
The samurai era, synonym of honor, strength and wisdom. A group of samurais were ready to start the training that would define all ...
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Marriage of An Amnesiac
I clamped down harder onto my ears as the gale raged through the trees, leaving the ceramic leaves clank together in a never-ending ...
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Donut Hunt Monsters: Part II
“Where did you train?” the mage inquired. “The North,” I answered. “With Gwynevere, sorceress of the bakèd arts.” “Very good,” said ...
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I dream of a SciFi Vacation
I am a third grade teacher, a Math teacher to be precise. I love my job,I love my students, but sometimes I wish for a little change ...
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Size doesn’t define you Marty!
My name is Marty and I am a giant. I live in a world full of fantasy, and is not strange meeting someone like me...but the problem ...
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From Military to Tap-Dancing
"I'm not going to say this twice, so listen hard." The drill sergeant took a deep breath and rattled off. "Throw a counter straight ...
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Somewhere Out There
The initial first tests of the planet are beginning. Contact has been made with Excalibur. They are expected to join Orion in orbit ...
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Mosquito Manor
Charlie walked the length of the east wing of the family motel, stopping to straighten any tilted picture frames, replace any dead ...
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Wishing Star Scam!
I watched as the automaton swiped the quill across the page with mechanical grace, adding an inky flourish to the last of my personal ...
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Always Pay Your Magic Bill
“Could you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?” Daniel asked. “Umm,” the man in the pointed hat replied. “I think it’s about a mile ...
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Plant V.S Humans
Listen, kid. The world isn't what it seems to be. Never was. Not until those blasted plants started strangling people and taking over ...
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Bamboozled
I don’t know how it started. I wasn’t awake at the time. As it is, even after 3 days, I’m still confused
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Mafia Cats
His wingspan was similar to that of a small single engine plane as he soared over Center City. He came to land atop City Hall, the ...
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Nachos and Time Travel
Ash pasted the Zoom link in the group email and hit “send.” As he waited for boxes to appear on his laptop screen, he popped open his ...
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Squirrelly Gig
Margaret slowly pushed her metal tray around the winding track, smiling nervously at the kitchen staff, as she acquired dish after ...
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Smelly Melly
From his seat on the couch in the corner, Mark spied Melissa flirting with Guy. Mark wrinkled his nose, not from any smell, but the ...
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Demon Band
I can’t decide if it was a vision or a dream. A vision in a dream? Whatever. I just know that if I don’t call off from work, something ...
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Retrium for a Dream
Deep off the coast, in the treacherous hills of Retrium, a close-knit band of developers, designers, and product owners huddled around ...
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Corny Beefed Up Hashed Cop Story
Officer Niles stood at the end of the alley which was dark, save for a dim yellow light near a side door of an old building. But that ...
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Silence and Saxophones in Space
What no one warned the crew was that once they went faster than light, the air changed, and they lost the ability to speak out loud ...
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The Vengeful Guitarist
With a sledgehammer and a smile. That’s how it happened. She had thought of other ways but they cost more than her job at Mongus Music ...
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Spies, Coffee, and Secrets
About a year ago, Sally’s favorite remote work location closed. It was a coffeehouse during the day, and a beer bar at night. She took ...
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Tip your Barista
The first time I saw the version of myself from an alternate universe, I was five. At the time, I merely took it for a reflection in ...
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A Hippo Happening
The Lazarus Motel had remained in the family for three generations. While its looks had faded, it was impeccably clean and often full ...
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Attack Of The Lucky Charm
Equipment is being loaded onto Shuttle 01B. There are 8 of us plus the equipment. Sitting there in those hard seats, I was really missing ...
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Mystery Topping
If I had a chance to do it all over again, I definitely would not have asked for the “mystery” topping on my pizza.
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Transmission In the Dark
"Hello?" It was about time that he gave up, but Bane couldn't help but click the button on the battered walkie-talkie once more. "Hello?" ...
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The Flight
She woke to the sound of roaring and knew that it wasn’t the roar of wind. More like something flowing over a rigged surface, perhaps ...
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Eva and the Mighty Mesozoic Mixer
Eva's the most beautiful woman I know. Her eyes are the color of agates. Raven hair frames her face like August thunderclouds. Her ...
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Coke on Mars
Of all the things Cale Wyler missed about Earth was the taste of Diet Coke. Here, he almost didn’t want to drink it anymore. Almost ...
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Mixed Messages
Jack paced nervously around the hotel room. He had been thinking about this moment for a very long time, but now that it was finally ...
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How to Exit a Repeating Day
“Every day I write the book,” Jack announced with a heavy sigh. Annie raised an eyebrow at him. “Isn’t that an Elvis Costello song?” ...
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Human Curiosities for Display!
"Oh, you're awake again." The boy let out shuddering breaths. This couldn't be happening. It could nev- "It's all real, you know. Everyone ...
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Nobody Told Me: "Donut Hunt Monsters"
"So. How are you going to deal with it?" The hooded figure sat next to me on my tombstone, holding a cigar in its skeletal fingers ...
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Chaotic Christmas
It was the night before Christmas and Santa was sitting in his study, checking the list. “What’s this!?There a name in the list that ...
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The Hater Skater and the Big Bad Wolf
I was cursed the moment I was born. An evil fairy did it. She told everyone my birth was wrong, that I was a bad omen, but she was ...
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They Met on the North Face
Vera's tavern was a rare beacon of warmth on an otherwise cold mountainside. Each glowing window was adorned with a purple wreath and ...
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An app in bloom
Improbably, the asteroid landed dead center in the royal cherry blossom orchard, sending pink petals deep into the atmosphere. On this ...
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Today I wool beeee freee: Part II
At that moment I realized just how hot I had become. Why, oh why didn't I let them shear me? My fleece, so often the protective barrier ...
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Fairy to Meddling
“I’ve done it again”, thought Herr Drosselmeyer. “Another year, another child sent to the unending service of the Sugarplum Fairy ...
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Migration Treason: Part II
Over time this corrupted gaggle began to resent their new forms. They organized, aired their grievances, jettisoned any last shreds ...
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Today I wool beeee freee
Do you know how hard is to be a sheep? You go all mornings to the same spot guided by a weird dog, you grow your hair and then your ...
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Brainstorm
Narrator : In the world there are a few individuals who know are aware of the supernatural beings living amongst us. There are things ...
Bon appétit mon cher reptile
My name is Wendyloopylyn Catrinalucious the Third. I was named after my grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle and neighbor’s dog. My ...
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Thumbs up to the rythm
“Knock knock, who’s there?” He asked...but no one answered...”ok,ok, I’m sorry I was trying to be funny...I know you’re mad at me ...
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Geronimo! Cries the Zebra
Frank woke up, squinting at the sunlight filtering through the drapes. He did not recognize the room. Looking at the decor, he decided ...
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Holy Cow!
My plan..eating 100 burgers in 3 minutes. That was no easy task, I barely eat one burger in 15 minutes. But I need to train, I need ...
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Tragic Magic
Harold breathlessly wolfed down his Eggs Benedict, crumbs flying in all directions. His disgruntled assistant, Patrice, watched on ...
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A Serf Through Time
It was Halloween Night. Or “All Hallows’ Eve” as your coworker Gary would probably say. The moon was full, just like Gary was full ...
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Operation Trolled By Siri
"You're insane!" The polished British accent of the victim doesn't faze you as you let out an evil laugh, starting off the bomb. You're ...
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Snowy Origin
Contestants, welcome to the first episode of the first season of The Great British Babushka Show! You have the fabric, scissors, thread ...
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When George Met Barbara
Cookie duster, dirt squirrel, lip luggage, nose neighbor, face lace, mouth brow, or simply the prosaic stache. While they go by many ...
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The Hills are Alive
Sara strode up the hill. Malik struggled to keep up with her. She reached the crest of the hill, slightly out of breath, perspiration ...
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Maraschino to Mars
Wheaties. Olives. Spaghetti. Garbanzo Beans. AAA batteries. All-purpose flour. Toilet paper. Scissors. Sugar cookies. Advil. Dishtowels ...
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Fortune’s Box
It was the morning after. Those of us who made it through gathered in the square. We were dirty, frazzled, and tired. One might call ...
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Shysters On the Trail
As the sun set over the rocky horizon, Joe fell into a fitful sleep and dreamed of the city and his mother baking cookies. In his sleep ...
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Migration Treason
Thunder shook the cornfields of the Sinclair estate just as a murder of crows descended upon the front steps. The eldest crow stepped ...
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Raccoon Lagoon
Ask any kid in town and they’ll tell you McDougall Mansion is the spookiest house in the neighborhood. They’ll also tell you that all ...
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