Alleyway and "Sara"

"Sara" watched the man that was half a block in front of her. Of course Sara wasn't her real name, it was just the name her client knew. She popped her gum. The man up ahead paused and looked around him. He looked around the dark alley way before continuing. When he started walking, Sara started walking. There was after all, no point in hiding herself. None at all. The client had made it very clear.

Rain Delays

The rain was coming down so hard, that Madison thought she was going to drown. Or freeze to death. She pulled her arms tighter around her chest, trying to stay warm. Not that it helped any. She closed her eyes and looked up in to the sky, silently asking it to stop the rain. It didn't listen to her. The rain continued to drive right into her bones, like millions of needles. She lowered her looked down again and rubbed her stinging eyes with one hand. The only good thing about her situation was the fact that she never wore make up. She couldn't afford it. As lightening flashed across the sky, Madison began to laugh bitterly.

Author's Note: this post was inspired by Rain Delays by Crash Parrellel.

Soul Sucker

Have you ever seen a demon? No? What about a vampire? No? I bet you've never heard about this sort of supernatural creatures as well. I mean in credible newspapers and the like. Movies and books and podcasts don't count. I'm talking about real life. Like how in real life, if I were to punch you in the face it would hurt alot. You'd probably die. Die painfully. But if you were reading one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books and "you" got punched, it wouldn't hurt, would it? Unless you walked in front of a speeding bus with failing brakes while reading that line. Then it would hurt.

Well, I have. I've seen more than I care or want to count. Demons and vampires and everything else in between. Yes, that's right, they really do exist in real life. Although their characteristics are fictional. Like the fact that vampires burn in the daylight. They don't. There's one walking by right now. He looks so human, doesn't he? What? You want me to kill him right here? Yea, that will go down well the the authorities. No, I'm not going to be killing him here.

What, you want to know why I'm telling you this? Because I think this time I might actually die. So, I'm telling you this for shits and giggles. Even though I'll get in so much trouble. That and, if there will be a successor to what I do, I guess you'll have a step up from hearing me ramble. It'll be like pseudo-experience.

How will I die? Soul sucker, for lack of a better name.

Grandpa Killer

Tyce and Owen were sitting on his front porch, reading the paper.

"Did you hear about this Grandpa Killer fellow?" Tyce asked him, not looking up from the paper. Owen was doing the crossword puzzle. He had be seething since he had turned on the tv and saw the TV anchorman dub him the Grandpa Killer.

"No." Owen answered, trying to sound like he wasn't really paying attention.

"You know that serial killer that's been killing people in town lately?" Tyce put down the paper. Owen sighed inwardly. He was hoping that Tyce would just leave it be. But he should have known that Tyce wouldn't leave this alone. Owen put his paper down on the table between them. "The Journal has a name for him now- the Grandpa Killer." Owen felt a muscle in his jaw twinge.

"It makes him sound like a puppy rather than a wolf." Owen said. It was odd to talk about himself like that.

"Owen, I think you're batting for the wrong team." And Owen knew he would say that, considering how Tyce had been on the forensics team since he got out of high school. "A 90 year old should not be out killing people. He should have enough maturity and smarts to know that he will get caught. The bad guys always lose, Owen, always lose." Owen didn't say anything. 90 year old!! He was not 90. He was 83! 83! no where close to 90! And he didn't look like he was 90, at least he didn't think so. "But the media probably shouldn't dub the guy names; he might take offense to it and start kill the media personalities." Tyce picked up his paper and began to read again.

Killing media personalities. That was a good idea.

Author's Note: This post is brought to you by Mur Lafferty's News from Poughkeepsie, specifically from this post. NfP is Mur's attempt at doing a daily project, where she shares ideas that you can take from her, as long as you give her credit. Oh hey! It sounds like this blog! In the Podoshere, Mur hosts I Should Be Writing 2.0 and co-hosts Geek Fu Morning Show with Jason Adams (of Random Signal). She has also written and podcasted the following stories: the Heaven Series, Playing for Keeps, and The Takeover. You can subscribe to those feeds individually, or just go to and subscribe to her meta feed.

note #2: sorry if this sounds all disconnected. I was watching the results show of So You Think You Can Dance.

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Labyrinth Riddle Twist

I have a friend that professionally runs ultras. Ultras are ultra marathons, for those of you not savy enough to know. Meaning that they are races that have a longer distance than your run of the mill marathons. If you think it's crazy to run several hours in an urban environment, then try running for serveral days, in the some of the world's most extreme environments (ie the desert). Add to that the 60 or so pounds you have to carry around with you (food, water, tent ect.). People that run ultras are insanely passionate about running. That said I hate running. Absolutely hate it. But I have been running for days, mind you, no pack of food and stuff, but still for days. Something had been chasing me around this maze for days on end. So you could imagine how happy I was when I read the first line of the note that was tacked to a tree stump.

"Congrats. You've made it to the end." I wanted to scream and jump around, but my feet were so shredded and my head was spinning so badly that I thought I was going to black out and whack my head on the stump. I continued to read.

"One final test before you can leave though. There are two guards. One of them will always lie to you X times before telling you one truth. The other will always tell you the truth Y times before telling you a lie. And you have anywhere between 10-30 minutes before one of the gets piss off at you for asking tricky questions and stabs you."

I look up to see the exit guarded by two guys with mohawks and multiple piercings. They both hold long serrated blades.

Oh, frak.

Author's Note: Rob likes to run ultras, if you wanted to know more about a person that runs ultra marathons.

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Countdown and Chances

"Please God, make me a stone." He mumbled as he followed the women and her kid. He glanced at his watch. 1500h. He watched the two in front of him. He was 95.6% sure that they were heading in.

"Where are we going?" The little girl turned to her mom.

"Mommy needs to get some money out." The women told the little girl, patting her on her hair.

Correction- 100% chance of them entering a bank.

"How much are you going to take out?" The two had reached the doors or the bank.

"Just a little bit of money." Her mom replied. She was holding the door open for him.

"Thank you." He slid through the opening without touching the door. He followed the two into the line. The little girl looked back at him.

"I like your hat, Mister." She gave him a grin. She was missing a tooth.

"Thank you, Miss." He tipped his hat at her. He glanced at his watch again. 1503h. 15 seconds left. He looked back at the little girl. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3- "Please God, make me a stone." He whispered again. T plus 1 second.

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Whispered Night

"Kill!" A voice hissed in my ear. It wasn't human, the voice. It wasn't human. I squeezed my eyes shut. I clapped my hands over my ear.

"Go away!" I whispered. I was so scared. But mommy and daddy didn't understand it, so I stopped calling out to them. It felt like I was losing control. Something was creeping into me.

"Kill!" The same voice again. I whimpered. The voice chuckled. It sounded like 2 really really bad people talking at the same time. Saying the same words.

"Go away. Leave me alone." I was crying. Then suddenly I felt very cold on the inside.

"Don't worry, Leanne. It will be over soon." The voice was in my head now. I screamed. I tried to scream. But nothing came out. My body got out of bed and went downstairs. "Leanne, your parents deserve to die. Your daddy for taking your mommy away from me, and your mommy from leaving my side. Some promises you don't break no matter what. And because she broke the promise, I'll break you."

My hands pulled a chair over to the counter. It made my body climb up on it. My hand grabbed the largest knife.

"Upstairs we go." The voice sang in my head. "Die, daddy, die. Die, mommy, die."

Author's Note: Do you think I need therapy?

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Sister

I stared at the girl before me. Her face, which was blackened by dirt was now streaked with tears. I could see her pale skin in the tear steaks. She was shaking all over. It was from withdrawal. I looked away from her, disgusted.

"Please, I just need more money. It'll be the last one I ever buy." She grabbed my arm. I pushed her off me.

"I don't know you." I told her, rubbing the spot on my arm where she had grabbed me.

"Please, Morgan." Her voice was muffled by her hands. I could tell she was crying more.

"I said, I don't know you."

"But I'm your sister." She continued to beg. I look at her long and hard.

"I don't have a sister. Now fuck off before I call the police." I slammed the door in her face.

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How to Beat a Wizard

The ugly guy was standing before her, beginning the words to some spell that she didn't know. The guy was actually a wizard. Or a witch. Or a mage. Or a war lord. Or a warlock, even. She didn't know the difference between them all, after all, she had just begun to learn the Craft. Which also meant that she shouldn't be here, standing before someone who was clearly more skilled at Craft than she was. But their enemies were winning. And they had a serious shortage of Craft workers due to them being killed in the war. Which was why she was here fighting. The Council had told her so. In a nice, if you don't we'll kill you for being unpatriotic, kind of way.

So, here she was. Facing this guy with a staff (which might mean that he was a wizard, or a mage). And she only had probably about 49 spells down solid, 21 spells that never seemed to do the same thing twice, and 1 that kept summoning bunnies (and it wasn't supposed to do that). So she did the first thing that came to her mind. She ran at the guy and swung her foot. Her foot collided nicely with his genitals. In fact, she kicked him so hard, that his feet momentarily left the ground. And then he collapsed in a sobbing pile before him. She grinned.

Prior to beginning her training in Craft work, she had joined the infantry forces. Prior to that, she had been a sex worker. And since she was on the lower end of the scale, she had to work in the bad part of the city. She had seen and heard of others working in the same area being attacked, or even killed. So, she had gotten herself some self defense training.



Author's note: This was inspired by the question: "Why does fantasy have such a bad rap in the non-geek's eyes?" I think it was Tee that posed the question, but I could be wrong. And then Kreg answered, "Dungeons and Dragons." So basically, Steve gets all the credit because it was on his podcast, Geek Cred.

Fall of Berlin

Adelaide had to run to keep up with her mamma. Mamma was terrified, and she screamed for Adelaide to hurry up. There was a screaming whistle. Everyone on the street scattered. Adelaide turned and ran to one of the few remaining buildings with doorway arches. Her mamma was right beside her. Adelaide buried her face into her mamma's dusty, old, scratchy jacket. It was also smelly. There was no more heat in the city, and so mamma and Adelaide had started wearing their jackets during the day. It was cold without it. With no more heat, meant that there was no more hot water. Then there was no water coming out of the taps at all. Food rations became smaller and smaller.

The bomb hit the middle of the street. Adelaide was pelted with bits of sharp concrete. She felt her mamma slump against her. Adelaide pulled her face away from her mamma. She looked at her right side- the side that was exposed to the shrapnel. None of her coat had any new holes in it. She looked out on the street and saw other people running. Ears ringing madly, she turned to her mamma. Her mamma was leaning against the wall, head down. When Adelaide took another step back, her mamma slid down. She looked a bit like a rag doll. Adelaide yelled for her mom to get up. But there was no response from her mamma. Adelaide stepped forward and lifted her mamma's head with her two hands. There was a small hole in the side of her mamma's head, and a tiny trickle of blood ran down her face.

Adelaide felt a tear run down her check. Vati had told her not to cry. He told her that just before he was dragged off to prison by the police for spreading what the Nazis called "lies". Mamma also told her not to cry. But even with those words ringing in her ears, Adelaide continued to allow the tears to flow, even as the bombs fell on her city.

Author Notes: Vati is German for daddy, Mamma is German for mommy, and what the Nazis call "lies" are basically any true statements about the War and the Nazi party.

Panic Button, Among Other Things

"The panic button alarm is an amusing sound," my mother was squaking on the other end of the line. "If you like nails on a chalk board." She continued. "If you like to eat stringy cheese." My mother hated that stuff. I never bothered to find out why. "Like that kidnapper that kidnapped those three kids, he must think that that the panic button alarm is an amusing sound." Honestly I wouldn't know. I don't even know what sound she was refering to. That and I had only kidnapped 1. I don't know who kidnapped the other two, but it ain't me.

"Yes, he must, Ma. I have to go to work now." I told my mother, then hung up the phone without waiting for her to answer me. I turned it off and ripped the battery out. That way, they couldn't trace the residual signal. I might've been a hick, but I ain't stupid, or nothing like that. I turned to the sack before me. The kid inside it was whimpering and wriggling around. I hated that kid.

I turned my attention to the crates. On top of it sat my laptop, open. I made sure that the correct audio files were opened then I called the kid's parents.

IV of Caffeine

Every once in a while, I wonder if I'm actually insane. But in this moment, I'm not wondering that. I'm already suffering from withdrawal symptoms. A headache that won't go away. Parker, my pet pig follows me silently. Since the event, everyone started bringing their dog with them everywhere, among other essential items; such as phone, and a weapon. I stumble up a large pile of rocks. Parker grunts and looks at the rocks before him. With my free hand, I rub my face. I forgot briefly, while I was thinking about dogs, how pigs can't make it up such pile of rocks. I hop down beside Parker, which startles him, and he lets out a quiet squeal.

I look back at the rocks and wonder how badly I need my caffeine. Am I willing to risk my life and Parker's life for it? Not yet. While I am willing to risk my life for it, I'm not willing to risk Parker's life for it. Which means that I'll have to find a way around the pile of rocks. With a pistol in one hand, and Parker in another, there was no way I was going to be able to scale the small crumbled concrete mountain before us. That and the headache that was threatening to rip my body in half. I grit my teeth and rub my temples. Parker nudges his snout against my leg.

"I'm ok." I tell him, still rubbing my temple. He flicks his ears, as if to say, "Yea, and I'm really Jesus Christ reborn." That's why I have a pig and not a dog. Pigs are smarter than dogs, and much easier to communicate with. I straighten up and stepover Parker. "Come on." I tell him. "I need to meet my dealer. I need my IV of caffeine"

Chipotle Dressing

There was chipotle dressing all down the front of her dress. And she was storming down the street because of it. Well, more like what caused the dressing to be all down her dress. Her boyfriend. She muttered quietly to herself, and almost ran over an elderly man. She started to apologize, but stopped when she heard the swears coming out of his mouth. Apparently, the man thought that she didn't understand Cantonese. She ignored the man and headed up to her apartment.

As she was ruffling around in her bag, she heard a noise from the inside her apartment. She placed her ear up to the door, and just as she did, there was a crash. It sounded like glasses. Then there was the sound of panicked muttering. Sam should have left. She should have called the police. But apparently, she had no sense of self- preservation. Even though there was a chance that whoever was in her apartment could have a gun, and therefore harm her. But her curiosity got the better of her. And she had to change her dress. She slid her keys into the lock, slowly. The muttering continued. Sam slowly turned her key.

The Unitary Scout

"Wishes are like stars that you hold in your hands." The old lady was telling her. Kim fought the urge to roll her eyes. Everyone knew that stars were really just enormous balls of burning gases. Secondly, that sentence made no sense. Everyone also knew that. Everyone, but the old lady, apparently. Kim looked down the dusty road. Then she looked back at the old lady. The old lady was reaching out a gnarly, twisted hand. Kim instinctively jerked away from her. The old lady didn't seem to notice the jerk. Instead the hand closed around nothing, and she got up slowly. The old lady tried to look up at her, but as she was hutch-backed, she could look no further than Kim's chest area. Kim took a large step back. Again, the old lady didn't notice.


"Remember that, wishes are like like stars that you hold in your hands. That is how you'll find your quest." Then she turned and walked away. Kim looked around her, to make sure that no one was around. Then she pulled out a small data pad out of an arm pouch. She didn't know if the Unitary wanted to know that every single old person was possibly insane, but she entered it in anyway. She sliped the data pad back into her arm pouch and closed it off. Hopefully, the Unitary wouldn't want to come here. Because if They didn't want to come here, she wouldn't have to continue bothering with this kooky planet. She would be able to just go home, and be with her girlfriend.