Fantasy

Stabilized Violence
I wasn’t sure which one woke me up after the last city-wide reset—light from the garage’s last bare bulb glinting off bullets, or the crackling hum of electricity of the pock-marked walls. Maybe it was sulfurous smoke left by the guns.
By Jennifer Mckinney5 days ago in Fiction
The Snowblower
"I knew they would come out with a robot snowblower eventually. Alright, I hate shoveling snow and I hate the cold, period. I don't like pushing a snow blower, although it beats shoveling."
By Susan Payton5 days ago in Fiction
Fae on the Run
A clawed hand, drenched in flame, swiped at Winter Maple. She felt the intense heat as it missed her by inches. “Keep moving!” Shaded Moss shouted. “We are nearly there!”
By Bryan Warrick5 days ago in Fiction
The Ghent Files: A Faerie Simple Conundrum
You know it's going to be a long day when you get a work call in the wee hours of the morning. Only, in my line of work, long days have a habit of being just a bit more than you bargained for. I hardly ever get these sorts of calls, anymore. Since getting my license about five years ago, it's been pretty smooth sailing: lost keys and rings, unfaithful spouses, the odd haunted basement or demonic possession. You know: simple jobs.
By Ian Read5 days ago in Fiction
Spellslinger
The desert stretches its dry mouth out before me, dust filling my lungs as the light filters from the sky. I can see, just barely, the outlines of the next town on the horizon, and I lean forward and stroke Silas's mane. "Almost there, boy," I whisper, hoping the heat of the bodies I sense with the probing fingers of my magic isn't an illusion. This inhospitable land can do strange things to a person over time, and I've already been on the road for days.
By Raistlin Allen5 days ago in Fiction
The Arrow in the Dark
It was the kind of night that made the rain taste like old iron and bad omens. The kind of night where even the streetlamps seemed to hunch their shoulders and mind their own business.
By Carolyn Sternes6 days ago in Fiction
A magical mess in the cyber city of Neonopolis
A magical mess in the cyber city In the not-so-distant future, where hoverboards zoomed alongside flying taxis and augmented reality was a common as a cup of coffee, the city of Neonopolis pulsed with an electric energy. It was a place where tech ruled supreme, and the only magic people believed in was the kind that came with a software update. But thanks to its tech-savvy citizens, the real magic was just a glitch away.
By Jazell carrasco6 days ago in Fiction
Fate is Funny like that
A tall, lanky figure sped through the night, impossibly gaunt and running faster than should have been possible—an inhuman speed.
By Alicia Anspaugh6 days ago in Fiction
Is the World Entering a New Nuclear Arms Race?. AI-Generated.
The world may be entering a dangerous new phase. Major powers are modernizing their nuclear arsenals while slowly abandoning arms control agreements that once helped prevent global catastrophe.
By Gabriel Waltone6 days ago in Fiction
Rabid Devotion
The bed quaked with each heartbeat. Rope burns covered my wrists and ankles. My warm breath created a cloud into the cold bedroom air. And she stood right outside.
By Jax Wolf6 days ago in Fiction
Eyes
I was seven years old the first time I got married. I remember the weight of the dress before I remember my own name. It was heavy and white and warm, like it had been waiting for me longer than I had been alive. The fabric pressed against my shoulders with a seriousness I did not yet understand. The room was filled with the aroma of flowers I couldn’t name, their scent thick and unfamiliar; and the walls seemed older than the building that held them as if the space itself had been borrowed for the occasion. There were people there. I remember that much. Their voices softened as I entered, the way voices do when something inevitable is about to happen. No one smiled too widely. No one whispered. They all seemed like a blurry memory; a background character of my story. I am even unsure of the season but I do know I wanted to hold onto the feeling and the intensity of the dream; and take it with me but I couldn’t remember everything once I woke up.
By Cadma6 days ago in Fiction
The Sleeping Beauties
The halls were nearly silent as Rafael walked them; nearly, because it was almost impossible to not hear a quiet whir or hum anymore from the nearly invisible machines as they did their duties. The guards glanced over at him from their posts, not daring to move any further in their acknowledgement. Rafael smiled and nodded to them as he passed their post.
By Dionearia Red6 days ago in Fiction