Lyra woke with a start to her blaring alarm clock and frantically silenced it. She held statue still for a moment, straining to hear even the faintest of noises from her little brother’s room or that of her parents. The alarm clock silently ticked another minute by, the glowing numbers reading 4:01, and Lyra let out a soft sigh of relief.
Excitement bubbled in the eight-year-old girl as she carefully slid out of bed and tiptoed across her room. Carefully, quietly, Lyra opened the door and

The seals are broken and a dim sun hangs in the sky, eclipsed as though strangled by a great and terrible hand. The four ride forth upon the dying world. Come and see.
—
“Hey, honey, I’m home early,” John called out as he stepped through the front door and quickly locked it behind him. “The office closed after the earthquake. The world’s going crazy out… there…” His words died on his lips as he turned. Pictures from the walls lay smashed on

“Can we play hide and seek?” Brianna asked sweetly.
“Sure, honey, we can play hide and seek. I think I should be the one seeking though. I don’t think I would be able to hide very well with your baby brother.” Marian said with a chuckle, patting her swollen pregnant belly.
“Okay! I’ll go hide. No peeking!” The eight-year-old girl said excitedly, her eyes already looking around the furniture in the living room for a hiding place.
Marian smiled as sh

“Next!”
Anthony unthinkingly stepped aside, motioning the next girl in line forward. The girl gave a squeal of delight as she ran to the fat man at the end of the red carpet and jumped into his lap. Anthony stepped back into place, blocking the eager young boy who was next in line. He cast an apathetic gaze over the winding line of children, fidgeting with nervous energy about meeting Santa, then around to their parents who were milling about behind the garland-entwined metal fence t

Nicole yawned as she shuffled down the hall towards the kitchen in her robe. Six in the morning was too early for her but she wanted to make sure Craig had a good Father’s Day and that meant a nice, home-cooked breakfast. To her surprise, the kitchen lights were already on and their three-year-old daughter was sitting at the dining table. The girl gave a despondent huff and shoved away a pile of papers covered in crayon scribbles.
“What’s wrong, Sophie?” Nicole asked as s

Nicole yawned as she shuffled down the hall towards the kitchen in her robe. Six in the morning was too early for her but she wanted to make sure Craig had a good Father’s Day and that meant a nice, home-cooked breakfast. To her surprise, the kitchen lights were already on, and their three-year-old daughter was sitting at the dining table. The girl gave a despondent huff and shoved away a pile of papers covered in crayon scribbles.
“What’s wrong, Sophie?” Nicole asked as

“Guys, stop! This isn’t funny!”
“Sorry, Erika, but Nelli’s orders,” Alexis giggled as she helped her fellow cheerleaders drag their half-naked squad mate kicking and screaming from the locker room. Thankfully, the gym was empty at this time of day, all the regular students having gone home and all the athletes busy with their after-school practice, but that didn’t stop Erika’s cheeks from burning with embarrassment. Anyone roaming the halls after s

Jim shielded his eyes from the harsh Sunday morning sun and watched his daughter excitedly run around the yard. He smiled as Anna let out a squeal of delight and plunged her hand into the bushes only to have it reemerge a moment later clutching a large Easter egg triumphantly. The egg was quickly deposited into her Easter basket and then the four-year-old girl was off hunting again, her pastel sundress decorated with colorful chicks and bunnies swishing around her knees as she ran. Jim snapped s

Ember stalked quietly through the neighborhood, glancing through windows as she passed. Her empty stomach let out a loud growl of complaint. She was about to turn and start up a different street when a dim glow through a living room window caught her eye. Sneaking closer, her keen ears could just pick up the faint sounds of children bickering…

"Santa is too real! If he's not real, why are you staying up?"
"To prove to you he's not real," Levi retorted, stealing another cookie off the Sa

“Why are you sitting in your underwear?”
Angela jumped so hard that she almost fell out of her computer chair.
“I’m streaming! What do you want?” The teen yelped, ducking down and blushing furiously as her hands frantically covered her large tits. It took her panicked brain a second to register that it was her little sister, Aubrey, and not their mom who had barged into her room. She turned and glared at the younger girl dressed in a princess nightie standing in he

“Miranda, can you go keep an eye on the playground?”
Miranda heaved a deep sigh at her manager’s command from the other room, but reluctantly stood up anyway. A wave of dizziness immediately washed over her, and she felt her knees buckle for an alarming moment. One hand shot out to the nearest wall for support, the other wrapped protectively around her midsection. She felt the reassuring kick of little feet against her palm while she waited for the dizzy spell to pass. One of t

“Alright, Melonie, I'm going to the store. Try to behave and stay out of trouble. And get dressed, it's almost noon for crying out loud."
"Yeah, whatever, mom," Melonie replied without looking up from the show she was watching.
Joanna sighed in exasperation as she waited futilely for the eight-year-old girl to move. Her daughter remained rooted to the couch, her long blonde hair tangled and unkempt, her Pikachu pajama pants and shirt wrinkled from overuse. Joanna knew it was a weekend, but

“Ugh, why do we have to be out here?” Kiera whined as she and her friend walked down the suburban sidewalk.
“You know why. The members of the team that gets the most donations get to eat a teacher of their choice. I want to see if I can talk them into letting me eat the principal!” Bailey exclaimed. “Could you just imagine that pompous old man squirming in my gut?” Kiera rolled her eyes as her blonde-haired friend jumped around excitedly.
“But this is em

Jon took a deep swig of his soda then sighed heavily. He looked up at the kitchen ceiling as if seeing through it. Despite only wearing boxers, the chill of the night air seemed to be the last thing on his mind. His head tilted back and forth as if he was considering something while silently mouthing words. A moment later he shook his head again and sighed.




“What’s wrong, bro?”

“So, did ya look over the script?”

“Yeah, of course,” David said as he slid into the passenger seat of his sister’s car. Crissy gave him a skeptical glance before pulling away from the curb and merging into the downtown traffic.

“Right, so what product are you advertising?”

“Easy, it was…” David flipped through the first couple of pages of script.

Kaylee had almost nodded off when a sudden rustling from the chimney snapped her back to consciousness. She scrambled to untangle herself from the blanket she’d been wrapped in and peaked under the couch she was hiding behind. The eight-year-old girl put a hand over her mouth to stifle her excitement as she saw the coal black boots land in her fireplace and step forward, a giant red sack following a second later. The large feet approached the tree and there was a rustling of cloth before a

Standing on the fire escape, Dustin listened closely at the dark window. He wasn’t worried about anyone seeing him; nobody in this neighborhood of New York City reported anything to the police. After a minute, he opened the window soundlessly and slipped inside. He smirked to himself as he scanned the sleeping apartment. The woman who lived here hadn’t even noticed that he had sabotaged the locking mechanism or oiled the window jambs while she’d been doing laundry earlier. He&r

“Where are my pizza rolls?” Her son’s impatient voice demanded from the living room. Stephanie sighed as she pulled the steaming plate out of the microwave, her thoughts spinning uselessly around her son again. Travis’ behavior had been gradually worsening and she didn’t know how to stop it. It went beyond normal teenage rebelliousness. She’d loved him, provided for him, and saw to his every need. Where had she gone wrong?

“Can I have a pony?”




“No.”




“Please?”




“No.”




“I promise to take care of it and feed it. I'll play with it every day. I’ll even clean up its poop.”

Jason sprinted down the deserted hallway, careening off lockers as he took corners without slowing. At the end of the long hallway, he could just make out the pinpoint of light that was his freedom. The guttural snarls behind him, getting louder, sent adrenaline coursing through his veins. Despite the extra boost, Jason knew he’d never make it down the corridor before she caught up to him. Ducking into a dark classroom, a science lab it turned out, he hid under a table in the back of the r

“Are we there yet? Why don’t we have any signal out here? My stomach hurts.” Gwen whined as she trudged behind her older brother.

Adam gave a deep sigh and readjusted his pack, trying to ignore his little sister’s constant gripes. Despite being only two years apart, he’d never felt close to his sibling, a distance that had only grown since he’d moved out when he turned eighteen. Now, two years later, their parents were dead, the resul

“This way, my apartment is just up these stairs.” Tom couldn't believe his luck as he lead his childhood crush up the stairwell and down the hallway of apartments to his modest dwelling. He’d run into Louise quite by chance at a local nightclub. They'd caught up over a couple of drinks before Tom had plucked up the courage to invite her over to his place. The attractive brunette, who was at least a head taller than him, smirked playfully and gave his hand an encouraging squeeze

Angela waved to all her friends hanging out the window as the Everton High school bus pulled away from her stop. She gave an exhausted sigh, relieved that another grueling school day had come to its end, before turning down the stretch of road that led into her neighborhood. Ahead of her, she caught sight of Maya skipping down the sidewalk in a cute floral print dress, also on her way home from school. Maya was still in elementary school, but they were neighbors and Maya’s upbeat, ever-che

Troy stared down in amazement at the fairies trapped in his hands as he crouched in the garden. The two naked, four-inch tall women, their iridescent wings bent awkwardly, clung desperately to each other, shaking like leaves. He had caught them while they

were picking some fruit off of his mother’s berry bushes and he was pretty sure their wings were damaged beyond flying at the moment, though they didn’t appear to be in pain. His teenage gaze roved

Tommy strode
confidently through forest, humming to himself, impervious to the
encroaching dusk. He felt invincible. He was on his way home from
Emma’s house where he’d just received his first kiss. The twelve
year old boy felt so great, that he’d even ignored his mother’s
warnings to avoid the woods at night, just so he could get home
faster. After all, nothing could harm him on this glorious night.
Suddenly a twig
snapped behind him. Tommy stopped and listened, but heard only
silence.

Jack threw a switch dramatically and
cackled like a mad scientist. Tesla coils hummed to life around the
bulky equipment crammed into the small apartment. One of the images
frozen on the big screen at the center of the strange contraption
grew brighter, sharper, more defined. The air seemed to crackle with
electricity and excitement as Jack watched the familiar image, object
of his obsession, clarify and unpixilate until she looked almost
real. The screen continued to brighten until it was almos

Moonlight struggled through the
cloudy sky, occasionally lighting upon the dreary facade of Student
Housing Building F. Half way down a hallway on the third floor was a
whitewashed door with an age-tarnished brass nine nailed to it. Long
ago someone had painted a crude six in front of the room number, its
peeling red paint a testament to the uncaring attitude that pervaded
the cheap college dormitory. Past the vandalized door, in a cramped,
dimly lit living space, two young women sat on a couch,

*thunk* *thunk* *thunk*
Hinata Hyuga threw shuriken after
shuriken at the wooden dummy in the secluded clearing. Not a single
one hit the bullseye on the target, some missed the dummy completely.
She tried to tell herself it was because she had been training all
day and was exhausted, but knew she probably couldn’t hit it even
at her best. As her last shuriken flew past the dummy, another
blatant miss, Hinata sank to ground in despair, hugging her knees to
her chest. At this rate she’d never

"Get back here you
little turd!"
Billy ran. He had run for
most his life. All throughout elementary and middle school girls were
always trying to eat him just because he was a little shorter than
everyone else. Now on his first day of high school, some blue-haired
skank of a cheerleader was chasing him. He wasn't worried. A lifetime
of running had left him in good shape and he was outpacing her
easily. He got to the street at the edge of the school grounds,
looked both ways for oncomin