Chances

"You're my last chance!"  Jenny shouted, stamping her foot at the slowly retreating figure. "Then you're fucked, sweetheart."  Cole half turned, lifting his head, and from beneath the brim of his hat she saw the blood running from his mouth.  He smiled, his eyes glazed, and he fell, twisting, to…

Abby

Abby walked down the street after school, her bag loaded with library books, smoking a cigarette.  Up ahead, several men consulted a clipboard standing at the back of a panel truck.  When she was within half a block, a voice in her head spoke, startling her. "Sweetheart, you need to…

Circus

Devin, Scarlett, Joey, Girl-Joey, Jeffy and Braden all slipped out of their houses after their curfews.  They met up at the junior high track, then walked through fields to where the Circus had set up shop.  During their lunch hour at the high school, a slender woman in clown make…

Androids

Trigger warnings like whoa on this one.  No violence to people, but yes violence to people shaped androids.  Same for abuse to women and child androids. "Oh, Annie."  Penelope crouched to touch the face, lying in the weeds like an abandoned doll's head.  She picked it up, and inspected the…

Fire

((Content warning: self harm, blood)) Sandra took a deep breath, and dragged the knife over the tattoos on her arms, the chains and locks inked all up and down.  Then to the ones on her legs, the ropes, and hanks of barbed wire wound around her ankles, calves and thighs.…

Apocalypse

"You can't escape."  The hologram of his pursuers flickered in front of him.  He walked through it to the modified fire truck he'd retrofitted to survive out here.  The baby girl he carried waved an arm at the hologram trying to reach it, frowning. "You're really going to nuke every…

Erinye

I walked down the frozen food aisle looking for dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets for Teddy when I felt the scales, the muscular length tightening around my waist.  My eyes burned, and I looked down.  Tears of blood fell from my eyes onto my hands. I froze. “Ma’am, are you all…

Audra

Audra walked back into her apartments, followed by her bodyguard, Mica.  She removed the thin gauzy stole she wore over her light evening gown, and let it fall over a stool.  Without breaking stride for her bedchamber, she smiled into the shadows at the far end of the room. “I…