Next Stop: Everywhere

The old man flicked his wand, and with a flash of red light, the creature fell to the ground, unconscious. “We have to get out of here,” he grunted, walking past me. I sped up, marching beside him. The brick walls of the dungeon went on and on, and we passed several cells blocked off by iron bars, the inhabitants of some being nothing more than a handful of skeletons. Guards rounded a corner up ahead; he waved his wand, and the bright plasma bolts could no longer harm us. They merely splashed against an invisible barrier in front of us, sizzling and crackling. With a swish and a bright blue pulse, an orb of energy flew from the wooden tip of the man’s weapon and hit the ground between the guards. An explosion and a shockwave—and they all fell to the ground, their weapons tossed into the air. We hurried past their crumpled forms, rounded the corner and flew up the stairs. We were stopped in our tracks by a tall man donned in flowing black robes. “Well, w...

A soft light flickered into existence. I took a deep breath and pushed it into the ember, gently but firmly, watching it spring to life, fire catching the wood around it. Again, I offered it air from my lungs, helping it up like helping a friend climb out of a ditch. Soon, a strong orange light spilled out of my fireplace, and I curled up on the floor beside it, bathing in the warmth it provided in return for my service. Funny how life works, I mused to myself. Funny how one can breathe life into inanimate objects, or become emotionally attached to something with no soul. I gazed into the flickering tongues beside me, considering how lifelike they were, and how without my pouring my own essence into the pile of wood, they would not be there now. Kind of like us, I supposed. After all, what more are we than dust? I nodded. Not sure why, given that it was with myself I was agreeing. But it was true: God came down and fashioned us from clay, and with the air from His lungs, brought us t...

Sometimes I just want to see you Smile at me again I just want to feel your arms Hug me now and then Passing time, watching gulls fly by Feels like we're in a dream I miss the days when it was always Just you and me Like the shadow of a stone In a barren, lonely field The only low that I still know The pain to which I yield I lay under the cloudy skies Dreaming of things unseen After all the lovely times How could you leave me? Now I know where I must go A long and lonely road Say goodbye to those who died In the windy rain and snow.

Slam! "Alright, let's go." "Okay." "Back home." "Eventually." He stared at me, disbelief written across his face. "Seriously? You're being petty." "I have every right to be petty," I said, slowly backing out of the parking space. "I don't have to use the bathroom anymore." "I do." He grumbled something in gibberish. "You're being ridiculous." "I'm being curious." "I can't believe you! She's not even gonna be there. Let's just go." "She might be. I just have to see." "Why?!" "I have to know. I have to see how she reacts." I pulled into another parking space, yanked the keys out and opened my door. "C'mon, you're coming with me." "Her car isn't even here." "She might have carpooled." "Gah! You're impossible!" We walked in and took a look around. ...

I put the car into park and tilted my head back with a sigh. It'd been a long day at work, and I just wanted to go to sleep right where I was, not even bothering to go inside. The memory of what tomorrow held weighed on me; I'd no idea whether to even act upon the knowledge of that day or to let it pass me by. I heaved myself up out of the car. Raindrops pattered against me, polka dot stains marking my jacket with moisture as I grabbed my belongings from the back seat. I shouldn't care about tomorrow. I didn't care about tomorrow. It meant nothing to me anymore, just like I... I froze. Somehow, a feeling crept over me, and I slowly turned on my heel. There, on my door, hung a wreath of clover. I stood in bewilderment, my mouth hung open. Words escaped me, not that there was anyone around to whom to offer them. I sneaked towards the door, quietly, as if not wanting to scare the flower chain away. To anyone else, it would've just seemed to be a braided loop of flo...

A brilliant golden sheen was cast over the sky as the sun clung to the last few minutes of daytime. The clouds turned pink and purple like giant wads of cotton candy, and the sounds of dusk began to fill the cool air as crickets and frogs came out to play. "So beautiful," I whispered dreamily. She turned to look at me with those gorgeous eyes of hers. I couldn't help but grin. "The sky isn't bad either." Her smile was brighter than the golden sky above us. She didn't say anything; she didn't have to. She just snuggled up closer and laid her head on my shoulder, and all was at peace in the world. No war or sadness, just us. At least, that's what we thought. She lurched forward, and I looked down at her. Her eyes' joy turned to terror as blood dripped from her mouth. Before I could say anything, I saw it: the arrowhead protruding from her chest. I don't remember exactly what happened next. I'm fairly certain I screamed. I clung o...

"I could do it, you know." He squinted at me, his head cocked ever so curiously. "Really? What makes you say that?" "I don't have to be afraid. No matter what I do, where I go, I'll never be alone." He scoffed. "You're always alone, idiot." I offered a shrug, looking away. "I don't really care what you think. I want to do something for me ." "Nothing you do is for you. It can't be. You're too dependent on everyone else." "Generosity and dependence are not the same." "So why are they to you?" "They're not." "You can't do anything by yourself. You can't move out until you find a roommate; you can't take a trip without someone to hold your hand along the way. You can't even get yourself through a stressful situation without breaking down onto somebody else!" I narrowed my eyes at him. "I can't afford to move out yet. I want to s...

We had been standing in line, ready to check out and head back home. I glanced over at the food court, and my stomach growled hungrily. I peered at the enormous pictures on the menu and decided that a frozen yoghurt sounded really good at that moment. I turned to my mom and told her I would be right back. My sisters overheard me. Numerous cries of "can you get me one, too?" immediately filled my ears. I asked them which flavours each would like—Vanilla, Chocolate, Vanilla, Chocolate—when the man beside me piped up. "I'll take a swirl, please." I glanced over at him, bemused. "Okay," I said nonchalantly. Then I hurried off to the food court. I decided I wanted to make that man's day and get him the swirl he asked for. I knew he wouldn't actually expect me to do it. After figuring out a way to load my arms up with five fro-yos, I headed back to where I'd left my family. As I passed out the cups, I looked around, trying to fin...

We grabbed hold of the dry branches and heaved, the soil between the shrivelled roots crumbling away. The dead remains of a once-mighty tree toppled to the ground, and we wiped the sweat from our brows. Then, he grabbed one side, I grabbed the other, and we dragged it through the dirt and under the starry sky. We made it back to our tent and heaved the roots into the fire pit. Excitement coursing through our veins, we snatched up as much moss as we could find and tossed it in a pile beneath the stump. Finally, I clicked my lighter, carefully holding the small flame to the green bush. Almost instantly, the pit sprang to life, fire belching out as though Satan himself was suffering the side-effects of a particularly spicy burrito. The flames engulfed the bottom of the tree, which soon lit as well, and we stood side by side, admiring our work. I glanced at him, his face barely visible in the flickering light. With a grin on my face, I began to sing. O, misty eye of the mo...

The steaming water seared my hands as I scrubbed the dishes. I flinched as the door slammed shut only a few feet away. They were fighting again. The house had been quiet all day, but then he came back. He whined about how stressful work had been, how he just wanted to loaf around and be waited on. She complained that that's all he ever did, that she needs some help every now and then. He craned his scrawny neck down into her face, saliva flying from his lips as he bellowed that he was the master and that she would do as she was told. Her hand shot up into the air, ready to swing—I'd never seen him recoil so severely, and she hadn't even touched him yet. I couldn't help but snicker at his cowardice. His eagle-like head spun in my direction. "What are you laughing at?" he boomed. "You think hitting people is funny?" "Leave him out of this," she shouted at him, redirecting his attention once more. "If he wants to be left ...

With shaky, timid hands, I gently lifted the framed photo from the wall. So many faces, so long ago. Most of them I hadn't seen in years. My friends. At least, they were...once. I couldn't stop the tears welling in my eyes as I silently named each of them. We'd all been through so much together, years of stories to be told for years to come. But now it was just me. With a heavy sigh, I began to sing to my friends long since passed. Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go. A smile creased my lips as I remembered our inside jokes and bantering. So make the best of this test and don't ask why... It's not a question but a lesson learned in time. Hours upon hours of chatting online, of meme swapping, of gossiping about teachers behind their backs. We were always there for each other, no matter what. Through thick and thin, we were Misfits together. It's som...

A cloud of dust filled the air as I dropped the book onto the table before me. An old journal of mine, half-filled with long-lost thoughts and memories. I wiped the dust off and opened the aged pages. I hadn't thought it had been so long. Slowly, I flipped through. Forgotten days flew before my eyes, some happy, some sad, some angry at the world. I frowned as I skimmed the old entries—there were so many more angry paragraphs than I thought I remembered. Had I really been so bitter? I stopped at the most recent entry. For some reason, my eyes didn't want to read the words in front of them. I tried to fix them on the first line, but they darted away, as if they were consciously refusing to do as I commanded. I scowled at the paper and its tricks. Finally, they stuck. The world seemed to hold its breath. The first word, a name — one I didn't remember, yet one that I knew was once dear to me. How could this be? How long had it been? My eyes followed the line of tex...

I looked up from my book. He held her by the arm as she struggled to escape, growling her in her ear, trying to tug her towards his room, telling her she'd be in big trouble if she screamed. I disagreed. I grabbed a corner of the pillow behind me, my face steaming red. He looked up at me. "What do you think you're doing? Go sit back—" WHAP! You'd have thought I hit him with a bag of rocks from the way he recoiled. But then again, with the force I put into that swing, I might as well have. I was merciless, just as he had been. I left him on the ground, wondering how one could be beaten so severely by cotton fluff. As she ran into the bathroom and locked the door, I stood over his crumpled form and said, "Leave. Her. Alone." Then I calmly sat back down and continued reading my book. He clambered to his feet, shoved me over with the most indignant sneer I'd ever seen, then took the pillow and slinked back into his room.

It had been just another normal morning as I rose from my bed and put on my clothes. I pulled my jeans up, slipping the braces over my flannel-clad sleeves, and put on my canvas jacket. I slipped my feet into my poor boots— I must do something about the smell —and double-knotted the laces. The only thing that would be removing them from my feet would be the welding sparks, and while they'd sure been trying, they hadn't succeeded yet. Knock knock knock. I looked up at the man behind the window as I pulled my locks back into a hair tie. I glanced over at my roommate as he headed for the door. "Hey, could you let him in?" He nodded and slipped out. A second later, in came my brother. I stood up with my arms open, but something was wrong. He ran into me, threw his arms around my chest and buried his face in my shoulder. It was happening again. I cradled him in my arms, leading him down to the edge of my bed, where we sat in silence as sobs shook through ...

My eyes opened, and I sat upright, quickly finding myself drenched in sweat. I'd slept restlessly, even more tired now than I was before. The night and I used to be dear friends, but I suppose every friendship grows bitter in the end. I looked around, trying to get a sense of where I was. The dreams tended to scramble my memories for some reason. I didn't appreciate that. I laid my head back onto my pillow, but my eyes did not close. I'm home, I told myself, as if this was supposed to assure me that everything was fine. Was it, though? For the past few months, nothing felt right. Something was...off. Missing. But no matter how many hours I lay in bed, straining my mind to figure out what was wrong, I could find no answers—all I achieved was a sense of loneliness and sorrow. A tear ran down my face. Oh, I'm sad now. Why was I sad? Why was I always sad? I wasn't fond of sad. What had sad ever done for me? Nothing but take my happiness away. And now I wanted ...

I clutched the steering wheel as tightly as possible, forcing my eyes to stay open. Streetlights whizzed by on either side as I zoomed down the highway, fatigue chasing close behind. My eyelids grew heavier by the second. I'd made a mistake, staying up too late before work. My vehicle drifted between lanes as I struggled to keep hold of what little consciousness I had. I can't let the dreams win. I can't. I shook my head and straightened my trajectory. Thankfully no other cars were on the road around me for the time being. I'd hate to be responsible for the death of another innocent— Another? My eyes snapped open. I was halfway into the next lane. I hadn't even realised they had closed. I jerked the wheel quickly to one side, trying with everything I had in me to stay awake. I despised sleep with every fibre of my being. It had followed me and ruined me for far too long. I couldn't stand it. And now it was coming to take me away for good. I ...

I trudged wearily through the room, fatigue pulling on me like an iron weight strapped to my limbs. I'd barely slept the night before, the fear of what dreams may fill my head keeping me awake. I'd never been particularly fond of sleep anyway, but admittedly, it was rather difficult to function on nothing more than a few measly hours of laying in the dark, completely conscious of the world around me. I filled a cup with water and threw it in the microwave, then fell heavily into a chair. I put my arms on the table and buried my face in them—not that there was much light to block out anyway, seeing as the sun hadn't even risen yet. I sucked in a deep breath and let it back out slowly, trying to relax. For a brief moment in the night, I'd begun to drift towards slumber, when a vision of a massive, hulking beast with flaming eyes startled me back awake. It had seemed like something one would expect to fight in a video game, but in that moment, that flash of dream hitt...

I dipped my aching feet into the cool stream, feeling the soothing water run between my toes. I fanned myself with the wide brim of my straw hat. It was a hot summer day, and shovelling dirt, hammering fenceposts and whacking weeds had drawn most of the strength out of me. The abundance of grass seed exacerbating my allergies didn't help, either. But it was all worth it thanks to the one standing beside me. I looked over at her—I must've been an absolute eyesore, with my puffy eyes and runny nose. But she grinned at me with a smile like a rose in bloom. She knew she wasn't the reason I was there, but she also knew that she was a bonus to my workday. Her father, the farmer I was helping, stood behind us in the shade of the creekside foliage. He'd said to call it a day, and we took a moment to rejuvenate ourselves before heading inside. We dried off and began heading back towards the house. He turned and walked along the opposite fork. I watched as he disappeared...

My blade clashed against my opponent's and he leapt back, cackling sadistically. I lunged forward, and he countered with a sweep, leaving me exposed and defenseless as he charged forward, ramming his shoulder into my chin. I toppled to the ground, briefly stunned, whilst my enemy stood over me, rapier pointed at my throat. "It appears you've made quite the mistake," he chuckled savagely. "Really, now?" I spat. I rolled over, swinging my blade, knocking his away, then jumped to my feet before he could recover. He swung back, and I leaned deftly out of the way, the sharp tip flying just past my nose. I raised my sword, ready to swing down upon him, but I saw his arm tense, prepared to parry my attack. Change of course. I spun the opposite direction, the man before me swinging anyway, now realising he not only missed but also left a huge gap in his defences. I concluded my spin by driving the shaft of my rapier into his ribs, the thin blade sliding...

Sunlight filtered softly through the canopy of branches overhead, a cool breeze rustling what few leaves remained. I treaded softly through the underbrush, ferns and dead leaves crinkling under my feet. A couple of squirrels playing a friendly game of tag dashed across the boughs above me, and the sound of merry birdsong echoed between the trees. Nature was beautiful. I used to come out here all the time, but once the dreams started, I became less fond of the woods. It wasn't their fault, of course. The trees were my friends. They were kind to me. But whatever dwells inside my mind took them from me and twisted them into something evil, something cruel and coming after me. My foot slipped briefly on a patch of wet earth, and I gasped, visions of the pit flashing in my mind. I shook my head, trying to clear it of that thought, and continued walking. I came upon the stump of a tree I'd cut down several years back. It stood as sturdy as the day I brought the saw down upon...