My uncle’s heavy fist landed on my face, after a flash of numbness, my cheek felt warm. I spat a broken tooth and blood on his face. Infuriated, he pushed me back, and my head hit the door of his bedroom. From the space between his arms and large belly, …
Upon a broken and sunlit mesa two figures face off, each ready to win or die. In the duel for this week’s winner, there can be only one: Congratulations to Debb Bouch! Debb’s entry drew the eye of all our judges this week. A fierce, fast, and thoroughly entertaining piece, …
It started again. Amelia and Jared began bickering more fiercely than ever, insulting each other and vowing to see the other defeated. “You know what? It would be a pain the ass for me to watch you cheering for a team in which I am the main player,” Jared sneered. …
Some years ago, when sunlight still shone uninterrupted down onto grassy meadows, a small community had sprung up. The people survived on cows that they ran out to pasture in the lush, thick grasses. Each and everyone grew up to believe that they were destined to stay and populate the …
James was standing, drenched in sweat and covered in sand underneath a jaundiced, full moon. He panted during the short interlude, his bruised limbs lethargic. He tasted salty iron at the corner of his mouth and knew it had been split in that last flurry of blows. His opponent looked …
Tayla fishtails around the corner in her pink hover car named Daisy. Jack has never been late before let alone stood her up but she’s annoyed anyway. When she pulls into her driveway, she senses that something is odd. Just a bit. It’s not merely that her bedroom window is …
Every muscle ached. Every fibre of his being, screamed with the loudest voices, using his nerves as the means. Each of the 206 bones in his body were on the precipice of not simply breaking, but shattering into a million pieces. The ever-present sensation of pressing down threatened to make …
Alright Hercules, you may be bigger than I am, and you may have been here longer, but I am getting that last piece of chicken, thought Ronin, as he spied the unattended meat on the counter. He wasn’t really hungry, but the smell was driving him crazy, and he knew …
Staring at you, taking in your curves and shapely body I am enthralled. You captivate me with your every move; the way you like to mirror me is enchanting. Surely magic or imagination must have given birth to you, my silent stalker. Countless times have I tried to defeat you, …
Joe had trained for this. Practised this moment over and over. Now it was time to walk the walk. The moves should flow without conscious thought but momentarily he was so caught up in the enormity of his challenge that he felt awkward, clumsy even. He shook off those feelings …
“Would you like some sugar?” my wife asked me. I sensed the great effort it took her, to even acknowledge the fact that she had forgotten to add sugar to my coffee. I nodded and presented my half finished cup to her. She peered in it, smiled, and said, “Did …
He seemed more bear than man. Standing head and shoulders above the rest of his fellow guards, clad in furs and chainmail holding that axe. Nearly as tall as he was with a great crescent-shaped steel blade counterbalanced by a massive spike on the back, it was a vicious brute …
I could see my toes gripping the sparse soil fragments spread in little pockets over the ragged cliff edge. As I stared down, my toes were at the edge of my field of vision, like little spectators’ heads popping out over the fronds of boulders; beyond them were the jagged …
From across sweeping plains and grand vistas our judges have assembled, ascending the great mountain of NITH to nominate a winner from the chosen few. Get the picture? Congratulations to Nadya Agrawal! Nadya’s Sunshine and Movement showed an excellent contrast between the landscapes of the everyday and flights of fancy …
Yard Work I lie on my stomach in the yard, trying to catch the sun’s rays and the way they stream through the trees. Blades of grass tickle my chin and arms, but I force myself to stay still. I’ve been trying to get this shot for over an hour, and the …
It was a dream from many centuries ago, and he stood after the night ascent at the mountain’s apex with the horizon ahead of him a twinkling mass. Even then the cities’ squalor was visible, but he did not care for he was elevated, elated above the clouds and now …
The hardened earth crackled in the early afternoon heat, that faint crackle signalling the splitting of the soil into a web of hardened discs. Karm sat in the shade of a solitary carob tree at the edge of his field. He was seated on a rickety makeshift bench, a plank …
I knew this was the place for me. The gorgeous mountain valleys, the exotic meadows laden with the summer flowers called out to me and I felt myself drawn so strongly towards the nature that I couldn’t help standing there for hours together, staring everywhere around, absorbing the scenery around …
I took a long swig from the vodka flask. I knew it tasted horrible, but its effects were too great. I felt my body warming up, reacting to the strong alcohol. As I looked around me I realized how wonderful it was to be drunk, especially in such conditions. Siberia …
Abbie stood over the pile of hair in her sink, somewhat wishing she could cry about it, but not really feeling anything. This had been the hardest year of her life, and she needed something to be easy. She couldn’t quit her job, she couldn’t escape from the responsibilities of her home, and she couldn’t stop …