Psychological
The Forest of the Forgotten
They had barely made it fifty yards from the clearing when Amnity stumbled, her canvas backpack suddenly feeling like it weighed a hundred pounds. The Glowing Imp Root pulsed inside its glass container, and with each throb, the forest around them seemed to... shift.
By Parsley Rose 5 months ago in Fiction
The Politics of Compromise, Shall We Dance
Luis Peña stood at the office window; his gaze locked on the rain-slicked lawns of Parliament Hill. The storm outside suited the one within. Polls were merciless. Each carefully calculated policy—intended to soothe, to unify—had only deepened the wound. His once-mighty party was in freefall.
By Bruce Curle `5 months ago in Fiction
Shadows of Potential
Shadows of Potential Elias Voss adjusted his tie in the reflection of the polished glass doors of Vortex Dynamics, the nonprofit's sleek facade gleaming under the Toronto midday sun. It was 2019, and the building— a modern edifice of chrome and tinted windows— masqueraded as a mental health outreach center, promising "healing through innovation." Elias knew better. This was the Clinic's front door, a veneer of legitimacy over the shadows where real work happened. At 32, he was still hungry, still convinced that places like Black Site 53 could rewrite the broken scripts of human minds. Delilah Kyros had recruited him personally, her words electric: "We don't patch souls, Dr. Voss. We forge new ones." He'd signed on without hesitation, blind to the costs that would come later.
By Theodore Homuth5 months ago in Fiction
The Silent Roar of Veritas
The Veritas Dam stood as a benevolent colossus, a century-old sentinel cradling Lake Veritas high above the idyllic valley of Aethel. For generations, its concrete curves had cradled the lifeblood of the village below, feeding their fields, powering their mills, and ensuring their serenity. It was more than a structure; it was a promise, a bedrock of their existence.
By Mehrdad Rajabi5 months ago in Fiction
Even in Dreams. Runner-Up in The Shape of the Thing Challenge.
Despite living so close to an airport, we never stopped and truly appreciated the sight of the different passenger flights soaring into the sky. I remember vividly lying one day beside you, recently, watching the vapour trails as another steel bird left for adventures in faraway places.
By Paul Stewart5 months ago in Fiction
Invisible Strings
The bell rang as the city made way for a teeming night. Dark and pale clouds blended until they were quiescent. Within this hour, people closed in next to each other, as their phones lit up to something that was afloat on the rippled river.
By Caitlin Charlton5 months ago in Fiction
The Cog-Boy of Aethel. AI-Generated.
The Alchemical Academy rose from Aethel's academic district like a Gothic cathedral made of metal and glass. Spires twisted skyward, crowned with aether-collectors that fed the building's vast experimental laboratories. Students in brass-buttoned coats hurried across courtyards where fountains danced with liquid mercury and crystalline trees grew in perfect geometric spirals.
By Shane D. Spear5 months ago in Fiction
