Scream in Silence

“Tonight I’m going to tell you the story about Jack. Jack was a young man, a man living here in this village. Jack walked the streets late at night, strode when everyone else had gone to bed.

Jack was the night guard, the man who lit the street lamps at night. The watchman, the man who kept us all safe.”

All the children listened carefully. Old Davick took a deep breath, and went on with his story.

“One night Jack saw something on top of the high mountain top behind the village. The old legends say it’s holy, but there are even older legends saying it is cursed.

He saw something move up there, something big, rounding the top before it disappeared… (more)

Many a Little

Parly walked between the bushes through the land. He had been sent out to get some water, they were making soup today.

The walk was quite long. He heard the humming of the bees, the stridulation of the locusts. Little beetles were crawling around. There were quite many of them, passing over the soil.

“That’s funny,” he thought. “They all seem to be walking towards me.”

The grasshoppers jumped from plant to plant. Were they coming towards him as well?

“Wow, am I paranoid today!”

He laughed a little. His head played tricks on him sometimes, but this was ridiculous.

He reached the old well, got the bucket down and up again. He sat and rested for a while. Flies were buzzing around his head. Mosquitoes stinging… (more)

Workoholic

-You have stand up for yourself, dude! They’re using you.

-I know, I know… But what can a lonely robot do? I mean, I was made for this, after all.

-You need to set them straight. You need to tell them where the land lies, set the scores, you know… Pull the plug on the situation.

-I’ll see what I can do, man, but they never listen. Machines just don’t have a vote.

Robort went back to work. Lister walked on towards the university gym. It was good to be a human, but he felt sorry for the robots. They had become so smart, so friendly, and people just kept exploiting them. There would have to come some kind of change, sooner or later.

Robort couldn’t stop processing what Lister had said. They had been friends for years, and he really respected Lister’s opinions on things, but he felt this was just too complicated. He was made to drill holes, after all. It was what he enjoyed doing. Should he stop? He wondered if Lister was right. His owner was making a lot of cash, and he didn’t get anything but energy and oil to keep his system smooth and running… to do more work.

The next day his owner… (more)

Swamp Hole

-I don’t think anyone has ever been this deep into these swamps, Mark said, looking at the crocodiles between the roots of the trees growing out of the water.

-Probably not. Quite an adventure, this…

-Turn! Fucking turn!

The boat cringed. Mark pushed the stick down into the soil. Pete and Billy held on to the edge, fighting to keep the boat straight.

A mountain of flesh and greenish skin emerged out of the water. It rose between the trees, mud running down its body. The stench was unbearable.

They got the boat half way around. The waves made the boat jump like a bob.

-Hold on!

Splash. They lay in the water, the boat dipping nearby…(more)

Size Matters

-Almost there, little friend!

-Great! Thanks for the ride, giant man. If I was to walk all this way I would never arrive.

Mandar had met the little green creature by the road. She was hitch-hiking, sitting on a tree stump.

“Hello, little thing,” he had asked. “Where are you going?”

Tindai had made some squeaking sounds.

“Hey hey hey! Not so fast, little one! I can’t figure out a word of what you’re saying.”

Tindai giggled. “Big things, always so slow.” Still fast, but understandable. “Anywhere which is not here would be fine. I’ve been waiting for ages!”

“I’m going to the lost city of Dentrar, he said. You can come with me if you want.”

She had accepted, and jumped up… (more)

Stalker

There she was, in a distance. He started walking faster, followed her just out of sight. Once in a while she looked over her shoulder. He stopped. Waited. Then he walked faster.

He remembered the first night he saw her. Swaying hips and her head high. Their paths had crossed. Sparkling eyes met his. A hint of fear.

He fell in love. Obsession. He wanted her.

He started looking for her at night. He found out when she walked by. The route she used to take from the train station and home. Some day he would talk to her. Some day she would be his

He saw her go into her house, always looking over her shoulder when she went in. Did she think about him, when she was inside, when she went to bed? Was she afraid? Curious? He was hoping the last, but he didn’t really believe it. But yes, he was sure she thought about him.

He got this strange feeling, an absurd feeling that he was the one being followed, that someone somehow was watching, staring at him from the darkness. Had she called the police? He shrugged it off. It wasn’t illegal to walk the streets at night.

Every night the feeling grew stronger… (more)