Green Mist

-Ah, finally some fresh air! Feels good, doesn’t it?

George and Fabian had driven out into the Rocky Desert to get away from it all for the day. People rarely went out here. They were all alone, and it felt good.

-What’s that? George pointed towards a facility further ahead.

-It looks like some kind of factory…

The gate was closed, but there was a pile of barrels and wooden boxes stacked up the wall a bit to the left. They climbed up to have a look.

-They seem to have left in a hurry.

There were things thrown around, rubbish, tools. Some big silos at the far end. A greenish smoke emerged from one of them.

-Let’s go have a look! George jumped down from the wall on the other side.

-Damn! That stinks! Fabian held his nose, peering towards the silos. A red lamp was flashing on a panel. George pushed some buttons.

-I don’t know if that’s a good idea…

Something opened in the biggest silo. Green smoke came pouring out. George backed away, contemplating his work.

Fabian started coughing.

-Let’s get out of here!

They ran towards the car. The mist got denser.

-I can’t breath! George’s coughs were threatening to choke him.

-We need to get higher up! Run!

Behind them the smoke crept up the hillside like an animal.

-Damn! Look!

There was something rising in the middle of the sea of green smoke, just where the factory were. A head. A face emerged… (click image for more)

Romance

-Come on!

-Where are we going?

-You’ll soon find out.

-Woooowww…. It’s amazing.

-I told you! He smiled a big smile.

They could see everything from up here. A thin sickle of a moon lit up as if it was full, gave the landscape a magical shine

-Oh, Tim… It’s just so…

He took her in his arms, turned her around. His gaze sunk into her eyes, deeper then any man had ever seen.

-Only the best… He kissed her. Around them the bats flew on their hunt for bugs, the crickets sang their song.

-What’s that…?

She turned around, adjusted her eyes to the dark distance.

He moved her hair a bit to one side, exposed her neck. Opened his mouth wide.

She took a step down the path. -Look! There’s cabin down there! Let’s go!

She grabbed his hand, ran down the slope.

The cabin could hardly be seen in the dense vegetation. It was old and worn, almost falling down.

-What are you…?

-Come on! It will be fun!

She broke a window, went in.

-I’m not really sure about this… He had lived long enough to know what kind of things that could lurk in these kinds of places. -I’m not sure if….

She was already inside. His veins was screaming of hunger. He followed.

The place smelled of rot and horrors. It was dark, even his eyes had a hard time seeing anything.

-Here I am, she said with a soft voice. He turned around. She lit a candle. Her naked body looked fantastic in the flickering light. He even considered turning her for a moment, but he wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility. She held her hands out. Finally it was time to eat.

-Aaaaaahhh!! Melanie’s scream made the walls shiver. A dead man was lying on the bed… (more)

Thicker Than Blood

This was where they had met, a cold winter night. It had been lying there with the others, another log in the stack. He had gotten it out, put it up on the chopping block. Grabbed his axe, lifted it high. The log spoke.

“What are you doing!?”

Gerald jumped back. Held his hand to the wall, catching his breath. The other hand tightened around the shaft. Was he going crazy? Either that, or something fishy was going on.

“You… speak?” Gerald couldn’t believe what he saw and heard. “Logs don’t…”

“Yeah, I know. We don’t. But still, here we are talking, aren’t we?”

Gerald couldn’t argue with that.

They chatted for a while. The log told Gerald about his former life as a tree, and how he had ended up where he was. He asked a lot of questions, and seemed genuinely interested in Gerald’s life, his childhood, his marriage. Gerald told his story, and it felt good to finally have someone to really talk to again.

He took it in, cared for it. They became good friends, they were happy together. The log was a great pal, they had many laughs, so much fun.

His wife didn’t understand. She never saw the log speak, somehow it just kept quiet when she was around. She hated it. She hated how her husband spent long afternoons in the sitting room talking to the stupid log. She hated the log.

The log was worried.

“She doesn’t like me, does she?” it would ask, looking out of the window. “I don’t see why? I never done anything to her.”

Gerald would try to make him feel better. “Maybe that’s the problem,” he would say. “She doesn’t even think you’re alive. Why don’t you speak to her?”

The log went silent.

Gerald spent more and more time with the log. Who would ever have guessed a log would have so much humour, be so smart? He knew things Gerald had never imagined.

He took the log on long walks. They went fishing together. It was driving his wife crazy.

One day she gave him an ultimatum.

“It’s either the log or me! Get rid of it! Chop it up and burn it, or I will!”

So here they were. He put the log on the chopping block, facing away. He couldn’t look it in the eyes.

“What are you doing, man? Why are we here?”

“I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…” Gerald couldn’t hold the tears back.

“It’s her, isn’t it? She told you to do this! Can’t you see? She’s manipulating you!”

Gerald grabbed his axe with a shaking hand… (more)

Return of the Dragons

-Look, up there!

-You know my eyes are not what they used to. The old man twisted his neck back as far as his worn back would permit. – What is it?

-The dragon’s! They’re back!

-Oh, my…It’s been so long. Hopefully they’re back to stay this time.

The faun jumped up the walls of the castle side, ran up from stone to stone where no man could ever walk.

She straightened her back, took a deep breath of fresh air. Underneath people were gathering, all looking up to see the dragons circling the skies. Wherever they had been, they were back now.

The song was a song of welcome, a song to let them know they had been missed. Her voice, soft and powerful floated over the castle, over the town, out beyond the fields and forests. People came out of their houses, dropped what ever they carried, stopped what they were doing. Everyone looked up at the sky and listened.

The dragons danced… (more)

War of the Woods

Ling hid down by the river. Waited. Listened. All she heard was the breeze whispering in the treetops.

She got up on her feet. She was the only one who had survived the attack, the shame ripped her soul. Her troop was gone. Her Sargent. Her mates. She didn’t know where she was, the map and the compass had been in the backpack.

The sun was going down. Southwest. She knew the base camp should be to the east.

Darkness invaded the forest, the bushes got denser as she walked. She heard the sounds of little animals jumping from tree to tree, birds flying in the leaves. They sounded unquiet, stressed. Tree-trunks were scraping together somewhere in the dark.

There had ben gunshots, but she hadn’t seen any enemies. The troop had been separated by the dense vegetation. Then the shooting had started.

Between some bushes she hid to sleep. The night was cold and dark, the moon could not be seen.

She hadn’t seen any enemy since the attack. Strange, she was deep into enemy territory. They should be swarming. She walked with caution.

Further ahead there was some kind of movement. She went closer. It could be enemies, or it could be her own. Maybe some large animal. She was starving.

She got down, crawled under the bushes. Got a view. There was a cluster of plants. Human bodies were hanging from the trees. Animals. The branches moved, but there was no wind. Roots unattached from the ground… (more)

Big Fish

Where the river met the sea, he waited. He had been waiting for three days, from morning to night.

He waited for a fish. A fish so big it would feed all the village. Many times he had seen it. They all had. When They were fishing smaller prey, he saw it swim in from the sea. Swim up the river, always out of reach. Aware of their presence.

This time it wouldn’t be.

This time he let the smaller fish pass. He was motionless like a rock, silent as a tree when the air was still.

Birds flew by. He heard a monkey scream in the forest. A snake dropped into the water on the other side. It swam with its head surfacing. It disappeared.

A big form emerged where it had been. It was here.

Mark sharpened his senses. His heart beat faster. He watched. He waited.

It was gone again.

The sun started to go down, giving the sky a reddish glow. He would have to go home empty handed yet another day. He would need to go back to the small fish again tomorrow. He couldn’t waste more time.

A shadow came in from the sea. Moved along the shore, swam into the river. He could see it clearly now. Its gracious moves. Its eyes, conscious, almost rational.

Too far away. It went into the river, took a turn. Came back. Looked around on the ground. Hunting little creatures between the rocks. It came closer.

Marek lifted his spear… (more)