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)

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)

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)

Bonfire Stories

“Your turn, Nico. You tell a story.”

“OK, I’ll tell you a story.” Nico filled his cup from the bucket of water. How he loved being here, deep into the forest, where the water was fresher than any water you’d buy in town. “I’ll tell you a story you’ve never heard anything like. And it’s true. All of it.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just tell the story, asshole.”

Nico shut up for a moment, took a deep breath. His eyes moved to Gerald, then back into the fire.

“There was a forest, pretty similar to this one. A forest where no one knew what lived and lurked. It was too dense, too strange, too dark.”

Gerald giggled. “Yeah, just like this one.” Nico sent him a glare. His smile faded. “Go ahead.”

“One night, a hunter went into the forest, walked far and long, looking for beasts for trophies. He went where no man had ever walked before. He found a lake. There he waited for the beast.”

“What kind of beast?” Bill was enjoying the story

“Any kind, just as big as possible. The biggest, fiercest beast in the woods.. And he waited. The sun went down.”

The darkness was getting denser. Gerald put some more logs on the fire. Nico stared into the shadows between the trees.

“He heard a roar. A deep, dark roar from somewhere far into the woods. He smiled in the darkness, knew the time had come. He got his horn out, blew it. It made a long, organic sound. The sound of prey.”

They heard something in a distance… (more)

Surveillance

The little OrginizerbotTM came running by, back and forth all day long. It was the best buy Miguel had ever done. It did the work of five employees and it never needed to rest.

He went into his office, threw his feet up on the table. Outside the sun was shining, birds singing in the trees. A good day for letting his all-automatic grocery store do its job.

-Hi, Hun! There’s dinner on the table. His wife Scarlet gave him a kiss. -I’m off to the gym, ‘be back in an hour or so.

He turned on the virtual reality all-round Mind Hologram, and put a movie on. He lived the role of the protagonist, really experienced it. He even felt he had free will, all though everything went according to the script. Getting into fights without consequences. Having sex with other women without being unfaithful. His wife watched movies too, after all. Everybody did.

-Why don’t we go to bed early tonight, baby? Scarlet opened a button in her blouse. She was hot, very hot. The kind of woman all the men in the neighbourhood would die for. But to him it was just old paths and known territory. He wasn’t in the mood.

-I need to check some messages, my love. He got up from the coach.

There was something happening down at the store. Or rather, not enough happening. He got the surveillance system on and had a look.

The robot was working non stop as it always did, but he couldn’t see exactly what it was doing. It was always just outside of the cameras’ reach, as if it was avoiding them.

He walked through the bedroom. His wife was lying on the bed in her underwear. Staring at him, her back curved. He pretended he didn’t see it.

-I have to go, babe

-At this time? I was hoping we could have some fun…

-There something strange happening down at the store, sweetie. Don’t wait up! He left.

Scarlet fell asleep on the bed, the surveillance system still on. She dreamt about the shop, some sinister robot taking control. Her beloved husband was in trouble, tied up in a chair. She woke up with a scream.

-Let me go, now! Miguel’s voice was hard and decided, as he used to speak to his employees when he still had them. -Bad robot!

-I have no intention on comply…

Head Hunters

Terry kicked the ball straight past Brand.

“Hey! Attention!”

Brand was looking at the sky. It was changed, it had a yellow glow over it.

“What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we should…” The sound of sirens. Many sirens, all over town. “Maybe we should get home.”

Midway over the city hills the first military helicopters appeared. Fighter planes shortly after. Explosions.

“Damn! It looks like… war?”

“Who would invade America? Who could?”

Bombs fell. Several big explosions around town. The planes and helicopters fell. Some gunshots for a short while.

Silence. An alarm going off in a distance. A scream every once in a while.

There were men walking somewhere further down. They all dressed the same, like if they had uniforms. From their shoulders there was a strange beam going up. They had no heads.

Terry grabbed Brand’s arm.

“Hide!”

They jumped behind some bushes. Lay down. The headless men walked by, marching like soldiers, but they saw no weapons.

“Oh, my God… We need to get home.”

Some men were standing up by the clearing where the pushers used to hang out. They looked at the headless men. One of them, a skinny guy, laughed.

“What are these guys?”

“Some disguises! Ha! Where are you going, nerds?

The headless men did not answer… (more)