"It was going to be a great night. Paul had been invited to a club, or had heard it from a friend, anyway. His friends were in the car with him, driving to the downtown destination of their choice, the nightclub Heaven. It was all the rage, people were talking about it everywhere, and everyone wanted to get in. Peter cranked down the volume on his reggae music and addressed the car from the driver's seat. 'Finally, huh? It's the big night. It's finally happening!' John, Micha

"A wind howled across Los Diablos, a darkened skyline betraying the tall, glittering towers of bone and steel that made up the city. Large, winged creatures could be seen flying in the sky, oblivious to all but their own ominous nature. The city was dark, almost always, and had an iridescent green hue to it coming from the windows and lights of the demon city, centerpiece of the hellish demon planet L'naam. In tall towers, demon lords lurked and monitored their lower classes.

"Dexter Harisov smiled coercively as his victim gave in. He laughed quietly, watching the blood drip from their mouth. The blood dropped, spattering onto Dexter's shoes and pant legs.   O well, it was just blood. He cleaned up, disposed of the body, and went back towards the street. Dexter had committed many terrible homicides lately. In alleys, behind grocery stores, in quiet little neighborhoods at night, many had felt his knife cut through their bodies. He fancied himself

"The Walmart manager smiled as the rest of his crew lit up in bright smiles. The camera flashed, and the regional store crew laughed and shoved each other playfully as the flash dimmed to nothing. Harry Mann, the manager, chuckled too as his assistant manager examined the photograph she had taken on her phone. A nice picture, his employees looking happy and productive. Walmart's finest. Donna, the assistant manager, smiled as well and walked off. They were supposed to take a

"' Look into the mirror.'  Shari Brownsworth told herself, as she stared in the bathroom of her apartment. Glaring eyes, slumping posture, and an unhappy disposition. She frowned, not sure of what to do next. She looked good, but something was missing. Her husband Daniel stepped into the room, anxious to show his approval. Daniel made an encouraging remark, then left her in the bathroom as she studied her appearance once more. All she had was this upset look on her face, a my

"Alfonse checked the deck, securing the area for the mission team. 'All clear!' He tugged the cargo strap, indicating its tightness. The deck captain walked over, checking the periphery. 'We've got a major move of chips coming through here. Let's be ready, lieutenant Grove.' Alfonse saluted, eager to get along with his protocols. Standing six-foot-two, Alfonse Grove was a handsome man. Recruited into the military at age thirteen, he had ascended to the rank of lieutenant over

"Dexter Valentine shook his head vigorously, unaware of the dangers around him. This can't be it.   The final cut had gone poorly for Dexter Valentine, lead actor of the set of the movie Vertigo . It was a thrilling romp about highness in society, and the madness that came with it. Isabela, his co-star, came over to him. 'Why so upset? We still have a show. Even if that was a little, I don't know, reaching?' Isabela patted Dexter's knee and walked off, her long dark hair flow

"'All together now!' The lead circus instructor tilted his head at the others. Waylon, an ornery and slightly taller clown spoke up. 'This is all we do! Practice and train, practice and train. Why can't we take some time off once in a while? I'm exhausted!' The lead instructor nodded wryly; his lips perched in a smirk. "Entertain and serve!" was all Gravis shot back. Catalina, a forty-three-year-old female clown with a beguiling nature, laughed raucously. The lead instructor'

"Of all the ubiquitous little parlors in town, Johann's was the most fastidious. A little nook here, a little cranny there, everything had to be dusted and arranged just accordingly. And all for bread. A little bread shop, it seemed enough to keep up with the rural scenery of the small town of Faskach. It was a small development outside of the major factories and living centers nearby in Urbania. Not much happened there. Faskach had seen them all come and go, from creepy litt

"They had brought him in again. A room, a window, a chair, there was nothing else to do. So, he had a conversation with himself, as the time dripped slowly by... 'We hear things. We see them, too. Why do you ask us that? Is the world any more complex than the pimple on your nose would suggest? Why did you bring me here if not to convince me of something, for we saw and heard things already? I saw you do that, too. ' These places are crippling. Barren, white wastelands of beep

"A strange kind of obedience. Like a lust had fallen over them, these freaks, and encumbered them in a dull trance. Skin flaking, stomachs rotten and fat, the freaks of Androgynis simply walked around in a strange haze for their entire lives.  Their stores were everywhere. As if they had beckoned the freaks, calling them to their doom. Nothing was left but a sea of cattle being herded between them, wreaking havoc on the atmosphere of Androgynis through automobile exhaust and

"Down they went, to another world, an under-realm, of pain and torture. Purposelessness, to deny what rights they have to send us there. Another world, one of fire and agony. But why not this one? And they never considered it. Bass shook his head, unaware of the world outside the ringing in his ears and continued about his day. He was walking, combing an avenue in North Chicago, avoiding the busy streets and passersby for the sake of his own inclination. He would find a way.

" Two doctors worked away in a laboratory, bent over instruments and vials, inspecting lab mice as they scurried about. "Look at him run!" The doctor pointed wildly at his partner and laughed as the laboratory mouse hurried under an alcove in the maze. 'We've got him now!' The second doctor, an older man in his late seventies, rolled his eyes and sighed. 'It's our job, Copernicus. You know, you should really watch how much fun you have with these exercises.' 'Exercises, huh?'

"The group had walked through the woods, lit by a lantern, on their way to a mellow campsite just over the ridge. Laughing and chanting, they had assumed no rest in their pursuit of glory and happiness that day. They approached the campsite, bugs buzzing around them, at a dusky hour with the sun well below the horizon. The group was varied, eleven eclectic strangers all suited in their various fashions and ways. They had reached the campsite, taking their seats on four logs s

"Three men in dark trench coats walked into a crowded city square. They took in their surroundings, the many people milling about the glowing symbols of an industrial age, as dusk settled. The men stopped on a street corner, lighting cigarettes in the cold wind. Their eyes scanned from one person to the next, then back to each other, as they thought to themselves in keen words. The first man spoke, his hooded eyes drifting amongst the crowd... ' The furious din. The mumbling

"A hurried conversation ensued, two men huddled outside of a rundown metaphysical chapel on a cold, windy night. There weren't many people about, only a few stragglers here and there in the distance, going back and forth, obeying the wind. A conversation began... ' There's something in the water. The belief without knowing is too strong. The obedience without thought is too rigid. What have we to do, Bryant?' 'There is naught else, Chester. We must abide. The soma of the mass