Leaf

The garden had remained in bloom for as long as she could remember, knowing neither frost nor death even as the world around it froze. And so, as a single leaf detached itself from an elm tree and slowly drifted to the ground, a tear rolled down her face, matching the leaf's pace, dropping from her chin and splashing on the path at her feet in the same moment the leaf touched grass.

News

The King looked over the missive again, letting the news sink in. Unable to come to terms with it, he summoned his aide in for questioning.
     "How confident are you in your contact's reliability?" he asked as the aide entered.
     "I would stake my reputation on it, sire," the aide replied.
     "Then it appears I am doomed," the King said, his face suddenly pale.

Bastion

     "We've tried everything, Bastion. You know that, right?"
     "Yeah... I know. I just... it doesn't seem fair, y'know?"
     "I know. Look, it's up to you. If you want us to stop, I - "
     "No. Not yet. Let's give it a couple of days..."

Charlie

Charlie sat on the floor with his mouth wide open, staring in disbelief as his favourite toy began to move on its own. The space marine action figure stood up and walked across the floor to stand in front of him.
     "Hi, Charlie," it said, which shocked him for two reasons. For starters, his toy could talk. What was even more startling was that it sounded exactly like his missing father.

The Switch

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Kal asked. Jorge nodded, with a confident grin on his face stretching from ear to ear.
     "You worry too much," he replied, winking as he pulled the switch.
     "And you don't worry enough."

The Funnies

Marc chuckled to himself as he read through the funnies section.
     "Hey Graham, listen to this one," he said, but got no reply. "Yo, Graham," he repeated. Marc looked up to see why Graham wasn't answering and realized too late that he should probably grab his gun.

Wanderers

The tribal Ba'atharii would never again grow beyond a handful of nomadic families, forever cast off from civilization and doomed to wander the open plains.

Flew

There was nothing left to do but leave. He'd made it clear that he would never budge, no matter how hard she tried. They were two very different people, with irreconcilable dreams. With one last parting glance, she turned and flew away.

Dale

     "Do you ever think about Dale?"
The question hung there, an accusation in the guise of innocent inquiry. Eric knew that Shea blamed him for what had happened to the kid, but he couldn't afford another distraction. Not now.
     "All the time," he lied.

Mr. Meager

There was really very little to say about Mr. Meager, other than that he was a man of small stature, few words, and a short temper. In fact, his peers didn't think much of him, and could only endure brief encounters with him.

City Lights

The lights in the city below stretched all the way to the shores of the Pacific, which itself stretched on to the horizon and beyond. From up here you could easily make out the near-perfect grid layout of the streets, and as Morgan watched the endless procession of cars moving in every direction through the city, she was struck with a single thought.
     "I'm surrounded by millions of people, and I'm all alone."

Hope

Georgie hesitated at the window, one hand holding the curtain. Taking a deep breath, she slowly pulled it open, daring to look outside for the first time in... well, she couldn't remember exactly how long it had been. What she had seen then had been enough to steal all her hope, and fear of reliving that memory had kept her from the window for a long time. Now, as her eyes adjusted to the unfamiliar brightness of the sun, she once again took in the world outside her shelter, and smiled.

Countdown

The ancient mechanism took up the entire chamber, with gears of stone slowly grinding away everywhere you looked. In the centre of the room, a short pillar was topped by some kind of sundial, which upon closer inspection was turning very slowly, pillar and all, likely due to the grinding of more gears hidden beneath the cracked sandstone floor.
     "It's a timer," Amelia gasped.
     "So it would seem," Hartley replied. "The only question is... what is it counting down to?"

Daylight

Howl ran down the corridor, trying to block out the sounds behind him and thinking only of the exit up ahead. He could see daylight peaking in through the cracks above and below the door, meaning he had timed his escape perfectly.

     "Good," he thought. "At least something is going right."

The Council

     "So we're all agreed then?" Hollander made it clear in his tone that the only answer he would accept was 'yes'. Morgan was about to speak out, but a glance across the table at Smith - who was staring at her with a look that said 'don't you dare' - stilled her tongue. She swallowed hard, looked down the table at Hollander and nodded. Taking her cue, the other seven members of the council - Smith included - nodded in turn.

     With a wide grin, Hollander picked up the phone and said, "Initiate the program."

Discovery

Small crystals embedded in the cavern walls reflected the light from the small lantern, creating a kaleidoscope effect all around the small chamber. All eyes were on the object in the centre of the chamber which, rather than reflecting the light, absorbed it and began to glow.

     "This changes everything," Amanda whispered, her voice wavering with a mixture of awe and fear.

     "What is it?" Jorge asked.

     "It's an egg."

Melt

As she watched the asteroid plummet through the sky surrounded by a ball of fire, the only thing she could think about was the chocolate and peanut butter ice cream running down her hand. Having sticky hands was the worst.

On the other hand...

     "I know you think you've got the upper hand," the elf continued, "and maybe in some ways you do, but there's one important factor that you need to consider before you make your move."
     "And what would that be, mage?" The assassin asked, fingering the hidden blade in his right hand.
     "Simply this," the elf replied. "I've got just enough power left in this staff to not only kill you and me, but to level this entire street. And," he added, "I've triggered the spell to go off if I am so much as nicked by that blade of yours."

Kathy

The heavy oak door finally opened, giving her a glimpse into the office beyond as HE stepped out. After dusting his hands off on his immaculate blue suit jacket, HE extended his right one out to her as HE approached the couch. She stood, taking the hand and smiling, trying to hide her annoyance at having been kept waiting - by herself - for two whole hours for what was supposed to be a brief visit.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Kathy," HE said in greeting.
Her left eye twitched ever-so-slightly as she dropped his hand and replied, "My name is Anne."

The Long Way Down

Standing on the precipice, William had to admit that the view was, indeed, exceptionally breathtaking. Or maybe it was just the 4 1/2 hour climb up from the parking lot that took his breath. Looking out over the mountain vista, William knew three things:  1) He could stay up here and enjoy the view for hours, 2) He couldn't stay up here for hours, and 3) he was incredibly exhausted, and couldn't even begin to imagine the hike back down. It was in that precise moment that William developed the sudden urge to fly.