miistical

"My darling, you only get more and more beautiful everyday," Ria said, her voice the same disinterested tone as she said - well, everything in. She hadn't even done much else than glance up at Katerina—hardly took in their newly colored hair, the neat line of their makeup, the press and fold of a very rarely worn dress. All Ria did was bade her fiance the deadpan compliment before turning the page of her book. Sarrel could feel the irritation crackle around her brother. A single look at his face and she could tell that Elias was grinding his teeth again. She sighed and made a mental note to call their dentist later. It didn't take a g

'Good, good, good.' Cali bit down on the scream that tried to crawl out of her throat. The roof of the main campus office never seemed as high as it did right then. The wind curled around her and she steadied herself, just in case. Always just in case. Cali wrapped her arms around herself, trying to settle all the fear that was bubbling in her stomach. Her breath stuttered, eyes twitched, palms itched as if she were allergic to... to— 'Good, good, good.' She whimpered and the doors banged open. Kane lit up when he saw her, but Cali could see the lines of worry and stress. She smiled—it felt as fake as she herself did, but Ka

The front door was open and everything was the same. It was the same door with the scratched, brassy doorknob. The same faded cream paint behind the same rounded picture frames that held the same pictures they always did. The flowers were still in bloom just as the curtains were still parted and strung wide. The keys were still in the little bowl by the door, her jacket still hanging on the hook. But the front door was open. “Jack?” she called. Everything seemed to pause. “Yes?” he called back. She let out a breath, quick and quiet. She gently closed the door and pretended not to hear a wild giggle. Her fingers tin

One hand snapped up, the chain around her wrist breaking in the middle - the small links of gold glittered as she raised a finger to his face. She spat, "I give you this oath—no matter how fast the wind makes you or how much the light blinds my view, you will never cease to escape me. I will claw my way out of this cell and you will know pain." "Your threats can do nothing for you now," Avaris said. His voice was steady, no fear in the calmness of his hands. The chain reformed, her arm yanked back down into place. Slowly, the Earth began to pull her down within it. (No, no, no - no fear in his body. No fear in his mind. But those ey

I felt like throwing up. I felt like scratching my nails down my arms, digging them into the softness of my thighs, chewing them up and spitting them out. Ryan was picking on Daniel again. Again. What a disgusting word again could be. My hands curled tighter around my calculus textbook. I hated math, but it was the only way to ground myself before I— Who was I kidding? I wasn’t going to do a damn thing. A lock of hair fell over my eye. It covered up Ryan. I saw only Daniel, the same boy who once threatened to take his dad’s hunting gun to my head, his back surely denting the billion year old lockers. I jerked to the righ

Leann damn well knew that she should have been home an hour ago. She knew, as she walked about the town, that any damn she could’ve given had left her about an hour ago, too. Autumn in Kansas was always a sight to behold. Everything was painted gold and the people in lil' ole Kiowa felt richer because of it. Leann, however, knew that no matter how gold a paint was, it would always peel eventually. She continued down the lane, passing parlor after parlor, trying to ignoring everything and everyone. Leann kicked up dust, cursed at it with a silent glare, and kept on; she knew she couldn't keep her head ducked for much longer. Leann was

Jeong-Hui was bent over, his lungs getting the biggest work out they've had in the past month. He could feel where the sweat gathered, and where his shirt stuck to it. He grimaced at the ground, wondering for what had to be the nth time why he thought playing against Robbie was a good idea. Still panting, Jeong-Hui raised his head just enough to see Robbie's face. His friend just grinned back. He snapped the basketball back and forth between his hands. Jeong-Hui glared up at him. Robbie bit his lip, trying to stop his laughter. It didn't work. "You okay there, J-Hui?" "Hey, Robbie, do me a favor," Jeong-Hui wheezed, "and shut up." Laughte

When the evangelicals had preached the brimstone to the choir, you had thought they were ridiculous. Every sermon that ended in fire and the blaze was waved away, as if your own hand was that of God's. As the preaches infected your neighbors, their whispers shuttered behind closed blinds, you continued to tend to your garden. You had refused the notion of God and you would not be swayed. When the news casters reported hurricane spikes, you blamed the weather. What you could not blame the weather, you blamed humanity. You blamed governments and the people who ran them—you sought science in place of faith, and no one could blame you, th

There is something to nature that humans lack, you find. Something in the breeze that humans try to catch, to hold, to keep—you know humans are good at keeping things that are not theirs. You don't like humans that much. You don't like yourself that much, either. Glazed eyes blink. Your chest expands with your deep inhale, the smell of the dirt and grass almost something you could taste. You're dead center in the largest circle you've ever seen; surely the most perfect one ever, too. You know grandmama will be looking for you any minute now, her beat up truck clamoring noisily down the worn dirt paths. You hope the aliens find you be