The boy is always there when I wake up.
I talk to him sometimes, in the middle of the night, when I’m lonely or the kids at school were angry and I have too many new bruises to sleep. I don’t know if he understands me, but he never leaves until the morning.  
I first saw him six weeks ago, after everything fell apart. Sometimes I think I should be scared because he’s probably not even real, but he...

For what must be the hundredth time tonight, I lift the bottom of the comforter and peer into the darkness under the bed. I know it's foolish to be scared of a monster under the bed, but no way is that the air conditioner, sorry Mom. All I see are dark lumps, clothes and toys hastily shoved beneath the bed on a busy day. I turn the light back out and snuggle up against my pillow. Rrrrrrrip. I sit bolt...

    This story begins in ancient Greece 5,000 years ago. Once there was a teenager name Karadoson. Karadoson was a rebellious 15-year-old. One day Karadosen decided to try cliff diving. While he was getting ready a group of three boys came up to him. Their names were Gormondal, Ransweldo, and Foalden, and they were some of Karadosen’s friends.
    While Karadosen was tying his rope, the three boys went to the opposite end of the rope and cut it. This way when...

I ran down that dark tunnel, pursued by guards in the shadowy darkness, their lanterns casting wicked shadows against the rock walls that surrounded me. The chase had been long and hard, and yet they still pursued miles from where it began. I had no idea where we were in this maze of twisted tunnels anymore. For all I knew, there might be no escape for me. The guards might not even be the ones to finish me off.
  ...

Unknown to humanity, I prowl undetected.
A master of my own, I feed off their inability to control the tides of the hidden future.

Watch.

    The taxi slams to a halt. A head sticks out the window. It's man with a mop of greasy black hair, and what looks like a weeks worth of scraggly hair glued to his pudgy face. 
        "Woman! Get out of the road! You idiot!," he yells.

His entire life...

Unknown to the humanity, I prowl undetected.
A master of my own, I feed off their inability to control the tides of the hidden future.

Watch.

    The taxi slams to a halt. A head sticks out the window. It's man with a mop of greasy black hair and what looks like a weeks worth of scraggly hair glued to his pudgy face. 
        "Woman! Get out of the road! You idiot!," he yells.

His entire...

Annie and her brother had been playing hide and seek in the woods near their cottage all afternoon. As the sun began to set, she found herself further from the cottage than she had ever been before. In the darkness, she couldn’t remember which way would lead her home.
She wandered through the woods, trying to find her home. Each step only brought her further from home. Hopeless, she sat down and began to cry.
From out of the shadows,...

    It had never been seen in broad daylight, only glimpses of it at night. This creature had been known to be seen on farms at night, and the next morning a wounded animal or two would have disappeared. Almost everyone in the small town of Lindle, Wisconsin knew that this monster was seven feet tall, stealthy and quiet, and was covered in fur. The creature had remarkable horns that met at its back; its fur was a light grey, and...

    It sat there like statue, Eric's torchlight casting shadows over shadows. "There it is." His voice was soft, but I could hear the desire that coated his words. Granite carvings on the wall stared as I grabbed his shoulder, attempting to keep him from lurching towards the vine child.
    "Eric." He glanced back at me, and I saw flames reflected there in place of green irises.
    The child had made no move at our entrance and...

I woke up foggy eyed and glanced at the alarm clock next to my bed, it read 10 a.m. Strange, I thought to myself, I don't remember closing the alarm or snoozing. I got up groggily and walked the few steps to the bathroom. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and was shocked. I don't remember putting makeup on nor going to sleep in it. A shocking realization dawned me, I must've been drunk but I later realized...

Mr. Wellington walked happily down the street at night, like he did every night. No one one could see Mr. Wellington for what he truly was, and he was proud his disguise was so excellent. Humans would never suspect anyone in a stylish top hat!

Mr. Wellington found a man sitting on a bench. 

“Greetings!” Mr. Wellington yelled,”Would you like to know misery?”

The man was silent, for he was sleeping. Excellent.

“Oh well, I’ll do it anyway!” Mr. Wellington...

    The Steward of the Palace of the High Winds did not deal in paper or in gold, but in wishes. Lida watched as he considered her offer, and wondered if it would be enough. He was certainly a strange man. The monsters that she and her sisters had whispered about as children had always been strange, barbaric things. But the Steward looked like a boy she might meet at the market.
     She’d waited a long time to see him, but...

My eyes were locked upon her swaying body as she sat on top of the lush vibrant vegetation, leaning herself against the knotty back of one of the many trees clothed with the lime algae. Her eyes traveled over the vast colorful landscape before her. My eyes studied her every movement. 

I stood up, my restrained brown curls bounced lightly against me, swaying in tune with my eagerness to fill my stomach. I grabbed my metallic machete and slashed it...

Growing up, you fear the monster under your bed and the drugs in the streets.  But no one tells you about the malformity behind glass with your eyes and a heartbeat.

    More often than not, the worst kind of monster is the one you recognize the most.  The one that you can feel beyond touch.  Fear is catalyzed by interpersonal beasts, not the dark or heights or rejection or failure.  The most unavoidable fear is manifested by a phenomenon called...

    Growing up, you fear the monster under your bed and the drugs in the streets.  But no one tells you about the malformity behind glass with your eyes and a heartbeat.

    More often than not, the worst kind of monster is the one you recognize the most.  The one that you can feel beyond touch.  Fear is catalyzed by interpersonal beasts, not the dark or heights or rejection or failure.  The most unavoidable fear is manifested by a phenomenon called...

I answer the door, still sweating with the realization. 
“Hello.” A boy says as he hands me my notebook. I put my hand on my heart and smile as what I hope is construed as a gesture of thankfulness.
“Can I talk to you?” He says, louder than necessary. TaIkthink. Yeah, but lord knows the only place I’ll be talking is in my mind. 
I follow the boy out onto the porch where I can smell his anxiety stronger than...

Mother, please do not switch on the lights! 
    Atop my bookcase, a tepid dragon is cooling his chamomile tea. He is more than the shameful depictions of medieval folklore, I say. His obtainment of an office job showed real strides for the dragon community. He truly did melt down the glass ceiling. At the foot of my bed lies a lion in utter anguish. After seven years of intense research in astrophysics, the universe still revolves around confusion...

They come out in darkness, when there's nobody else around. To make me seem crazier, I think, even to myself. 

​I see their eyes first. They are a piercing bright red that seem to puncture even the toughest of defenses. In the little light that remains, I am able to see their teeth. They are sharper than any knife, more deadly than any man-made weapon. I try not to look at them and instead turn my gaze to the floor,...

    Growing up, you fear the monster under your bed and the drugs in the streets.  But no one tells you about the malformity behind glass with your eyes and a heartbeat.

    More often than not, the worst kind of monster is the one you recognize the most.  The one that you can feel beyond touch.  Fear is catalyzed by interpersonal beasts, not the dark or heights or rejection or failure.  The most undeniable fear is manifested by a phenomenon called...

    The old dragon landed heavily on the forest floor, making the ground shake, the sun glinting off his coppery scales. He placed his large body between the agile young dragon and the girl tied to the giant oak.
    “Boetius, have we not warned you against this?” The old dragon asked his voice deep and rumbly. 
    “I’m taking the princess, Aiwyn. Step aside.” Boetius replied, his voice arrogant. He took a step forward, the sun flashing on...

The fawn dipped its tongue into the crisp water. The birds sung and the trees whispered; everything else was silent. She glanced at her mother besides her, her silhouette dark against the dying sunlight. She was old, but she was still graceful. The fawn yawned. She was always lagging behind when the deer migrated, and all that running had caught up with her. It didn't matter—the herd always stayed up late. Besides, she loved drinking water. It tasted good, and...

    The old dragon landed heavily on the forest floor, making the ground shake, the sun glinting off his coppery scales. He placed his large body between the agile young dragon and the girl tied to the giant oak.
    “Boetius, have we not warned you against this?” The old dragon asked his voice deep and rumbly. 
    “I’m taking the princess, Aiwyn. Step aside.” Boetius replied, his voice arrogant. He took a step forward, the sun flashing on...

They told you that monsters were fake, too, didn't they? Just figments of your poor traumatized mind. Well let me tell you, they are wrong. Monsters are real. They're everywhere. And these monsters? They can't be abated by the hushings of a mother or the faint glow of a nightlight.
I've seen the bits of them that most people miss. The quick flicker of a forked tongue from pale lips. Eyes crackling with ice and fire beneath a forced smile....

“My cousin told me that his roommate once met a wampus cat around these parts.”
“He met a what?”
“A wampus cat,” Kyle repeated. “Legend tells of a Cherokee woman who interrupted a sacred ritual and was cursed by an ancient shaman. She was transformed into this half-woman, half-panther chimera and now prowls these mountains, preying on hapless travelers.”
I was drinking my fourth beer since we’d begun tracking and had built some tolerance to Kyle’s yarns. Meanwhile, Kyle...

I close my eyes. I've got 10, maybe 20 seconds until the car pulls up on at the chipped red railings and I get out.Climbing out the car I fiddle nervously with my bag straps; I'm walking fast down the pavement hugging the wall... I thought today maybe.. but no. I feel him beside me and know I'm not alone. We pass a group of yr7 girls with matching vans bags who are huddled together whispering and laughing. "At you!",...