Come on Mom, where are you? I felt my hands getting progressively sweatier as I waited. I surreptitiously wiped them on my t-shirt. The beeping of each item as it went under the scanner nudged me closer to social failure. Where was that woman, after all? We’d purchased enough supplies for our little four-person family to survive a month of the apocalypse. Soon I would be forced to wait awkwardly for my absent mother to return with her credit card...

“May I request you leave?” said Ikorov. “Or are prisoners’ wishes never respected?”
     Bergov scowled but turned away, stroking his sister’s hair a final time as if to say, “Good luck.” Ikorov he warned, “I’ll give you ten minutes.” He turned the corner, out of sight, and his footsteps, first echoing clearly, faded into the silence.
     Ikorov reached out his hands, and Ilse ran to catch them. His arms could not fit through the bars, so...

Ace had arrived in Ecuador the center of the world where the volcano was and it was going to erupt.
   “Why are we just sitting here my bowling ball will be here soon. Why don't we just start driving down there because then we can just plug it up” said Ace
“We can't your bowling ball will not transform into the big  bowling ball  if the volcano is not already erupting,” Mr.Smith told him
“Why” asked Ace
“It’s just the...

 
    I wandered around the halls aimlessly trying to find something to do. I spotted a door I have never seen before in my life. I felt the urge of exploration pull me toward the door. I grip the cool handle and turn it slowly. A burst of air hits me as I step into the doorframe.
    A mountain of stairs greets me. There must be eight flights. I start climbing up the first flight, determined to find what was...

 
    I wandered around the halls aimlessly trying to find something to do. I spotted a door I have never seen before in my life. I felt the urge of exploration pull me toward the door. I grip the cool handle and turn it slowly. A burst of air hits me as I step into the doorframe.
    A mountain of stairs greets me. There must be eight flights. I start climbing up the first flight, determined to find what was...

Her hand was pressed against his broad chest. Tears streamed down his cheeks and she slowly wiped them away with her other hand. A few slid off the tip of his nose. He walked across the room, leaving her standing there in the middle of the room. The brown recliner cracked and popped beneath him as he collapsed. His tears created puddles. He screamed at her. "You idiot! Why-how-ugh. To me?" 
She allowed herself to walk over to him again....

Her hand was pressed against his broad chest. Tears streamed down his cheeks and she slowly wiped them away with her other hand. A few slid off the tip of his nose. He walked across the room, leaving her standing there in the middle of the room. The brown recliner cracked and popped beneath him as he collapsed. His tears created puddles. He screamed at her. "You idiot! Why-how-ugh. To me?" 
She allowed herself to walk over to him again....

Chapter 1
Collective groans of pain, screaming and raucous laughter from the emaciated, wild-eyed Condemned trailing behind her formed a mellifluous cacophony that set the soundscape for the view of three rising blood-red moons. Absinthe could already feel the heightened levels of Debauched magic growing steadily inside her. She unfurled her long black wings and bared her ivory fangs, basking in the crimson glow. Today was Friday the Thirteenth, the period when the conduit between Earth and Hell would...

Chapter 1
Collective groans of pain, screaming and raucous laughter from the emaciated, wild-eyed Condemned trailing behind her formed a mellifluous cacophony that set the soundscape for the view of three rising blood-red moons. Absinthe could already feel the heightened levels of Debauched magic growing steadily inside her. She unfurled her long black wings and bared her ivory fangs, basking in the crimson glow. Today was Friday the Thirteenth, the period when the conduit between Earth and Hell would...

The sun shone pale shards of light through the gap in her curtain, reflecting off of the wooden floor in a square, like a bright window carved out of darker oaken walls. A splash of alien colour in a room that seemed to be drained of it. The fan whirred above her, rotating in a slow circle that did little more than push stale air around the stifling room. God, she hated summer. A breath escaped her lips and she...

Up and down the merry-go-round
Through the trees, and into the clouds
Up and down, down to the ground
Seven or nine, your time will be out.

The words graze across my cheeks, shapes fluttering and focusing in and out. I feel space within the darkness, complete with the echoes of the haunting melody. The words are blurry, like an old radio operating during a storm. For a brief few seconds, I feel clarity- like the blinding flash of lightning....

    The sky was dark and heavy, as if a giant's breath was hanging in the heavens. I stared straight ahead, my brain turned to pulp under the flourecent lights. The calculations on the board made absolutely no sense to me; it was all simply lines, lines and more lines. Why am I even trying? 

    Suddenly, a switch fipped on in my mind. I needed to read. Now. As if driven by an invisible force, my hand reached into...

    The sky was dark and heavy, as if a giant's breath was hanging in the heavens. I stared straight ahead, my brain turned to pulp under the flourecent lights. The calculations on the board made absolutely no sense to me; it was all simply lines, lines and more lines. Why am I even trying? 

    Suddenly, a switch fipped on in my mind. I needed to read. Now. As if driven by an invisible force, my hand reached into...

    My name is Neil Levitt, I’m 15 and I'm a sophomore at Southview High School. Southview high school is a big school with two levels and 3,492 students. In my opinion it’s more like 3,000 vultures. Once two people fight, the person that loses the fight is picked on by the other students. 
    I’m pretty average I guess. I get pretty good grades, mainly A’s and B’s.  I wear flannels and jeans, even though most people at my school...

    My name is Neil Levitt, I’m 15 and I'm a sophomore at Southview High School. Southview high school is a big school with two levels and 3,492 students. In my opinion it’s more like 3,000 vultures. Once two people fight, the person that loses the fight is picked on by the other students. 
    I’m pretty average I guess. I get pretty good grades, mainly A’s and B’s.  I wear flannels and jeans, even though most people at my school...

The sun shone pale shards of light through the gap in her curtain, reflecting off of the wooden floor in a square, like a bright window carved out of darker oaken walls. A splash of alien colour in a room that seemed to be drained of it. The fan whirred above her, rotating in a slow circle that did little more than push stale air around the stifling room. God she hated summer. A breath escaped her lips and she...

    I pull back the warm covers, hand sewn by Helen. They make me think of all the times that Helen would seat me on a blanket by the persimmon tree while she hung our clothes on the line. 

The smell of bacon is what usually wakes me up, but it's too early in the morning for Helen to be cooking breakfast. 

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I pull myself out of my cosy cocoon and stretch. I get up...

    I pull back the warm covers, hand sewn by Helen. They make me think of all the times that Helen would seat me on a blanket by the persimmon tree while she hung our clothes on the line. 

The smell of bacon is what usually wakes me up, but it's too early in the morning for Helen to be cooking breakfast. 

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I pull myself out of my cosy cocoon and stretch. I get up...

    I pull back the warm covers, hand sewn by Helen. They make me think of all the times that Helen would seat me on a blanket by the persimmon tree while she hung our clothes on the line. 

The smell of bacon is what usually wakes me up, but it's too early in the morning for Helen to be cooking breakfast. 

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I pull myself out of my cosy cocoon and stretch. I get up...

    I pull back the warm covers, hand sewn by Helen. They make me think of all the times that Helen would seat me on a blanket by the persimmon tree while she hung our clothes on the line. 

The smell of bacon is what usually wakes me up, but it's too early in the morning for Helen to be cooking breakfast. 

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I pull myself out of my cosy cocoon and stretch. I get up...

    It was a cool night in early spring. They were sitting peacefully around the fireplace, Ava knitting a shawl for Rose- or rather, re-knitting it. The old one had gotten ripped as her rambunctious daughter tried to teach her timid sister how to climb a tree. There was a large tear, but Ava had managed to unravel it and tie the pieces together. Yarn ends from some of the knots stuck out, but Ava correctly guessed that Rose...

    The DMV feels halfway across the country. I take deep breaths and stare out the window, mentally going through the meaning of every street sign we pass, analyzing the actions of every car around us.
    “Ty…,” my mom starts. She takes a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the road. “Ty. I just want to know you’re ready to accept this responsibility. You’re only fifteen. I didn’t get my permit until I was...oh, I don’t know...sixteen or seventeen.”
    “Mom.” I...

    The DMV feels halfway across the country. I take deep breaths and stare out the window, mentally going through the meaning of every street sign we pass, analyzing the actions of every car around us.
    “Ty…,” my mom starts. She takes a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the road. “Ty. I just want to know you’re ready to accept this responsibility. You’re only fifteen. I didn’t get my permit until I was...oh, I don’t know...sixteen or seventeen.”
    “Mom.” I...

    My name is Neil Levitt, I’m 15 and I am a sophomore at Southview High School. Southview high school is a big school with two levels and 3,492 students. In my opinion it’s more like 3,000 vultures. Once two people fight, the person that loses the fight is picked on by the other students. 
I’m pretty average I guess. I get pretty good grades, mainly A’s and B’s.  I wear flannels and jeans, even though most people at my...

My hand hovered over the light switch. I traced the edge of it and weighed my options. The wooden steps, only about a dozen or so, seemed to stretch forever. They were shadowed in darkness, interrupted only on the last few steps by the ceiling light in the dining room.

I glanced back at my room. The light from the bottom of the stairs bounced back up and dimly lit the bookcase covering most of the far wall. It was...