Passages

Sam stared down the hallway. Broken bits of light came in through the room on his left. He quickly glanced around the door frame and verified that the light was coming in through the now rotting wood nailed over the window. Dust motes danced in the fading light, but there was nothing else in the room. Sam returned his attention to the hallway stretching in front of him. He closed his eyes and brought up his memory of the outside of the house. This hallway should end about ten feet in front of him. But his gut told him it stretched out for an impossible distance.

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Spiders!

“Good God. Spiders. Why did it have to be spiders?” I muttered.

“What did you say?” Zeke asked.

“Nothing. I just don’t like spiders,” I replied.

“Yeah, me neither. But let’s deal with it now.” Zeke rubbed the back of his neck, staring at the large box in front of us. “You ready?”

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Morning Surprise

Kyra stared at the sun, peeking over the top of the eastern mountains. If the sunrise was any indication, it was going to be a wonderful day. If she could just fly up into the glory of the sunrise… Kyra sighed and with one last glance over her shoulder, turned and walked through the back door of the Dragon’s Tale tavern. She could have stayed outside and watched the sunrise for a bit longer – she was the boss after all – but she had a lot of prep work to do for the day before opening for the lunch crowd. And she was in for a long day as she was going to have to be there until closing tonight. She really needed to hire a new manager.

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Beginning Adventurer

Poking her head out the door, Tessa glanced at the fanciful bronze filigreed thermometer prominently displayed on the front wall of the house immediately outside the front door. Directly under it was an equally fanciful barometer. The mercury in the thermometer had been pushed above the line reading “Gateway to Hell.” The reminder of her father and his slightly sideways sense of humor caused a slight catch in her breath.

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Lost Civilizations

Serena adjusted her sun hat and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. Sitting back on her heels, she reached for her water bottle and took a long drink. The cool water slid down her throat and eased some of the heat-induced headache that was starting to make itself known. Recognizing that the headache, if not dealt with soon, could become a full-blown migraine, Serena decided to retreat to the small slice of shade offered by the canopy over their little dining area. She sat down on one of the camp chairs with a sigh.

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Odd Companions

The chatter suddenly dropped off. The only sound in the pub was the rhythmic thump of the fan over the bar and the squeak of the floorboards as more than one person walked in. Lila turned on her seat at the bar to see what or who caused the normally boisterous Catspaw Pub to fall deathly quiet.

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Monstrous Ruins

The tide pounded against the rocks, the sound deep, rolling, and loud. Serena sat on a large outcropping of rock, her feet hanging down, staring across the rolling blue-green water at the horizon. This. This felt like home. She hadn’t realized how much she missed the sound of the surf and the smell of the kelp until they’d landed on this planet. It probably wasn’t kelp, but it stilled smelled like it. How could a place sound and smell and… feel so much like home and yet be so many light years away?

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