Wendy's Feastmas promotion"We at Wendy's are proud to announce our celebration for Feastmas this year. At our local diner every order to DOUBLED UP, one for you and one for our lovely mascot. Come stuff yourself silly while seeing how big we can make her folks"'Damn management, who even comes up with these plans' poor Wendy rolled her eyes when she first heard that ridiculous promotion plan, the same crisp August morning of its enactment. If she'd known that slimy business man's lofty goals for

Stuck in LiftIt had been a long day for Patricia, as glanced through the window to her left, admiring glittering lights that danced on rolling streets running between stocky concrete blocks below. Working under her father had that effect on her time, drawing it out until the poor girl had nothing left to give. The gruff old business man was equal parts doting and despotic, assuring that the young girl had to earn her place through only a thimble full of nepotistic influence. Frequently, probably

Sordid First DateNiko glanced at her phone, habitually checking the time for the umpteenth time since she had arrived. The hour they had planned was drawing inevitably closer and the poor little girl was wound up like a titanium spring. Many errant thoughts fluttered in her brain, all disagreeing with one another and vying for her attention. Simultaneous ideas of excitement and apprehension, happiness and fear, such was the usual tandem thought train for one just before a cute date. Not that Cla

The Porter and the Three Large MaidensLodged between sandblasted hills, dotted along a mighty river, a prosperous town bustled and brewed. Dense throngs of people jostled each other throughout its many great bazaars, all shouting haggles and bids at each other like whooping monkeys. Buyers filtered through at a remarkable pace, flanked by trails of young porters, men and women tasked with carrying the recently bought goods for their generous if demanding clients. One porter had just completed hi

How the Grinch Ate ChristmasEvery Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch who lived just north of Whoville did notThere she sat brooding in her mountaintop lair, running green nails through her wild green hair, trying to ignore how life seemed so unfair."POO AND FOOEY" she would spit sneer "Christmas is tomorrow, it's practically here.""I must find a way to stop their Christmas from being so great, otherwise it will be far too late"For the Grinch knew that tomorrow would bring

The PotNestled in an icy mountain side, well sheltered from ill wind, was a stone cottage with a little line of smoke rising from it's top. A dark cloaked figure came to the cottage, her wide brimmed hat and violet scarf keeping a majority of the ice from her delicate face. She was shouldering a bulky basket, the well contained prize from a successful day gathering. She didn't tarry in pushing her way into the cottage, grateful for the comforting warmth that greeted her inside. She took a moment

Stolen GainsIt was late hours within the walls of a 24/7 gym. Bright halogen lights reflected off the floor to ceiling mirrors, perfectly illuminating the workout floor. The air was hot on the mid summer night and the manager had neglected to leave the cooling system on for the two late night denizens. One was significantly larger than the other, and he was currently finishing off his last few reps at the bench press rack.His name was Daryl, Dairy to those who knew him well, and he was massive.

Festival of the FeastAlice tucked herself into her body to try push her way through the throng of people, why on earth was tonight the night the entire town decided to throw a massive party? All around her was the beat of drums, the stamp of feet, and the dazzling splendor of exotic street acts. People blended together like a homogenous soup, flowing between cliques as easily as water flows from a cup. All around was merriment and joy, a perfect scene for the wondrous holiday in the town of Tilg

Blinded PreyMark woke slowly, initially confused by the insistent blackness filling his gaze. It took some moments before he noticed the soft silken pressure on his face, a scarf blinding him. A second wrap was his lips, and the dry taste in his mouth told him he had been gagged. He tried to move, but padded restraints on his wrists and biceps held him completely. He tried his stiff legs, but they were similarly bound, with his knees bent uncomfortably backwards and his ankles forced alongside h

Organic PowerThe Scanner took a moment to gather the surrounding geometry as her robotic frame unfolded from the small interior of her planet entry pod. Her programmed ROM kicked in, filling her central memory core with images detailing her current mission specs. She had landed on a remote planet along with a team of 5 other sister units, all scattered to key points in the geoscape. Her mission was detailed to her by some mind numbing briefing docs, written by boring bureaucratic aliens hoping t

Resident SpiritIt was the middle of a warm summer night, the air was refreshing after a full day of stifling hot temperatures, giving our curious ghost hunter a small amount of relief from his overdressed state. He knew he had a touch too many layers on but he also knew he needed to be prepared, hunting for ghosts almost always involved abnormally icy temperatures. He was about to enter the obsidian painted pine wood abode erected as a sentry atop Harbor Hill. The spot was a perfect accommodatio

Prevention PunishmentIt was a slow day for the jade coloured short statured shop keeper. The dainty little trinket store she was currently watching hadn’t seen a single customer in the first two hours of her shift. The goblin sighed, leaning her head on her supporting hand with her gaze occasionally slumping with exhausted boredom. She wondered why on earth she agreed to work at the sleepy store, despite the lengthy list of other errands she could be doing right now. She sighed again, refocusi

Sordid Slumber PartyNiko was badly trying to contain her nervous excitement. Tonight was going to be the best night ever and she could hardly wait. She was currently standing in front of Clara’s house carrying a heavy bag filled with all manner of goodies and snacks for their sleepover together. Of all the friends Niko had, Clara was one of her best, the two of them had been together since either of them could remember. Imagine Niko’s surprise when one day she learnt that Clara had never gon

Devour XRen was bound, held prisoner along with the small battalion of her fellow knights. They had been captured in a night raid on their border patrol camp, the battle won before it had even begun by the cunning attackers. She had been startled awake and forced to surrender before she had time to secure her weapons. She was casting a worried gaze around her solemn companions, unable to find her captain among them, worried what might have happened to the knight 10 sigils higher than her. Unable

Fae’s Curse - EpilogueThree bandits are sitting around a warm campfire, regular chirping from various insects providing a baseline to their idle chatter. They had spent the last couple of weeks camping just out of sight from a neighbouring trade highway, hoping to catch a few unprepared traders with their bodyguards ill funded. They were swapping ghost stories, the dark shadows of the unfamiliar forest around them taunting them to show some foolish bravado to each other.The first bandit, a gri

Fae’s CurseA couple giggled while lying on the soft grass next to a mirror flat lake, basking in the pale moon light. A male fae and a female human were softly chuckling at a small joke spoken by the cheeky fae.The male fae stared lovingly at his still giggling human partner. The fae’s name was Pux and he had fallen madly in love with this human. He remembered fondly when he first found her, himself a young child at the time. By chance, on one of his roaming childish adventures, he stumbled

The Tall LadyAlex’s head hurt, one too many rum and cokes and they all decided to hit his head at once. The night out with his mates was fun, but always seemed to go one step too far. Seeing the writing on the wall before he went off the deep end with them, he quietly excused himself and began stumbling his way home at 3:00am sharp. Fortunately he could still see straight as he staggered home, the same could not be said for some of his friends who were still drinking in the ungodly hours of th

History LessonRaz was thoroughly looking forward to her first mountain biking trip up the mountains. She was ever thankful She managed to get the sick leave and cash needed for the trip. The trip itself took her far out of the beach side city she called home, travelling overseas and climbing high above the mountain range to a secluded town halfway up Mt White. The town itself was famous for its many long hiking trails that wound their way throughout the country side, leading for miles between va