Prologue
I trudged on through the dark forest, my legs tired from running who knows how far. I dared not look behind me. I didn’t want to see. I feared what I might see.
I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, sighing, before looking overhead where interweaving branches greeted me. They bound together so tight that only needle-thin beams of light made it through the branches, and only in sparse patches.
I shouldn’t keep up this lazy gate much longer; I could be caught at any moment. I swung the bag I carried off my shoulders and checked my water bottle. There was barely any remaining, but it would have to do. I swallowed t
Early 1890. – Night had come down outside, as a mist danced around the window. A man paced around inside the front room, glancing upon the bedroom door. The heavy plodding of his boots upon the creaky floorboards the only sounds he heard. Every now and again he would pause at the door, and look up to the little boy sat on the stairwell. There would only be silence, until he resumed his pace.
At last, the door clicked. The man instantly spun around, his face widened. The door creaked fully open, as a gentleman emerged with a leather bag.
“Me wife,” the man said approaching, “Is she alright Doctor?”
The Book of Samuel Chapter One by Bark, literature
Literature
The Book of Samuel Chapter One
Gusts of dust gather across a distant shore.
A man’s footsteps make apertures through the salt touched airstreams. Many miles of marks upon the beach at his back prove his journey has purpose. He has traveled far this overcast day. Inclement weather stains his musings and relays mood by uninviting expression. How much time has passed with face uncolored by joy he knows not. He voyages relentlessly towards uncertain fate without faltering, for his cause is definite.
Samuel is his name, and no more than that. He hails last from the Coastal Northlands where black volcanic mountains still slowly spew new land into the ocean as steaming l
The Brood of Dr.Chen: Body at the Blind Tiger by leothefox, literature
Literature
The Brood of Dr.Chen: Body at the Blind Tiger
Chapter 5: Body at the Blind Tiger
The papers carried the official explanation for the explosion:
A massive explosion that rocked the west end this morning and killed five is now known to have been caused by a ruptured gas line that ignited as a result of illegal excavation beneath an abandoned church. A responsible party has not been named, but officials state firmly that the danger is contained and that corrective measures are being enacted to ensure no repeat incidents.
Early reports that the destruction issued from an abandoned mansion in the area has been dispelled as rumor. One officer called the story “the last i
The Brood of Dr.Chen: The Fuse by leothefox, literature
Literature
The Brood of Dr.Chen: The Fuse
Chapter 4: The Fuse
The man who stood before him, looking as startled as Lester himself did, was a shade over 5 foot tall with skin of a dark gray that was almost green, large eyes in a jarring gold hue set in a face of otherworldly beauty, a face almost too fine to belong to a mortal man, hair and ears hidden under a black turban wrapped around his round skull. He stood nearly naked before Lester, wearing only what looked like a ceremonial loincloth, his body was developed but looked somehow brand new, the skin smooth and almost shiny all over.
Another odd detail, something so obvious that normally observant Lester Donovan nearly overlook