My name is Hal Townsend. I’m twenty four years old living in some nowhere town just outside of New York city. Not too outside to be a country bumpkin, not too deep in to be a city slicker. I merely exist in one of those millions upon billions upon trillions of places that you pass by without much notice. Those small towns that you pay no mind to where people just go to stop existing. People that don’t really live, but don’t have a desire to kill themselves. They just go there to stop being. But if you’re born in one of these places, you either just accept your lot in life and just decide...

"—gonna make a big scene with a nuclear bomb! Gonna rent a limousine with his sunglasses on—"

Roux sung to herself quietly with her usual bop to her movements as she watched the streets and blocks go by through the tint of her shades, the world being the fitting dark and doomed tint that she saw it as. She sat in the taxi's backseat with her hands rested uncomfortably in her lap, having pulled on a hoodie over the clothes that she had been wearing a long with a pair of sweat pants she had brought as what would be her third switch of clothes since arriving. For some reason, Raven had a lot...

“I-I don’t know K-Kore, I feel a little exposed…” Yoon stammered in front of the mirror, pulling down on her grey short-shorts. This link Kore chose was nothing like the conservative outfits she owned. “I-I think these shorts are too small for me, they don’t have a bigger size?”

“Eeeeennnooopppeeee. This is a Spencer’s honey, not Marshall’s.” The pink haired woman popped the bubble of her bubblegum, leaning against a wall and snickering seconds later as the self-conscious Keeper kept eyeing herself in the mirror. She was wearing a mini denim skirt and an almost see-through...

Today I thought it would bee a good idea to try and show Galiah some of the finer foods that we eat in our daily lives. I wasn't sure how much different it was for her people, so I wanted to try out a plethora of different meals, all delivered thanks to the agent Leonard who was able to come and go. Not sure why he had special privileges, perhaps it was cause he knew the place better and was already tasked with getting food. I decided it would be a good idea to start with something simple for breakfast.
G: Sir Mason, what are all these rough little things floating around in the milk?
M: It's...

(Disclaimer: This chapter contains depictions of self harm and abuse)

Mason sat in the bathroom of his small home, staring at the mirror, staring at his own reflection as he had done a thousand times. His eyes were sunken in from lack of decent sleep, some bruises lined his face from another instance of his father’s drunken rage. He could hear his parents yelling in the room again, his father already about to continue giving his mom another strike, as he always had. It was something Mason was so tired of dealing with. His eyes looked back at the reflection of the mirror, before his eyes looked...

“Come on you fuckin…”
Sammy shook with the lock of her locker, the combination not going through again, making her struggle with it as she shook and even kicked her locker, the bottom of it dented from the constant abuse it endured. As she was ready to give it another hard kick of of pure frustration, she would feel someone’s hand rest onto her shoulder, giving it a soft rub
“Allow me” A male’s voice said as she was gently moved to the side. The guy that worked on the lock was a student, a senior like Sammy. Andrew was a student in Sammy’s homeroom class, as well as a theater...

Richmond, Virginia

“Oi San-saaaan where you put it???” The Korean mother called after her almost two-year old son. She was scrambling around her one-bedroom apartment in search of his boots, wondering how it was possible to lose something in such a small living space. Her unwashed hair was lazily pulled back into a hairclip, and she wore an oversized sweater with flannel pants and mismatching slippers since she was in a rush––doing her best to avoid the lego pieces scattered all over the floor. She definitely did not want to be late for the first day of school. She had just finished...

Four years ago
Sammy looked out the window of the car, staring outside at the school that was in front of her, the many different kids that were piling inside the halls. Sammy looked down at her black dress pants with her white dress shirt, her hair tied up into a bun that her mother did for her before she was sent off. Her father putting the car into park as he spoke, “Alright, we’re here. Out you go.”
Sammy looked out at the school, feeling a bit nervous at the sight of it, turning to her father to ask, “Dad, are you sure-”
“Yes, I’m sure” He interrupted her, his finger drumming...

Franklin, Ohio
“Man, where did you say this thing was, dude?”
“Over here, it’s not that far”
Jay and Michah strolled through the forest, the forest hidden behind a cloudy day in the small town countryside just beyond the school. It was a place he was certain he saw one of the students go into. He looked around at the sky, his dad’s shotgun hanging off his shoulders as they strolled through the autumn evening, the dead leaves crunching underneath their boots. Micah took a long drag on his cigarette as he looked around as he spoke, “You think those two come out here to fuck?”
“Yeah...

Today I decided that I would ask Galiah more questions about her own experiences in her village, hoping to get a better understanding of her people and to an extent her own personal life. Sitting down in the library again, I decided to ask her a few questions on beliefs
M: So do you have any deities you worship, any kinds of philosophies that you follow
G: We have many gods that we look up to. For every concept, for every need that we have, for every living creature, there is a deity. There's Far'ool, God of the Harvest that ensures a bountiful harvest. There is Margoh, Goddess of the Hunt that...

"Aye! The fries, guy, the frickin' fries! We've got customers waiting too damn long!"

I knew it! I knew it, I knew it— Raven bit the inside of her lip anxiously, resisting the ever so present urge to lift her head and look back. She hated it, being the first to arrive at their meet ups, and typically left with the awkward feeling of people thinking that someone had left her high and dry. Sometimes it left her feeling as if when they finally did arrive, they had considered it. It didn't exactly help that Tommy's seemed to be busier than usual. Or the fact that she had ordered fries right before...

After the events that happened outside at the apartment, I’ve come to the conclusion that Galiah could teach us some martial arts of her own, and hopefully we can teach her how to use weapons that we have mastered. Today I challenged Galiah to show me what her people's style of fighting was. I prepared myself with all the essentials, a bike helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and a cup just in case. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I had to prepare for the worst with someone like her.
G: I apologize, you wish for me to do what?
M: Exactly what I said. I wish to see what your people are capable...

“I… I didn’t get in…” Eighteen-year-old Yoon stared at the rejection letter on the screen. She was slightly chubbier, with long hair and side bangs that stubbornly covered half of her face.

After carefully reviewing your application, we regret to inform you that we will not be offering you admission to the University of Florida.

She slowly felt herself sink into the living room’s couch, watching from the reflection of her computer an eager mom hide a party blower and a recording phone in case she had gotten accepted. Why hadn’t they accepted her? Was it the lack of extracurricular...

Leonard walked down the streets of Italy, managing to come here on time off, given to him after the case was settled. He was carrying a cage with him, something white sleeping inside of it. He was sure that he’d find what he was looking for here if his research was correct. It had to be correct. It was a coffee shop out in Venice, just out in the villa. And through the window, he could see it, a young man with a scar on his lip. He knew it wasn’t Django, it was impossible, and he looked through the files, no living parents, an only child, no other immediate family. This was the clone he...

LaCotta’s head turned as he was struck across the face be Seikoo, though his expression lacked any pain or anger from the slap, only a cold gaze
“You’re giving up on everything we have?” Seiko shouted at him, stepping up to him and pulling his tie so that he would face her. “Everything we built, everything we believe in”
“What choice do I have?” LaCotta asked as he looked Seiko in the eyes. “If I didn’t take his deal, we’d both be dead”
“And you think I’d rather live knowing that I walked away?!” Seiko replied, anger boiling over her as she shoved him against the...

Julio’s Gym, late at night at the edge of Rome. Leonard had put the black car into park as he was sitting with a now bandaged up Claudio, who had insisted on coming to the gym as a lookout, much to Leo’s protest and his annoyance. Leo looked out at the gym and then to Claudio before asking, “So why did the boss call you?”
Claudio took a drag on his cigarette from the passenger seat and spoke calmly, “Who can say? Desperation, perhaps he has something planned, but he asked for one of us. Only one of us. I see no reason for it to be you.”
Leo was not surprised that someone would want...

One Week Prior
“Yes!” Cecil cheered for himself as he ended up getting a strike in bowling, throwing his hands up with glee. He was sure that he had a few weird looks from the people around, but he had to assure them that he was going through a skin rash with all the doctors notes, all made counterfeit at the Constables agency. Leonard gave a sigh as he sat at the table watching, taking the occasional sip of his iced tea when he watched. Cecil would walk over and take his seat next to Leonard as he asked. “Never took you for one to bowl, Leo”
“I rarely do,” Leo replied. “I am more...

“Hello, Price Residence. Are you looking for pleasure or business?”
“Cecil, it’s D.”
“Ooooh, hey boss. Listen, I can’t really talk right now, I’m meeting with Leonard tonight. I got to prepare a meal for us and then we’re gonna watch something. I was thinking of having a Zatoichi marathon”
“Cecil, you are getting far too close to Leonard, don’t you think? You’ve only known him for two weeks.”
“If this is about him being the alleged Walking Failure again, I don’t wanna hear it. We all fuck up, D. So what.”
“Leonard isn’t just a failure. He destroyed important...

Trenton, New Jersey
Calvin looked up to the sky, the faint sight of jet streams barely visible by the glow of the full moon. He stood there in his black suit, holding his signature space helmet with a letter on the side that read “Andrei”. He held it under his arm as he looked up, holding his hand out to put the moon between his fingers. He observed it, every crater from just the eye. He was mesmerized by it. He looked down at the helmet with a somber expression. Lifting it up, his thumbs gently rubbed against the side of the helmet, merely a model for a costume, but to him it was special....

Today I thought that I would introduce Galiah to the art of films and movies. Movies seem to be the thing that all people can relate to in one way or another, even if the amount of passion for them can vary. So I wanted to see how an elf would engage with movies from a long list of some classics. Most of these I had never seen before, so it would be a first time experience for myself. After a very tiring half hour of trying to explain to Galiah that a TV was not a magical box that contained small people and it was merely a recording on a camera of those people, I finally got Galiah to sit down...