PHIL Ugh. Another Tuesday. Or is it Thursday? Honestly, after a few millennia, they all blur together. Especially since I’ve been stuck down here. The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting a sickly yellow glow on the faded, vaguely nautical-themed murals on the walls of this... tomb. They called it a “mall.” More like a mausoleum for consumerism. And in the very bowels of this retail crypt, stuck somewhere between a...

“What are you staring at, mister?” I scowled at Brandon as I spoke, putting my hands on my hips for emphasis. Usually, that was all it would take to get him to fall in line, but today he just shot back a smug grin. “What do you think I’m staring at?” I let out an exasperated sigh. When had my son turned into such a little brat? I’ve always done my best to raise him right, and for the first eighteen years of his life, I th...

In the very best of circumstances, life is unpredictable. Sometimes, whether through hubris or foolishness, we assume things will stay the same tomorrow. In stark contrast to our assumptions, reality thrives on throwing the occasional curveball, just to keep things interesting. I’m no stranger to the unpredictableness life has to offer. Those curveballs have come my way more times than I can recall. Even so, I found mysel...

They want to know when I first realized that I could change my world. That’s not exactly how they posed the question. They asked “When did you first realize that you were disconnected from reality?” That is a really stupid question, but not nearly as stupid as the questions they asked me in the mental ward. There everyone asked about how I handled the death of my parents and my three sisters in an auto accident when I was...

Prince Paul was first in line to become king. He was the eldest born and had two younger brothers and one younger sister. He dwelt in a time when the earth was young. Fairies, Sprites, Elves, Trolls, Sorcerers, and Ogres still lived throughout the land. The four-hundred-year war of men had ended ten years prior. After the war, the known world created twelve kingdoms. King Jonus, (Paul's father) was king of the seventh kin...

CHAPTER FIVE: SAM Sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I am. After all, I’ve got not one, but two beautiful women in my life who adore me. At first, Penelope and I were hiding our love (and let’s be honest, lust) for one another from Judy. I was so worried that if she found out about us, everything would fall apart. In fact, when I saw the look in her eyes Monday afternoon after she caught Penelope and I fucking in the liv...

CHAPTER FOUR: PENELOPE I couldn’t believe it. I’d been so convinced this was a hoax that I wasn’t prepared when it actually worked. I probably spent the first half of my birthday dinner mostly staring into space as I came to terms with what this meant. With this pendant, I could have anything I wanted. I could even have the one thing I wanted most: my dad. Everything started about two months before my birthday. I won’t bo...

Have you ever felt like something was just… off? That’s how I’ve felt for a while now. There are a few things that stand out, but for the most part, I can’t pinpoint what’s causing it. Everything in my life is as good as it’s ever been. Still, I can’t seem to shake the feeling. The first time I felt that something wasn’t right came a few days ago, on Penelope’s birthday. At the time, I remember being so excited. My little...

On an otherwise average Friday, Danni smiled into the mirror of her dormitory bathroom, checking herself out on her phone’s screen. Unbeknownst to her, tonight would be a night where she came face to face with desires she held so deeply that she herself had rarely considered them. The camera app on Danni’s phone clicked again and again as she took pic after pic of herself in the mirror. She couldn’t help it, she just look...