The restaurant was one of those intimate, fancy places with low lighting, white table cloths and waiters who said things like “excellent choice” while they took your order. In all fairness he’d definitely gone to some effort tonight. Although she wasn’t really sure if the effort was to make her feel special or to impress her with his superior taste and income. She suspected the latter.

He’d been f...

It’s happening again. I don’t understand how or why, but I think it’s somehow my fault. I’m standing here, in the middle of a party, and all of a sudden everyone just…stops.

I don’t mean stops talking or anything like that. I mean they just stop. They freeze in place, glasses halfway to lips, mouths frozen open in a creepy rictus that a few seconds ago was a hearty laugh. It’s surprising how close...

I don’t remember why I walked down that alley. It’s not the sort of thing I’d normally do - I wasn’t in the greatest part of town and the daylight was fading fast. Walking down dingy alleys in unfamiliar towns while shadows lengthen on the ground is the kind of thing that very annoying teenage girls do in scary movies. Not me. I’m not that type at all. I’m usually more of the “follow the map, get ...

Raising her head, she blinked away the last fuzziness of sleep. Sitting up slowly, she wondered exactly what felt off. As her head cleared she realised it wasn’t just disorientation from a strange dream or sleep hangover, something really wasn’t quite right. Her head felt dopey, heavy, weird. She was outdoors , in a field of some type. So why couldn’t she feel grass beneath her? Flexing her finger...

Hitting send on that email felt like hitting the reset button on my entire life. For years now I’d been staying out of sight, just doing what I had to do to get by and not get fired. Which hasn’t been easy in this place. Working for someone who can objectively be described as “one of the world’s great arseholes” involves agreeing to the most ludicrous ideas, taking the blame when those ideas go pe...

She’s always trusted me, my sister. Today she gets to prove that. She’s brave but not bold. Some people would say that doesn’t make any sense, but in her it does. I’ve seen her courage before, standing between my father and mother. Blue eyes never the first look away while his jaw and fist spasm in a pulsing rhythm. Knowing that while he’s gutless enough to punch a grounded, sobbing woman, he’s st...

Front door, unlock the lock,

Close door, drop bag.

Here you are and here am I.

Alone together you go about your simple, mindless chores without me.

I’m here.

You’re here.

Look at me.

Look.

Please look.

You’re here.

Am I?...

I startled awake to the sensation of my head dropping toward my chest. I must have dozed off sitting at my desk. It wouldn’t be the first time these last few weeks, but I need to be careful. The snide remarks at the water cooler and in the lunch room tell me it’s becoming a frequent enough occurrence that my workmates are starting to notice - and talk.

It’s not really my fault. My call centre job...

“Hey you”.

“Hey”. He looks a little uncertain. He knows something’s bothering me and he’s not sure what, and it has him nervous. He’s like that - he can read me so easily. We’ve known each other for over a year now and been best friends for six months of that. Surely he must have picked up on what I’m thinking. I mean, he always seems to know without being told when something’s on my mind so surel...

If you’re reading this then two things have happened. We’ve found a way to get through to your side. To tell you the truth I wasn’t sure it would ever happen, or at least not until it was too late.

The second thing is that matters have gotten so bad that you may not have enough time left. So please take this seriously. It’s not a prank or some type of trick. They’re coming for you, and they’re com...