Short stories & poems

“Oh, hell!” Carla frantically grabbed for the tissue box. The spilled latte had soaked her keyboard and was heading toward the annual report. “Ack! Not that!” The printer had been down all morning and her meeting was in 15 minutes. She was presenting to the Board of Directors. The promotion was so close she could taste it. Ping Her computer notified her of an incoming email. <Subject: Your presentation> “Damn. If they postpone this meeting again I’m going to scream.” <<You will want to focus in on the 15-29 year old demographic. It hasn’t been shared yet, but the whole western division is moving to target a younger audience. -A friend >> She was confused. She looked at the sender’s email address but it just said <<Unknown>>. Advertising was not for the weak of heart. With the razor thin margins of today’s companies, they were seeking to maximize their advertising dollar. But who would know about her presentation, much less be willing to help? It didn’t compute. She responded, “Who is this?” No response. She opened her deck and made some tweaks to orient it more towards that younger demographic, just in case. Later, as she walked out of the conference room, she beamed. “That could not have gone any better.” She was grateful to the mysterious stranger but still wary. The helpful hints continued to arrive at strategic moments over the next few weeks. Always signed “A friend”. The friend seemed to have a broad and deep knowledge of the company, and their timing was impeccable. She couldn’t imagine who it could be, and no one had stepped forward to take credit. She was grateful for the assistance as she had snagged at least two big accounts using the inside info. She thought it could be either Russell in accounting who flirted with her at the office Christmas party, or Greg, who just made VP and who she’s caught staring at her in meetings. Either way, she decided to not overthink it. The biennial all-company conference was approaching. Keynote speakers were being chosen in the next two weeks. It was widely understood that those who snagged a spot at the conference were almost always offered a promotion soon afterwards. Carla knew she had been crushing it over the past couple of months and had an excellent shot at a speaker role. Sure enough, the email arrived mid-August asking her to present her ideas on shifting demographics in American advertising. She was positively giddy. She accepted and immediately set about putting it all together. After a refreshing summer break in the Hamptons with friends, she came back to the city ready for action. She reviewed and tweaked her PowerPoint deck. She felt confident and prepared. As she packed for the conference in Chicago, she heard her computer ping in the other room. As she approached the large screen on her desk she could make out a new, short email. She got a little chill when saw it was from A Friend. <<I just wanted to send you a note of good luck before the big conference. I’m sure you’ve got an amazing presentation prepared. One last note on substance… My sources say that they have a surprise planned. They will unveil a new initiative aimed at a different demographic, based on a recent consultancy report. It’s been kept under wraps, but they plan to target the over 60s in several campaigns. You may want to hit that hard in your presentation and get a leg up on your competition. It’s up to you. I hope the messages I’ve sent have been helpful. Good luck! - A Friend>> She sat back in her chair and grimaced. What the hell. Who WAS this person and why were they trying to help her? More importantly, should she trust them and change her presentation? It would be tight, but she could do it. She continued to ponder this throughout her trip to Chicago. She arrived at the iconic Drake Hotel at 8:00pm. As she threw her bags on the bed, she made a final decision. She would do it. She could still keep the data in about youth, but would pivot hard to hit the over 60s. She knew where she could find the information and how she would present it—making it appear she was surfing the front of the next wave. Her palms were damp as she sat at the head table, waiting to be introduced. She was the first keynote. The Vice-Chair of the Board stood up to do the honors. “Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention. Please. As you know, we have been exploring how to expand our customer base and meet evolving challenges in the ad world. To that end, we have been commissioning studies to determine the optimal demographics for us to focus on.” Carla smiled. She was about to sink her ace in the hole. “After serious consideration, and excellent presentations from our staff,” he looked at Carla and smiled. “We are pleased to announce that we are planning to move a significant portion of resources to meet the challenges of tomorrow, and go young!” Carla’s smile froze. “That’s right, we’re going to target the under 30s and become the go-to agency for youth.” Sweat began to form on her upper lip. She was finding it difficult to breathe. “And we have just the person to kick us off. Carla Pandolfi is here to share her take on this. She wowed us at HQ with her presentation on youth, so get prepared. Over to you Carla!” With a smile still frozen on her face, she slowly stood up, using the table for support. Amid the applause, she slowly walked across the dais and scanned the audience. she arrived at the podium and gripped it firmly with two hands. Then she saw it. In the front row. Two eyes drilling into her, just as they had during so many meetings. Greg Durbin, new VP and, she just realized, competitor for the COO post. His eyes locked on hers. She felt cold sweats overwhelm her. She had been duped.

Danny was in his tracksuit taking his morning run, twice round the block in preparation for a five kilometer race for charity when he ran past a couple of kids playing football. An overzealous kick a few seconds later and Danny nearly trips over the ball. "Oi, mister, can you pass the ball back." Danny obliged adding a tad more velocity to the ball. The ball flew past their heads into the Smythe's garden breaking the hat off a garden gnome. Danny smiled to himself, turned around and continued his run. The two kids, caught by Mrs Smythe who was wielding her broom, and got their backsides whacked as they tried to blame Danny who had disappeared out of sight. "Don't lie to me," Mrs Smythe shouted, "your ball, I saw you playing not five minutes ago with it. Your fault!" The kids, with a tear in their eyes picked up the ball and ran home, Danny had extended his run around the park. Smiling to himself, getting warm from the running, he came across an old lady whose shopping had fallen out onto the pavement. Reaching the old lady, Danny stopped and helped pick up the shopping, waited with the lady, Mrs Swiftly, for the Uber taxi he had phoned for.
When the taxi arrived, he helped Mrs Swiftly into the car, closed the door, waved bye and continued on his run. In the space of half hour he had gone from a mischievious naughty git to a good samaritan. Conflicted as to hom he should feel, Danny entered the house, kissed his wife on the head and went for his shower.

Elora had just walked out of the armory after checking each direction to make sure the halls were cleared, she was wearing her training leathers and her hair was in a braid that rested on her shoulder. As she walked to halls being careful not to get caught, she rounded the corner to her room, the blood drained from her face as her mother stood in the hall with arms crossed and a look that told Elora she was doomed. "Your father will hear about this. I have had enough of your disgusting attempts at rebellion. You will not soil our family name." her mother said with eyes that were practically burning into Elora's soul. She didn't know what to do, she had known one day her escapades of sneaking into the training rooms with the knights would come to light. But never had she thought her mother would be the one to catch her.

That night at dinner it was apparent her father had been told of her mother's findings, his once soft features looked hardened and stern. A heaviness centered in her chest at her fathers expression, as he had never looked at her like that before. Elora had always believed that he would not be displeased by her training habits or the fact that she had dreamed of being a warrior one day. But the look in his eyes made those thoughts she once had crumble to her feet in a quick instance.

Her mother spoke " I have talked to your father, and we have come to the decision that you will be put into extra finishing school classes. This way you won't have so much free time and you will learn to be a true princess. And not a princess who wears training leathers." Elora could practically see her mother's nose become more pointed and upturned in that moment, giving her the regal, snobbish look that in Elora's opinion all royals besides herself and her father had.

The words her mother spoke sunk in, but the words "that's not fair" stayed in her throat like a hot steel ball of despair. She knew she could never say such things without earning a slap to the wrist. And in that moment Elora realized the only lesson she would ever need to learn was that, nobody would save her from the villain. She would have to do that all on her own. And at this moment in time, her mother was the villain that needed slaying.

I thought victory would taste of pure gold. Nectar of the God's plucked from the Heavens for those worthy to claim it. How wrong I was.

Victory has left an acrid taste in my mouth; bitter, dry, hollow. My all consuming desire for ascension has turned the fire in my veins to ash. I look down to my armour. Gouges mark out her inferior attempts to fight back. Lucinda's. My gaze drifts to her now. Her once shining hair, golden as a morning rise, has turned dull and matted thanks to the blood leaking from the killing blow. It was never meant to end this way.

Snapping back to reality, the roar from the stadium momentarily paralyses my thoughts. This is what they want. Give them what they want. I turn to the dais, forcing Lucinda's limp form out until I have the chance to mourn. "It seems we have a new Champion!'' Ulthur's words boom throughout the grounds, sending the citizens into even more of a frenzy. As he locks eyes with me, something indistinguishable passes through his expression. It's merely a flash before he returns to his serene mask of regality.

Has he noticed who I am yet? Sweat starts to bead across my brow before I tell myself it won't matter soon anyway. He begins again, ''Come now my Champion, reveal yourself to your King and your adoring fans'', he gestures towards the crowd for silence. ''We must know who will be making the perilous journey to retrieve the Songstone from the Outer Reaches''. I draw in a deep breath and exhale slowly, kneeling over one knee and focusing all my intent towards the dusty dirt at my feet. He would say this is beneath me. Beneath my station. After this, he has no say regarding that station at least, according to the laws.

I rise, trying to stand tall and proud. His stare never made me feel welcome, feel worthy. With one last exhale, I bring my trembling fingers to the sides of my helmet to remove it. My braid tumbles down my back, sweat sticking copper hairs to my face. Peeling off my mask, the weight of a thousand stares pierce into me. Low mumurs and gasps enshroud me from the stadium seats. The noise buzzes in my brain, making it hard to stay steadfast.

''Father," I say, forcing my voice to remain steady. ''You have your Champion.''

I have to lure the guard from his position, incapacitate him, and don his clothes without anyone noticing. Easy right? I have spent the past 10 years perfecting the skills needed for the task. Skulking through Ormond's back alleys, pickpocketing and pilfering what I deemed necessary to survive was how I made it this far, and the skills I gained would guarantee my future. Archer's little game allows me to demonstrate these skills, to judge whether I'm competent enough to join their cause.

A quick flick of my wrist sends rock shrapnel bursting into a merchant's stall from the previous day's market. Concealing myself against the shadowed stone, I wait till the guard enters my perimeter. I lurch out to grab him and stifle any sound with a cloth of chloroform before he can raise the alarm. After storing him behind a a pile of the cities' waste, I place a half filled tankard on the ground next to him for good measure, in case he's found early. I switch our clothes and almost pat myself on the back for a job well done. I return to my post to await instructions. I can't help the grin that takes over my face, the first step to bringing down Archer is solidified - let the games begin.

"We are almost out of here, alright-" Erica says as she hoists a teammate over her shoulder to help him walk as he was badly injured. Blood spilling out where his leg had once been. She had tried to use a makeshift tourniquet but there was only so much she could do at the moment.

Suddenly a red dot appeared on her chest making her stop in her tracks, her eyes going wide as she looked to see where it was coming from. They had been running so long she hadn't even thought about snipers. She should have known there would be someone in the sky. "fuck hold on, I promise I will get you out of here" she says to the man next to her, who was doing his best not to bear all his weight on her as he hobbled.

She contemplated moving but did she really want to risk being shot. Hunter was loosing too much blood but he would be left for dead if she was killed. She weighed her options and decided to start walking. As she hobbled, struggling to walk with the weight of the man on her shoulder, she watched the red dot follow her movements. "all this for what?" she grumbled under her breath She was wondering what she did to deserve to die like this, she was only 20 and had made the rash decision to join the faction after a breakup, as she was looking for an escape. Yet here she was on the verge of death carrying a man half her size to safety.

a quiet sunny day everything was peaceful except for the fact there is a loud war cry from two 5 year old boys trying to kill to each other. A quick slash from one wooden sword to another it looks like a never ending battling between the two sides but eventually the battle ends with one left standing. "I win!" Fred announced, holding the tip of the wooden sword toward the fallen Marcus one the grassy ground. "Aww" Marcus frowned. Fred held out a hand and soon Marcus was on his feat. "How do you always win?" Marcus asked "I dunno really" Fred shrugged "I guess I'm just more stronger than you" he snickered "Fine but I promise you that one day I will beat you!" Marcus remarked. He said that in a serious tone but after a few seconds they burst out laughing. Fred later spoke "You know if you want to beat me, we're gonna have to be on different sides of the battle. Like in ACTUAL war," Marcus started to smile a bit "Yeah but we both know that is never going to happen" he sounded confident but then frowned a bit. He turned to his best friend "Right?" Fred felt the mood collapse and quickly responded " Of course not buddy! We are always gonna be friends. And on the right side of the battle" "Promise?" "I promise" Fred replied solemnly They promised to have each others backs no matter what But will that promise stay true if one of them turns on the other? If one follows the wrong path and they both have to clash with one another for the sake of peace or power? On either side the two stand on the opposite side. Well- armed with weapons and powers that rival one another. Will they still keep their promise? "You don have to do this" Fred desperately warned "I don't want hurt you, old friend" "I don't think you have ever suffered from that before." He said in a low angry voice. Marcus withdrew his weapon and unleashing his fury in one hand and his slim weapon in the other. "Its time to end this" He declared " 'old friend' " He charged straight at Fred with is fire but it wasn't able to reach him with his cool waters as a barrier. Marcus bounded back and Fred took down his shield and charged straight at him with his trident facing Marcus sword. clashing one another just as they had done once before. "You wont win this time!" Marcus raged putting on more force and rage onto his weapon making Fred clutch onto his even harder. "I wont break our promise Mark" he muttered. "Even if you break it, I will never. Never" the thought of that infuriated Marcus and when we as bounded back once again by Fred's strong grip. He quickly charged at him again. Before Fred even realized what had happened. There was already a dagger that was through him. A clean cut. "I told you I wouldn't lose this time" Marcus panted. But he doubted whether his old friend had heard him...or not

We both look around anxious, how did we even get here in the first place?! We look around trying to find a way out. It feels like we’re almost going in circles but there’s no giving up. Jack flicks his brown hair out of his eyes and stares at me, “Do you think there’s a way out?” I freeze, anxious at this comment. Could it be true that there’s no way out of this place? I look side to side, looking at the cobblestone walls with vines growing out of them. “Yes, I’m positive we can get out of here” I don’t mean that. A part of me still holds on to good though as we continue on looking for the exit.

As we’re walking, Jack grabs ahold of my hand steadying me, as I wobble a bit, fatigued from walking for so long. A force a smile, “Thanks” We barely know each other, we’ve only met once in the halls at school, but that was an awkward situation. Will we ever get out of here? I just can’t imagine staying here any longer with someone I barely know. He seems nice enough though, he has nice curly brown hair, with sparkling blue eyes and a shining smile. I’ve always imagined him as a dream, so far out of my reach. He always hung out with the cool girls, and I seemed like a fan, always following along but never being in the group. I never thought I'd be here, in a maze? Labyrinth?, with him. As im thinking about all this, as soon as he grabbed my hand to steady me, he let go not long after. Still, out of my reach.

It grows late, the darkness falling on us. We see a tiny ledge hanging off of the wall, creating a little roof, that can keep us stay safe during this night. Jack twists his arms around and starts grabbing at his back, "Oh my goodness! There's been a backpack here this whole time!" My face lightens up with joy, maybe there's something that can help us through tomorow and tonight. He starts to unzip the bag and we both reach in, pulling out two waterbotlles, a sealed packet of salad, two thin jumpers and a threadlike, compact, blanket. "What are we supposed to use this blanket for?! It's not gonna keep us warm, nor will it cover up both of us. We would have to really squeeze in, but even then it wouldn't be enough! I guess the jumpers can help, but they are really thin too!" I can't help but giggle as Jack gets mad. He goes bright red and smirks, as if he's achieved something.

We put our jumpers on, still feeling cold, and lay down together. This is the closest I think I've ever been to Jack! He pulls the blanket over us, making me scooch over so I can have some blanket too. Jacks' body warmth radiates off him, making me feel at ease instantly. It has been a long day and it seems as though Jack was the one who got me through it. We each take a sip out of the waterbottles, and decide to eat the salad tomorow. We share the long backpack as a pillow, making us lay even closer together. I twist onto my side and as I do so, so does Jack. I guess we both don't want to make things to awkward between us. He has been so kind today and I wonder what its' like to be friends with him in a normal situation, like at school. I highly doubt that because of this, if we escape this place, that I will be let into their friend group. I guess its worth imagining for now...

Here at starlight, we demonstrate the role of responsibility, as we pursue our business goals we shall branch out becoming one of the first shopping malls in south America to have multiple branches. We have made it this far and now its time to solidify our success with a celebration! Lydia repeats this speech, over and over, as she needs to be announcing it in 15 minutes. She believes that this mall shall incapacitate all the other businesses in south America. Lydia is very excited, as she walks into her meeting room, preparing her palm cards. People start filing in, all filling each and every seat in the room. Her anxiety starts to rise as she starts the speech. Its' only short, but could be crucial to the way she presents herself. Once the speech is over the workers clap, happy to be celebrating a milestone. "Good job Lydia, good job..."

Calix and Megan were the best friends in the whole world as children. They would go to school together, go to have a snack together afterwards and they would never say goodbye, because they would always see each other again the next day. However, Calix and Megan shared a secret. One day, while they were out of an expedition in the forest, they found a huge cage -Calix- Megas whispered- We should come back to the entrance, this cage was not here yesterday and It looks odd -What do you consider odd? It is just a cage -He answered -Yeah, it might be just a cage but the rocks look too arranged to be simply a cage. Plus, I swear we did not see it yesterday -She insists -Maybe we got distracted -He answeres sharply - Let me just take a quick view -He said before getting into the cage. Megan, against her logic thoughts, followed him into the cage. It was wide and dark, with no holes to see the sun. It was like being floating in nothing. Eventually, they both stopped and looked at each other. Among all the grey rocks, there was a single small rock in gold -Maybe someone painted it to make a joke -Calix said but Megan frowned -Why would they make a joke in a cage where no one gets in? -Cuestioned and Calix decided to take the rock and examine it -It is odd -See? -Megan smiled- Finally we agree in something! Let's just get out of here , I am starting to feel weird about this place. But when Calix tried to walk, the rock made him stay in his place. The rock was a legendary object , used to develop magic powers to the one that hold it. At that moment, Calix felt the power consumming him until Megan stopped it and threw the rock onto the floor. -That is dangerous, your eyes turned red -She said scared and Calix nodded -I felt it consumming me -We have to make a promise- Megan suggests -We are not touching that rock ever again, until we know what it is about -Deal -He promised and hold her hand. He wrapped the rock in a tissue and put it into his bag -We have to make sure no one finds it Years have passed, and Calix could not forget the sensation of power he had while holding the rock. It was buried on Megan's garden and every day, he craved the chance to hold that rock