DPC Nation
by Art Roflmao

Comment:
*singing*

Wasting away again in poor ol' Woodyville.
Lookin' for my lost Photoshopland.

Some people say that there's a Canon to blame, but I know.
bum, bum bum bah bah...
It's Pentax' fault.

Blue sky research
by johst582

Comment:
They had built the ball for another purpose. It was there to collect data. Radio waves. Interference. Celestial noise. It was there to monitor our universe for intelligent life, to help assure us that we were not alone.

We found out that we were not alone, but not from any of the data collected by the ball. No, they came in the form of mimicry. They came and they used our very atmosphere to create terrestrial shapes from the clouds. They came and they began to devastate us and our planet.

They had built it for another purpose, but in those days of the war to save humanity, the ball became a weapon. It became a focuser of light that was used to disintegrate the alien spirits that controlled those clouds so shaped like the animals of earth.

They had built it for another purpose, but it had become humanity's only hope.

Ode to Irene
by Lonz

Comment:
She had gone to bed, the photographer. For hours she had stood above the crystal bowl, taking so many countless photographs. Drip, drop, drip, drop. Hundreds and hundreds, hours and hours. It was as if she would never stop, but stop she did.

With a sigh, the photographer gathered her equipment, and put it away, and stepped out of the room, and silence reigned. For a moment, all was still. Then, slowly, a ripple formed in the water lying in the bottom of the bowl. From that ripple rose a tiny pod of water, like a liquid finger poking through. It swayed there, unsteady for a moment, but grew stronger as the minutes passed. It twisted about, as if looking around, and then began to grow further out of the water, stretching itself, floating through the air. It grew, until it was as round as a forearm. It hovered there, making not a sound, and then as if it had finally made a final decision, it shot through the room and disappeared through the doorway.

The photographer, asleep in another part of the house that night, never even had time to scream.

America
by ashepp

Comment:
It was a fierce loyalty. For years he had served his country against an evil that threatened them and their way of life. For years he had fought with his country against a people that hated his country's policies, and freedoms, and way of life. For years he had served his country for everything his country stood for.

So it was one morning, when he awoke, and looked in the mirror, and saw the very symbols of that evil country forever etched upon his very face, that he began to scream.

It was a horror from which he never recovered.

the path
by timfythetoo

Comment:
The patter of feet on cold flagon stones, a whisp of the breeze by and by.
The soft satin touch of a petal on cheek, a heart filled with wonder and why.

A smile and a grin lets the sunshine pour in, her laughter then gives it a glow.
To run and explore none the less all the more, is all that the child needs to know.

She's sweet and she's strong, as she's carried along through her growth and her experience.
She wonders and learns with a childhood concern that is honest but fiercely intense.

It's laughter and tears, it's hopes and it's fears, it's a journey both magic and wild.
It's happy and sad, it's good and it's bad, it's the Wonderful Life of the Child.

Pelican ACTION !!!
by andrewt

Comment:
...and so it came to pass, that when evil was afoot, and the safety of the people was in danger, and the world seemed to be a more frightening and dangerous place, that The PelicanĂ¢„¢ would burst from the waters in a shower of droplets and bring joy and relief to the hearts of The Sandbar once again.

city-vibes
by hanneke

Comment:
She sat out on the rooftop, with the city behind her. It was a beautiful day, the air crisp and cleaner than usual. The sun was just right, the sounds of the rat race far below were muted and almost forgettable.

She glanced back at something and smiled a little. The love of her life came out from the doorway and smiled back, and began to walk toward her.

It is days like this that let us remember what it is to be alive. That let us remember why we wish to exist and go on and make our plans and set our goals and work towards our future. It is days like this that make us feel glad and forget the ills and fears and disappointments.

It is days like this that we can almost forgive ourselves for being human.

Kazaiya
by MAK

Comment:
She glanced towards her tormentor, the boy that wouldn't leave well enough alone, who teased her endlessly. In class, on the playground, on the walk home from school. She did not understand why he had singled her out, she only knew that he was relentless, and looked upon her with disdain, loathing, and sneering hatred.

She glanced towards her tormentor, sitting there with his so-called friends, snickering with them and tossing casual glances her way, teeth bared in that obnoxious way of his. As she looked at him, something began to change about her. The air grew heavy and a breeze picked up. She began to smile so slightly it was barely noticeable, and the breeze turned to a wind, that circled around her, tossing her hair to and fro. The light then began to change, pulsing about her, the daylight disappearing, turning to haunting strikes of yellow and green, like a prairie storm gathering before a cyclone.

She glanced toward her tormentor, and the other children all began to scream and cry and run into the school. The commotion then caused him to look toward her, and he suddenly realized what was happening, and his eyes grew wide. He began to stumble backwards in a panicked urge to get away from her, but fell hard on his seat, and his wrist bent backwards with searing pain, and he cried out.

She stared at her tormentor, and grinned. He suddenly burst into tears and a dark stain began growing in the front of his pants, and he scrambled as best as he could away from her with a broken wrist and his mind beginning to become unraveled, and she glared, and she grinned, and she then said just a single word.

She spoke that word to her tormentor, and his mind was destroyed, and he collapsed on the ground, still breathing, but his eyes only staring, and a strand of drool escaped the corner of his mouth. With that, the wind about her died and the daylight returned, and her hair settled back into place, and she seemed to return to herself as if from a trance, and she stared at the boy that lay there.

She glanced at her tormentor, sitting there with his friends, snickering with them and tossing casual glances her way, and she held her head up high and walked off towards her class, and smiled at the revenge of her fantasy.

Come a Little Closer
by robinssong

Comment:
Boris tilted his head and let out a low little chuckle. The best years of his life lay behind him, he knew, but some days he found a humor in his existence that failed him most days, and those were good days.

He lounged there, his one good tooth glinting in the light, glancing at the funny animals that walked by him day after day, knowing that in his youth they would have stood no chance. Now, he just watched them go by and thought of the hunts of better days, of the savoring of the kill, and the joy of the throes of death and struggle of his prey.

Boris tilted his head and let out a little chuckle. Some days he could still find a humor in his existence.

Tourist Shot
by Melethia

Comment:
It was a day, like any other day. The sun was rising, and had just cleared the rooftops to shine down on the masses gathering for their morning tea and coffee and scones, and whatever else was the pleasure of the people starting their day. So it was when the first few people looked up an saw it.

Over the rooftops it came, the giant hovering... thing. Pure black, seeming to suck in all the light. The first few people to notice stopped suddenly, to stare, in awe and fright and disbelief. Some broke through the shock to grab for cameras. Others finally noticed the people looking and glanced up themselves, and were then entranced as well.

It advanced slowly, this thing. This massive hovering disc of blackness personified. Those that stood there watching it could not tell if it was an object, or some kind of advancing nothingness. It seemed to be both there, and not there. It seemed to be both round and flat. Then, without a sound, it stopped.

Now, most of the people in the streets had noticed it and had gathered and were standing around in an awed sort of silence. A few whispers slid through the crowd, but it was as if nobody dared to speak. They barely dared to move. Then, a strange humming began. It felt as if it came from within their very heads. Slight, at first, like the noise of an old television that was on, but not connected to any input. Just an annoying little buzz in their minds. Then, it began to grow, to change in decibel and pitch, to become both louder and lower, increasing more and more each and every second.

People began to grab their heads, their ears. Some screamed, some moaned in pain, some in a sort of disturbing ecstasy. Most of the crowd dropped to their knees, crying out in anguish and pain.

A sudden pulse came from that hovering mass of black then. A pulse that was both light and not light. Like a sound wave rendered visible. It came from that thing, and as it passed down to the city below, as it passed among the people gathered there, they were suddenly blown apart, turned to ash, and scattered on a wind that shouldn't have been able to exist.

They were obliterated, each and every one, and the deep and resonant humming ended as quickly as it had began, and the blackness began to retreat, and the sounds of emptiness in the streets reigned free.