The old monarch’s laugh was deep and rich, and the golden tones rolled around the hall like mirthful thunder. He raised his goblet toward the rafters and the gathered crowd erupted into raucous cheering.
#25
Farther out, then farther still
the little dinghy drifted.
While those inside feared sun and tide
and wished the fog unlifted.
But sun and sea care not for thee,
nor whether you’re short shrifted.
#24
They burst into the apartment, slammed the door, and collapsed onto the floor. Panting, Dirk turned and smiled. “Holy hell, Damon. That was the most elegant mugging I’ve ever seen! You’re a freaking artist.”
#23
Suddenly, Aunt Agnes sprang from her recliner. Her nightgown twirled above wrinkly, rainbow-veined legs as she deftly spun around the coffee table and plunged a bright pink knitting needle into the masked assailant’s ribcage.
#22
It was too dark to see, but Eugene could tell the creature was near. It’s rotten, musky stench filled the room, making his eyes water. He tightened his grip on the gun and waited.
#21
Ava clung to the turret, watching in horror as the sea began to crest. The mud-colored water raced inland, surging toward the citadel. Within moments, great boiling waves were crashing against the lower walls.
#20
An enormous, two-story chandelier hung from the central dome. Its opalescent crystals caught the afternoon sun and sent it racing around the room, dancing across the intricate mosaics in shimmering ripples of radiant light.
#19
Enid’s whiskers began to quiver uneasily as the rat in front of her slowed and then stopped. Rotating her ears forward, she could hear the distant clang of metal against stone. Another collapsed tunnel.
#18
A wet chuckle rattled up through the constable’s thin, twitchy lips. His eyes, already small in his enormously fat face, narrowed to dangerous slits. “Why should I care what a shaggy little brat thinks?”
#17
Shayna felt a fresh wave of nausea. She’d done it again. Fighting back panic, she looked around the dingy room, trying to piece together where she was and how much time she’d jumped through.
#16
Jad gripped the safety restraints and smiled at the thought of the white-knuckled terror that was about to overtake the other passengers. Suddenly, their tiny craft was catapulted from the terminal with incredible velocity.
#15
Beth slowly slouched down in her seat and closed her eyes. In the front of the room, Derek’s presentation was quickly unraveling, collapsing under the awkward weight of his increasingly belligerent and inappropriate humor.
#14
As if wrought from stone, the Imperial Consular sat unmoving under the silver emblem of the Empire. Only her eyes, glittering with cold hostility as they followed Kelvin, betrayed her as a mortal woman.
#13
A small brown slug meandered across the concrete. There was something comedic in the determined way it inched along on its elastic foot. She smiled. For the first time in months, she felt hope.
#12
As I sit here, alone with my thoughts,
the hard bench against my back reminds me of you.
Firm, slightly uncomfortable, yet sturdy and supportive.
You, like the chair, are a place to rest.
#11
“Look, Gary, the truth is that Bill isn’t our firm’s best or brightest. But he’s a good man and a decent lawyer. And frankly, you can’t afford anyone better.” Dejected, Gary sighed and nodded.
#10
Jeff looked down at his large, crumb-strewn belly. It rose above the open folds of his stained robe like a hairy, albino whale. He sighed. This godforsaken corner of humanity’s backwaters was killing him.
#9
Garrett turned, his gaze following the line of Hank’s trembling, outstretched hand. He turned away and began to gag. Just beyond the path, a purple-blotched toe protruded up from a patch of damp soil.
#8
Cody was too distracted and foggy to say much, but Andy didn’t seem to notice. He kept up a constant stream of chatter as they toweled off and began pulling clothes from their lockers.
#7
“Dammit, Julie! I don’t need another lecture, I need your help!” he yelled, pointing at the approaching thunderheads. “We’re gonna get soaked unless we find the missing pieces and set this damn thing up."