I walked into the building looking for a good security company to provide bodyguards for an upcoming visit by the CEO of a very controversial company. The name on the door was Ratz Security. I slowly opened the door, walked into a very busy scene. People scurried around as if with no purpose except to move about. I walked to a reception area where a tall well-proportioned woman answered phone calls and directed visitors....

To all my readers, please read the story twice, you will enjoy it even better. Warning! Please don't look at the last line before you read the story. It is a spoiler! "Wake up," I yelled. He slapped me. I was silenced, yet again. Everyday I tolerate this misery but he doesn't care. "What the hell, it's 9am, why didn't you wake me up?" he frowned looking at me. "Come on, I must leave, its already late," he said putting his...

He grabbed an incense stick and lit it,Watching the tip glowing, he remembered.It wasn’t something he wanted to remember,But it came to him. The fire. It took his family,His friends and his sanity.It left him with a fear of fire,And yet, he became an arsonist.He started fires to cope.He tried to comprehend the power,But all it led to was senseless destruction.Not just of whatever he set fires to, but him.He destroyed hims...

A red carpet, a stained ceiling, a gallon of white paint, and a sleeping baby were the factors that converged to cause Eloise to lose her colorful vocabulary. With the baby sleeping, she took the opportunity to do some quick painting in the next room. It's a very small room, so there's no need to fuss with covering things and putting some paint in a smaller cup. I know I shouldn't set this gallon of white paint on top of...

Ponder honestly felt bad for the boy. He just watched as he tried to retrieve his stuffed animal from the other older children who were throwing it back and forth from each other. No one was coming over to help, no one to intervene. Ponder knew he couldn't do anything, no one could see him, he couldn't interact with anything besides the doors, he was just a spectator in this world. Suddenly a whistle blew, meaning recess...

This morning I saw those black ducks, the ones that eat fish, through my bedroom window. We seem to have lots of them, but a few years ago I never saw them. Pointy beaked things? Yea.That's a fish-duck, or a cormorant, the kind of bird the Japanese used to catch fish. I used to go duck hunting with Joe. Joe's mom was from Germany and had a thick rolling accent. I didn't like plucking and messing with the ducks I shot, so...

------------------------------------- This work, within its first few lines, contains language or other material which some readers may find offensive. In consideration, Stories Space has hidden the preview of this selection. By choosing to view the piece in its entirety, you agree that you are 18 or older and do not object to such content. -------------------------------------   By James Gersbeck   “TAKE ME TO GET IT NOW...

Red. Blue. Red. Blue. Like gemstones, in this case sapphireand ruby, the lights sparkled rhythmically in the rearview mirror. It was almost hypnotic, save for the fact that it was hardly calming. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star. Two girls sitting in a car. Down below the night so grim. Like angels poised and prim.” Lucy did her best to keep her hands from shaking as she maneuvered her royal blue Ranger over to the curb and...

Ginny was irritated. Another day of single digit temperatures. She had the worst case of cabin fever ever - even if her "cabin" was a perfectly respectable $300,000 home in a lovely suburb in Madison, Wisconsin. Was there no end in sight? A string of frigid temperatures - the other day, the wind chill was negative thirty - and a brand new snow storm every few days, rendering driving to the store a truly dangerous undertak...

Ponder sat on the grassy yard watching the family of three spending time together splashing around in the pool. The small white dog also laid on the ground sunbathing. Ponder was curious, so he got up and made his way over to the dog. The dog didn't notice him as expected, looking at its collar the dog's name is Bailey. It sounded very familiar to him but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Though watching this family...

Ah, what is that bright light? …Where am I?  My eyes open to white walls and Mother staring down at me. Her eyes are cold, like always, but as my eyes flutter open she puts on a forced cheerful smile—showing me there’s someone else in the room and that I should put on my I love you, Mommy act. “Philena… gave us quite a scare, you did.” She brushes my hair back and for a second, I let myself relax at her caring hand on my...

They were quite poor. Mommy had been abandoned by Daddy. Her family did not care to help her, expecting her to make her own way. She did what she had to do. She worked. The children dealt with it. Latchkey kids they call them now. Their clothes and breakfast were set out for them when they got up in the morning. Mommy was gone to work. When they got home they played in the yard or stayed with the lady next door. Mommy got...

His name was Georgie. He never finished school. His mother kept him at home and he grew up to be a very strong man. But he was always a child inside. They lived outside of town and only came to shop once a week to the small town that was their source for food and pretty much everything they needed. No one asked where the mother found money to live on. She seemed to do well enough and local people were not nosy. Perhaps so...

For some reason this word, 'ponder' meant something to him. It felt important to him, as if it ment something more than just a word but he couldn't quite get why. He decided to dub his name Ponder till he could remember who he was. Ponder took one last look around the room before walking over to the door, but before he could turn the knob, the door slowly began to open. Through the door came the same man from the hospital...

Claire sat there with a stunned face on. “Are you sure it’s the same person?” She asked.“Who else would it be?”Just as he was about to put the newspaper down and shout Cynthia, the phone rang.“Hello?” Rufus answered.“Hi, it’s mum. Seen the paper?” “Yeah, what’s with that?”“Well, apparently Steig is running for Mayor.”“Well, fuck,” Rufus exclaimed, then yelped.“Thanks, Cynthia,” Gloria laughed, knowing it was her who smack...