Corridor of Time

Thomas walked through a corridor, the walls were covered in wallpaper in the style of nineteen-twenties American décor. Doors lined the corridor, each door was a rich oak color with black metal handles. None of the doors could be opened except one. At the end of the hall was a door made of white marble, it looked heavy and unmovable but glimmered with an otherworldly luminescence.

Thomas walked briskly towards the marble door, his black dress shoes scuffed against the long strip of floral carpeting that ran down the center of the corridors hardwood floor. Thomas’ brisk walk turned into a run, his dress pants making a swishing sound as he went. The corridor was silent except for the noise Thomas made as he tried to reach the white door.

The more Thomas ran the longer the corridor seemed to be but he was determined to reach the door. He didn’t know why he was so driven to this door or how long he had been running, he didn’t bother looking back or try to open any other door, his goal was straight ahead and he was in a full sprint as he tried to reach it.

Details of the door were revealed as he drew closer. The door had a gold lining, along the edges and made a square pattern in the center of the door. A small golden crest of a lion head was next to the silver handle of the door. The door was opened slightly, a shaft of light beamed out through it, dust particles floated and danced in the air, reflecting the light shining on it.

Thomas finally reached the door, he stopped for a moment as he tried to catch his breath. He took off his hat and his suit jacket then wiped sweat from his head. He felt like he had been running for miles in his dark gray suit but didn’t bother looking back to check how far he had traveled.

As regained his composure he heard the light pattering of rain on the other side of the door. A cool breeze blew through the small opening and the rain sound grew louder. Thomas reached for the handle and as soon as he touched the doorknob the door slammed shut. Thomas stood there stunned his hand still outstretched now only grasping air instead of the silver handle.

At this point Thomas thought about trying a different door, maybe another door entirely. There were so many brown wooden doors in the corridor that one of them would open. Thomas thought about this for several seconds and though it was only seconds the seriousness of the decision made if feel like an eternity. Thomas felt that going through a door was one of the most important decisions of his life and while he wanted to open the white marble door he worried he would be wasting his time on the flashy door and never get to leave the corridor at all.

Thomas reached his hand out again for the silver doorknob of the marble door. The golden lion emblem protruded out form the door and cut Thomas’ hand as he grasped the handle. Blood trickled from his hand and coated the golden lion’s mouth but Thomas continued to turn the silver doorknob.

Thomas twisted the handle of the door, his hand gathering cuts and scraps as he went. The golden lion was not a mighty guardian standing in his way, but the continued cuts and bleeding made Thomas reconsider his actions. Even though doubt was growing in him, he continued. He turned the handle all the way and pulled the door open. Though it appeared to be made of heavy marble, the door opened with ease. Thomas pulled his hand from the door, acquiring one last scrape from the golden lion.

The sound of rain could be heard in full, a gentle breeze rolled into the corridor from the other side of the door. Light was cast down over Thomas. It was warm and inviting. Thomas put his suit jack and hat back on and stepped through the door. This wasn’t the end for him but it was certainly the beginning of something wonderful.

When the Lights go out

When the lights go out, when the people leave and the last note of a song fades, that’s when you find out what kind of person you are. When there are no other voices to hear but your own, that is when you will start to hear your own true voice.

            I have screamed into the darkness and only heard daunting silence as a reply, I have drifted along in the tides of uncertainty for so long that I can stand firm and unwavering on my ship as my life drifts out to sea. I have grown so used to the sound and feel of misfortune that I feel dread when it is not around. I have embraced so many negatives in this world and act as if the world was this way for everyone. Some think I am strange or unnecessarily aggressive but they have not seen the things I have.

            I am so accustomed to being alone that I find it tiring to be around others for long periods of time. Just as some might not understand why I can’t stand large gatherings of people, I also have a hard time understanding how someone could not handle being alone.

Elegy of Gali

I wrote this over a year ago before my cat Gali died. I had this cat for 19 years. so almost my whole life. Before she died I knew the end was coming and stayed up worrying about it. this is the result. I am posting it now because I feel like it might be able to help others with grief over death. 

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I’m sorry. I am sorry that there is nothing I can do to help you. You sit blissfully unaware as I lose sleep. What a joke, some might find it funny that I am getting so worked up over this.

My life span is almost five times as long as yours. I saw you being born, I watched with the eyes of an adult, and with those same eyes I will watch you die. Life is so fleeting. Days seem to drag on like years, yet years fly by in seconds. I blink and you are fully-grown, I blink again and you have been dead for months.

I feel like god watching mortals. This is the only time I have heard of being god as a bad thing. I watch you grow up and grow strong and have the burden to watch you slowly weaken. The frailty of your life reminds me of the inevitable nature of my own.

I cry because I don’t want to lose you, then I continue to cry because I don’t want to die. The irony is that despite my long life span and vast knowledge, it is you that comforts me. You don’t know why I am upset but you want me to feel better. Actually I can’t imagine how you must see the world. Living a comparatively short life, completely ignorant of death and disease.

Maybe it is you who should feel bad for me. After all, you are the one asleep and I am the one writing this down at 2am.

Brian down the Hall

            Brian woke up with a stinging pain in his head, he opened his eyes and saw white lights in his vision.

            It was a cloudy day in August, the weather switched from hot to cold on a whim. On Monday it was blazing hot outside and on Tuesday it was raining, humid and warm. Brian woke up on a Wednesday. The sky was cloudy, a cool breeze blew in through the small space opened in Brian’s bedroom window. The thin sheet used as a curtain danced on the breeze as the sun shone through the white sheet. Brian dragged his hand over his face in an attempt to wake up. Brian would rub his face in the morning to feel more awake, he always thought this was because it made blood rush to his face and hopefully his brain.

            Brian stood up from his mattress on the floor, then stumbled as another shooting pain went through his head. His bed was covered in a cheap white sheet, similar to his window. He had one pillow and a small blanket to cover with. His studio apartment was a large empty space with sparse furniture and white sheets covering the three windows he had.

            Brian walked over to a small end table near his bed. The table was pressed up against the wall and directly under a window. On the blue end table was a glass pipe, a lighter, a metal railroad spike and a white coffee cup stained with coffee with the words “Rocker Cat” on it, below the words was a cat with a blue Mohawk.

            Brian opened his window a little wider, picked up his glass pipe and lit it. He inhaled deeply, held his breath then slowly exhaled. Thick smoke was expelled out through his mouth and nose. He felt his nerves ease and the pains he woke up with began calm. The sharp pain in his head continued though. He picked up the long sharp spike a delicately placed it against the right side of his head at the base of his skull and jammed the spike upward into his head. With a loud squish and crunch the pain finally was gone.

            Brian woke up on the floor with a smile on his face and a railroad spike sticking from the base of his skull. He stood up, rubbed his face again and picked up his “Rocker cat” coffee mug from the end table. He went to the kitchen with his cup, washed it out and made a fresh pot of coffee.

            While he went through his morning routine of washing up, making coffee and drinking coffee, the spike in his skull did not fall out, his head didn’t bleed and from the expression Brian’s face, the spike in his head wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. Brian had a series of scars around the insertion point of the spike, showing that he did this on a regular basis.

            Once he was dressed and had his coffee and other drugs, he stepped out of his front door into his apartment building’s main hallway. The hallway was old fashioned and looked like it was from the nineteen twenties. He was on the third floor and casually walked down each flight of stairs, passing rows of other apartments on his way.

            Finally Brian reached the exit to his building, opened the door and stepped out into the wonderful city of Hallows End. It was the modern age for monsters and the Halloween city of Hallows End had grown from a small settlement of creatures to a city of every kind of creature and misfit that the outside world was afraid of or disgusted with. Needless to say, Hallows End had some humans as well, politicians, lawyers and bureaucrats were all welcome. These humans had to follow the same rules as the monsters of the city and would be banished if they hurt fellow citizens.

            Brian wasn’t human though he had human friends. Brian was a wendigo, an evil creature born from human greed, cannibalism and taboo actions. So he had a lot going for him. He was humanoid, with two arms, two legs, he wore pants and a t-shirt, had paper white skin, deep sunken in eyes, sharp teeth hidden under thin pale lips, a shaggy head of white hair with a stripe of blue dyed in it and a railroad spike sticking out of his head.

 Brian the Wedigo tried his best to fit in with humans and other monsters but it was difficult to not kill and violate every living creature in the area, so he had to take medicine given to calm monsters and on top of that Brian was fond of smoking herbs that he found in the Dark Forest.

            Since Brian had rapid healing and damage to the brain didn’t kill him like it would to other creatures, he found that jamming a spike through his head was the only thing that would cure his migraines, it also helped calm his aggressive behavior.

            Humans only thought about monsters being acceptable on Halloween or when they visited Hallows End in October. The truth that no one really thought about was, monsters that exist on Halloween don’t just vanish after October ends, some do, but most don’t, monsters still have to go on with their lives or afterlives the rest of the year, trying their best to get by and resist the urge to eat children.

Forest Island - The Other side - Final

            It was the Sixth day when the Forest Kings’ reinforcements arrived in the village of Cliff Peak.

The Dog lord Stefan rode a giant black wolf named Galious and was surrounded by hunting dogs, foxes and wolves. Stefan wore a black vest over a white shirt, black pants, black boots and an emerald green cloak that matched Galious’ green eyes. Stefan wielded a long handled axe with a curved blade, meant for fighting on horseback or in this case Wolfback. 

Greggory rode a tall and majestic elk with long branching horns. The elk’s name was Pan, named after the god of mountains and wilderness. Greggory wore a tan shirt, brown cloak, auburn pants and thick leather boots. Greggory carried a belt covered in knives everywhere he went and was proficient in thrown and close range fighting with knives and daggers.

The two Kings arrived to find the village ransacked but being rebuilt, villagers unharmed and only five Bear soldiers remaining to protect the village.

Stefan rode up to the soldiers and asked them to explain what had happened. The redheaded soldier with a mace began to speak, she told the story of Nathaniel’s bravery and the enemy they faced.

On the other side of the portal, Nathaniel and his soldiers we finally shown what kind of enemy they had been fighting for the last week.

The portal didn’t take them to another world or another dimension, they were transported underground deeper below the earths crust than man had ever dug. These shadow monsters had been amassing underground for hundreds of years, going unnoticed by any humanoid race on the planet.

Nathaniel stared up at the ceiling of the tunnel they were in. the underground tunnels were twenty feet high from the ground to the ceiling and twenty feet wide. The tunnels stretched on endlessly into the darkness. The only source of light in these dark tunnels were glowing purple crystals that gave off a mysterious energy. Nathaniel was not a scholar or wizard but he was willing to bet money that these magic crystals helped fuel the energy needed for the portal.

The caves were empty and Nathaniel knew this was the perfect time to strike at the power source. Nathaniel touched one of the crystals with his bare hands and felt a numb tingling in his fingers as he held it. When he moved away the feeling stopped. These crystals had power and he was determined to use them to get home again.

“Alright men, we need to pull every crystal we see off these walls. If you can’t reach it, then shoot them down” Nathaniel pulled out his bow and fired an arrow at a crystal high up on the cave wall. The arrow hit the center of the crystal shattering it into a dozen fragments. The fragments hit the ground and were collected by his soldiers.

            When the crystal shattered it let out a loud hum and a ripple of energy shot through the air and down the tunnels into the darkness. Nathaniel ordered his men to move as fast as they could, as he was concerned what that ripple of energy could lead to.

Nathaniel and his men broke crystals off the walls and gathered them into a pile. Some of the purple crystals were stuck in the wall and had to be broken off with a sword or mace, some had to be shot down with an arrow but others came off the wall easily as if they had been placed on the wall purposely. Nathaniel had noticed that the crystals formed rows that went from the floor and to ten feet up the walls. The rows were horizontal and stretched five feet across. There was a blank space in the center of the rows leading Nathaniel to believe that was where the portal would open every night.

Vibrations rippled in small bursts with every crystal that was pulled from their pattern. These vibrations were a signal to the cave dwellers and each pulse of energy released was like throwing stones at a hornets nest.

            Glowing red eyes emerged from the darkness, hundreds of eyes on both sides of the tunnel. The true shadow people, the reason for the attacks, surrounded the Bear Forces. They were no longer facing the foot soldiers and grunts and Nathaniel now saw what was truly lurking in the darkness.

            The Shadow Lords closed in on the group. Each one had glowing red eyes, rows of teeth and long tendrils flowing from their backs. Some of the tendrils had claw like hands on them and others looked like sharpened spears.

            “close ranks and prepare for battle!” The men had finished gathering crystals into a pile and now formed ranks back to back to face the approaching threat.

            The Shadowlords floated several inches off the ground giving them greater agility and speed. This made the shadows look more ghostly and shook the moral of the troops.

            Nathaniel fired an arrow at the closest Shadowlord, the arrow struck the creature in the head with a sickening thunk. Black ooze bled from the shadow but the monster continued forward. “Fight with everything you have, we don’t need to defeat them all, we just need to last until the crystals power up again and make another portal” Nathaniel shouted as the Shadowlords clashed with his troops. Nathaniel was using pure speculation and hoped that he was right but knew that any doubt would not serve his soldier’s moral.

            Long shadow tendrils shot out from the Shadowlords and struck against shields and armor. The soldiers pushed back with spears, arrows and swords. A mace wielder struck a Shadowlord so hard that its head exploded into black ooze. The creature stumbled and its tendrils began flying off in every direction. Losing a head didn’t kill the Shadowlord but now that it was headless it seemed weaker and completely disoriented. The wild flailing tendrils struck through the bodies of the other Shadowlords causing black oozing wounds. The wild flailing also took the Bear Forces by surprised and several spearmen were wounded by the unpredictable strikes.

            Nathaniel fired arrows as rapidly as he could until the shadows were all bearing down on him and his soldiers. Nathaniel put his bow away and reached into his cloak to pull out clawed gauntlets. This weapon switch filled his soldiers with determination. Nathaniel was known as an archer and only switched to his “Bear Claw” gauntlets when he was fighting for his life and facing death. Everyone knew it was time to fight with every ounce of strength they had.

            Nathaniel leaped forward with the ferocity of a bear and began to claw and slash like a bear but he moved and dodged like a boxer. Pubbles the bear charged forward using his weight and claws to plow into the group of shadows.

            Knights guarded the group with their shields and slashed out with their swords, spearmen struck with the force of a lighting bolt and the mace wielders brought their mighty weapons down with thundering force. Black ooze and splattered the group, darkness surrounded them and Shadowlords moved in uncountable numbers. The oppressive darkness hid the true numbers of the enemy.

            “I told you I would follow you to hell. I was hoping you wouldn’t take me up on that offer” Shouted Sir Richard as he forced a smile to cover his pain ridden face. Blood trickled from Sir Richard’s armor but he kept pushing on with everything he had.

            Nathaniel heard his friend’s words but couldn’t risk replying at that moment. He couldn’t let doubt and fear invade his mind, he couldn’t waiver and become overwhelmed with worry for his wounded and possibly dying soldiers. Nathaniel had to fight for not just his life but the life of everyone.

            Nathaniel’s arms ached as he struck out with each punch, each strike had his full force behind it. The Bear Forces were the sturdiest and most resilient soldiers in the land and this was their truest test.

            Shields reflecting tendril attacks let out a metallic echo, the sickening sound of tendrils piercing flesh dug into the ears and minds of all who heard it. The splatter of Shadowlords was the only reply the Bear Forces would give. They refused to give an inch and with every injury they took they gave back the damage ten fold.

            As the battle raged on the purple crystals began to glow brighter and brighter. “Once that portal opens, we grab every crystal there and retreat through the portal” Nathaniel shouted to his men as he dodged a spiked tendril.

            Pubbles the bear ran to the pile of crystals, two of the soldiers in the back ducked down and piled crystals onto Pubbles’ back. The knights were trained to guard the rear guard but soldiers gathering crystals risked their lives by letting their guard down.

            The Crystals grew brighter and brighter until they looked like blazing stars in the night sky. A clawed tendril shot forward and grabbed the crystal gathering soldier and began to dig its sharp claws into the soldiers torso. Sir Richard cut the tendril from the Shadowlords body and then charged forward with his shield. The force of Sir Richard’s shield bash pushed the Shadowlord backward and knocking into the shadows in the back.

            The portal opened and the crystals were all collected onto Pubbles’ back. “Retreat soldiers! Pubbles stay with me” Nathaniel shouted. Nathaniel clawed and fought as he tried to cover his retreating troops. Sir Richard stood by his kings side, dripping with blood but fighting as if he was uninjured. Nathaniel turned to Sir Richard “You are a true friend, please live through this” before Richard could reply he was grabbed by the armor and thrown through the portal by Nathaniel. A tendril struck through Nathaniel’s torso, Nathaniel whipped back around and clawed the tendril from the Shadowlords body, then delivered a crushing blow to the shadows head and face.

            With the soldiers all safely through the portal the Shadowlords all surrounded Nathaniel and Pubbles. The loyal bear bit down onto Nathaniel’s collar and charged out of the portal.

            The crystals, Nathaniel, Pubbles and the Bear Forces all escaped through the portal and collapsed on the ground on the other side. They were finally home but the portal was still open. Hundreds of Forest King soldiers surrounded the portal and dragged the Bear forces, Pubbles and Nathaniel to safety.

            Shadowlords rushed out of the portal to peruse their prey only to be greeted by hundreds of healthy, fully armed soldiers. The second the Shadowlords stepped from the portal they were attacked. Relentless strikes, slashes and arrows rained punishment down on the Shadowlords.  The remaining shadows were smart enough to know they were outnumbered and retreated back into the portal. Seconds later the portal flickered and closed.

            The crystals lost their shine and turned into dull purple stones. The portal was closed for now and the crystals would have to be heavily guarded in case they activated themselves and opened another portal.

            The sixth day was a victory, the portal closed, the crystals were now under the care of the Forest Kings and the Shadowlords who lurked underground knew to fear the humans who ruled the surface lands.

            Sir Richards smiled at Nathaniel as the two lay next to each other on the ground. “We did it sir, made it to Hell and back” He said with a smile then closed his eyes. Nathaniel smiled and closed his eyes. Nathaniel fell into a deep sleep, exhausted and wounded from battle. Sir Richards slipped away as he closed his eyes, too wounded from battle to ever wake up again.

            The Sun rose up on horizon, it was a new day and the inhabitants of Forest Island could rest knowing that when night arrived again, only the moon and stars would be there to greet them.

Forest Island Eye of the Storm

The fifth night had arrived, thick fog hung in the air as the rain beat harder against the land. Bear Lord Nathaniel marched up to the portal with his soldiers. It was strangely familiar and the routine was comforting. Nathaniel and his group had fought against the shadowmen every night for almost a week and fighting became part of his routine. The soldiers stayed in high moral despite the rain, fog and constant threat of attack. The shadowmen never killed anyone but their numbers and size grew with each passing night, which made Nathaniel worry that the shadows would eventually try to escalate the attack beyond what the Bear forces could handle.

            The portal opened and shadowmen began to trickle out. The smallest wave since that one shadowman attacked by itself. The soldiers lazily killed the few shadows that charged forward. Nathaniel was feeling more cautious though as he remembered what happened last time.

            The small batch of shadowmen were killed and then only silence followed. Only the breathing of the soldiers, the trickle of a light rain and the gentle wind could be heard. This was unusual and outside of the routine that Nathaniel was used to.

 The portal began to shake and flicker, breaking the quiet and replacing it with the crackling and loud whip like noise that was made as the air around the portal bent and shook. Nathaniel and his soldiers stepped backward. No one knew what would happen next, so they watched the portal helplessly.

            The portal blinked out, disappearing from the air. Before the soldiers could cheer a larger portal opened as if the air was being torn open by a mysterious force. The air was torn apart leaving a giant twenty-foot tall portal. Nathaniel’s blood went cold. This portal was just like the one in his dream and that dream didn’t end happily.

            A large hand emerged from the portal, then feet and a body. It was a large fifteen-foot tall and ten foot wide shadow monster, featureless and made of the same black ooze as the others. This creature had a large mouth where its face should have been. The mouth was full of teeth and a giant, almost human like tongue. Regular sized shadowmen emerged from the portal behind the shadow Behemoth. The normal shadowmen were carrying swords and axes this. This raid of shadows didn’t look like they wanted to steal anything, but instead wanted to kill the soldiers who had been standing in their way for almost a week.

            “Concentrate all fire on the big one, don’t get close. Prepare yourselves, they mean to kill us this time!” Nathaniel shouted. The twenty soldiers prepared themselves for a bloody battle. The Knights charged in with their shields, blocking the swinging axes and swords of the newly equipped shadowmen. The Bear lord’s rear guards lunged forward with their spears impaling the first row of shadows that clashed against the knights’ shields. The knights then bashed with their shields and slashed with their swords. The fighting of the Bear forces was synchronized just like a machine built to kill.

            Arrows flew over the Knights’ heads and pelted the lumbering Behemoth as he slowly drew closer to the group of soldiers. Pubbles the bear guarded Nathaniel and used his massive claws to swat away any approaching shadowmen. Nathaniel fired arrow after arrow into the large nightmare creature, trying to find a weakness of some kind. Visions of his dream kept snaking their way into his mind, disrupting his focus. Nathaniel shook the thoughts from his head, it wasn’t the time to be distracted and one false step could lead to a very bitter end.

            Shadowmen fell and evaporated into the air as the Bear forces fought hard with everything they had. The front line shadows were slowly losing their numbers but the Behemoth continued to march forward with small deliberate strikes. The arrows wounded the beast, slowing its movements further and making black bile flow from its wounds. Each arrow that struck the Behemoth would leave a wound, become coated in bile, fall off and hit the ground, then the black arrow would morph into an unarmed, newly made shadowman.

            In five days the shadows had increased their power, numbers and forces quicker than any human army could. The shadows had only been stealing from a small village and it only took a single arrow to make a basic shadowman. Nathaniel didn’t want to think what would happen if the shadows had opened a portal in the center of the castle armory, or if they had been left alone for weeks picking off villages. This portal could potentially be a threat to the entire island and possibly the entire would.

            Nathaniel patted his bear Pubbles, and then jumped up on his back. The Behemoth and its forces were almost overwhelming the Bear Forces. Action had to be taken immediately. Nathaniel knew that even if he defeated the behemoth that night, there would be an even bigger army the next night, an army that even the Forest King reinforcements might not be able to handle.

            Nathaniel rode out into the army of swarming shadowmen. Pubbles trampled and crushed all the shadows in his wake. Nathaniel kept his arrows ready, shooting any shadowmen that posed a threat to his bear friend as they rode through the crowd of shadows.

            Nathaniel went straight to the front line with his Knights and shouted to his troops. “We must Assault the portal. Any who wish to risk their lives to save the island should follow me into the depths. All who wish to stay behind may do so and continue to guard the village” Nathaniel shouted.

            The soldiers all cheered back in agreement. All of the soldiers wanted to follow their king through the portal but five of them stayed behind to protect the village.

While one knight, three archers and a spearman formed a defensive line between the portal and the village, the Bear lord and his fifteen soldiers charged forward.

            Pubbles cleared a path with his mighty claws, Nathaniel fired quickly and accurately at the shadows surrounding them. The knights charged forward like tanks with their shield s out, knocking enemies to either side. Spearmen and archers kept the rest covered. The two Mace wielders in the group went to opposite sides and smashed through multiple shadows with each swings. The Bear forces were the strongest on the island and these twenty soldiers were only a small part of the large Bear army.

            Lightning cracked the sky and the rain poured down. Shadows were vanquished as quickly as they could pour out through the portal. The bear forces cut a swath through the sea of pulsating shadow. As they rode closer to the portal they approached the Behemoth who was standing between them and the portal.

            Nathaniel knew that his forces were quick enough to run passed the creature, but he only left five soldiers behind to protect the village. He needed to try and weaken or kill the beast before entering the portal. The Behemoth outstretched its arm to grab Nathaniel. Instead of panicking, the Bear Lord jumped from his stead and landed on the creatures wrist. The oozing flesh of the shadow held the weight of the man, but moved and squirmed under his feet. Nathaniel ran up the beasts arm, firing arrows into its mouth and at its body. When he reached the top of the head he pulled a dagger from his boot and began slashing at the top of the head with all of his might. The beast roared and tried to grab Nathaniel again, but the King was too fast and jumped off of the monster, landing back onto his bear, who was now behind the Behemoth.

            While the King was attacking the Behemoth, his soldiers were also slashing, stabbing and shooting at the beast as they ran by. Their attention had to stay on the mob though so as to not lose a shield or sword in the assault.

            “Onward to the portal! We will take the fight to the enemy and destroy it from the inside!” Nathaniel shouted. As they charged forward the portal started to shimmer and flicker, which were signs that it was about to close for another day. Nathaniel hoped that the portal closing meant that the shadow forces were used up for the night and that more weren’t waiting on the other side.

            The Bear forces charged the portal cutting down the few who still stood in their way. “Let us show these shadows the might of the Bear!” Nathaniel shouted. The soldiers cheered as they all jumped into the portal. Seconds later the portal snapped shut and disappeared into thin air.

            The Behemoth was weakened from the attacks and the portal closing seemed to drain what remain life it had left. The Behemoth fell, followed by the few remaining shadows. The Five remaining forces cheered for victory but quickly went silent as they were overcome with worry for their king. The grieving soldiers didn't know what to tell the other Forest Kings when they arrived on the six day with reinforcements.

Father's Day

            The story of Icarus always bothered me. The short version is that Icarus always dreamed of flight so his father made the wings for the two of them and they were able to achieve flight. Icarus’ downfall was that the wings were made of wax and he was warned about flying too close to the sun for the wings would melt. Icarus flew too high, his wings melted and he fell to his death. The message is probably something along the lines of “Obey your father” or “Don’t fly to high or risk falling hard”. The first one I agree with and while flying high has risks of falling, personally, to not try at all is the only true failure.

            I have flown too high, I have taken more than one pair of wings from my father, I have fallen and sometimes it seemed I would die. Unlike Icarus’ father, mine has been able to catch me. I have scars, bruises and bad memories from the various falls I have had through my life, but I have been saved before my life was ruined completely. I feel grateful because many people do not have this kind of support. There are many who are better off than I am, but there are many who are worse off as well, so I am grateful for everything I have.

            So this week I celebrate my Father, who doesn’t look for praise or compliments but still puts in the work the best he can. So to my father I wish him and all dedicated fathers a Happy Fathers Day!

Forest Island Dark premonition

            Rain lashed against the land as thunder boomed in the sky. A giant, rounded hulking shadow reached out for Nathaniel. Nathaniel fired arrows into the giant beast but nothing could slay the creature. The giant shadow monster was fifteen feet tall, ten feet wide with large stumpy legs and long arms, powerfully strong hands and stumpy fingers. This shadowman was almost entirely without feature, like the rest of the shadows, except this shadow had a large gaping mouth where a face should be. The mouth was filled with multiple rows of teeth and a large, human like tongue. Nathaniel screamed as he was lifted into the air. Thunder cracked the sky and lighting struck the ground. The booming storm drowned out the cries for help. All of the Bear Forces had been carried through the portal and Pubbles the bear was missing.

            Nathaniel struggled against the mighty grip of the beast as he was lifted helplessly into the air. He could only watch in horror as he was brought closer to the gaping open mouth. The giant shadow creature stuffed Nathaniel into its mouth and bit down. A bolt of lighting struck the ground and the booms drowned out the screams. Then only silence remained. The creature lumbered back into the dark portal, which was now a twenty-foot tall portal. The portal closed, the Forest Island was lost.

            Nathaniel awoke from his nightmare, drenched in sweat. The fourth night had arrived and it had been raining all day. Nathaniel was shaking as he stood. The dream felt real and he worried that it was a vision of the future. He knew he couldn’t tell anyone of his dream or he would risk demoralizing his troops.

            As Nathaniel shook the nightmare from his thoughts, a soldier appeared in the doorway to his room. “Es’cuse me sir” said a female soldier. She had red hair, was dressed in her full armor and was equipped with a mace and shield. “It’s night and the men are anxious to march” Reported the mace wielding soldier. Nathaniel had slept later than he wanted. He nodded to the soldier then hastily prepared for battle.

            Nathaniel grabbed a piece of bread with honey on it as he ran toward his group of soldiers awaiting his arrival. Nathaniel ate his meager breakfast as he ran. Pubbles the bear met Nathaniel and the two of them made their to the group.

            The group cheered when they saw their leader finally arrive. “Alright soldiers, are you ready to spend another night saving the village?” Nathaniel shouted with a smile. The soldiers cheered. Moral was high and Nathaniel hoped their enthusiasm would distract him from his lingering thoughts of his nightmare.

            The Bear forces arrived just as the portal was opening. The portal didn’t look any bigger than normal which made Nathaniel feel calmer. Soon, shadowmen poured out of the shimmering purple portal. These shadowmen were slightly larger than normal, just under five feet tall, they could strike with harder force and didn’t always die in one strike. The Bear forces engaged the enemy head on. The first wave of shadowmen crashed against the shields of the frontline knights then broke like waves on rocks against the weapons and strength the of Bear lord forces.

            Pubbles the bear launched into the group of shadowmen and began mauling anyone in sight. The roar of the bear mixed with the loud thumping sound of the bear’s powerful claws against the heads of the shadowmen. The group of shadows that surrounded Pubbles was dispatched in minutes.

            Nathaniel fired his arrows with precision and speed. As he picked off the shadow creatures he thought about how all of this fighting would improve his skills as an archer and a fighter in general. A shadowman snuck up on Nathaniel and grabbed his bow, but before the shadow could make off with the champion’s bow, The Bear lord moved like lighting and grabbed a dagger from his boot then plunged it into the shadowman’s head.

            The bow dropped to the floor and Nathaniel retrieved it. He took several steps back to avoid another flanking attempt.

            The fourth night went smoothly enough. Only a dagger and a pair of boots were stolen that night. Sir Richard the knight killed twenty shadowmen in one night and the mace wielding soldier from earlier that day had hit a shadowman so hard that it flew several feet and slammed into a second shadowman, killing both.

            The moral of the men stayed high, they felt strong and capable and knew that reinforcements were on their way. That sentiment was reinforced when the Bear Lord’s scout returned early and confirmed that the Stag lord and the Dog lord were marching on their way to the portal to put a final stop to these shadow beasts. They would arrive on the sixth night and would bring the full force and fury of the Forest King’s army.

Forest island the nights reveal

It was the third day in Cliffpeak Village. The bear lord and his men fought the invading shadowmen forces every night and every night the number of shadows grew. On the last night Nathaniel saw a slightly larger shadowman wielding a shovel. This worried The Bear lord because he feared that these shadow creatures might be learning how to use the weapons and armor they had been stealing after every raid. The trouble was that for every dozen shadowmen that the warriors killed, it only took one shadowman to steal a helmet or sword while during the fight. Having their equipment stolen every night meant they were slowly becoming less prepared for each night.

 Nathaniel knew that it would have only been a matter of time before he and his men were too ill-equipped for fighting hordes of shadows. On the second day Nathaniel had sent his fastest scout to leave for the castle and alert the other Forest Kings to the shadow portal that had opened in their realm. Since it would be a two day ride to the castle and at least two days for reinforcements to arrive, Nathaniel knew he only had to hold back the growing horde of shadows for another four nights.

            Nathaniel and his men slept during the day while the villagers kept watch and tried to continue their daily work, then each night the villagers would try and sleep while the bear lord’s forces fought the enemy. No one slept well.

            Sir Richard the Bear lords knight sat up in bed with his hands covering his face. “What is the trouble Richard?” asked the bear lord. “We won’t last like this, we have no idea what is on the other side of that portal. We don’t have magic to close portals and none of us have ever seen a real portal to another world before” Richard whispered, clearly demoralized. “If the situation grows so dire then I will travel through the portal myself and close it by force” Nathaniel said with a determined tone. Richard nodded “I would join you through that portal, Sire. Your men would never let you go alone” Richard said. He laid back down and tried to sleep before the night came.

            Night crept over the town, cool air and light rain joined the darkness setting up a night that would usually be considered a sleepy lazy night, but considering the constant threat of shadowmen, the rain and darkness made everyone more uneasy.

            Nathaniel drew his bow and rode toward the area outside of town where the portal had opened for the last three nights. The bear lord stood with his bear and nineteen men, all ready to battle the shadows. Dark clouds parted in the sky and the bright moon added some light to the soon to be battlefield. Sparks and flickers of purple light started to appear from the air, then the portal opened in front of the group of soldiers. “Steady men” said Nathaniel as he readied his bow. The tension was thick in the air and the light rain come down like a mist, dampening skin and fabric. The first shadowman came from the portal, small and useless like the others, but this one was alone and charged forward without an hesitation or regard for the armed soldiers. The shadow was hit with an arrow from Nathaniel’s bow and the shadowman vanished. A small laugh was heard down the ranks of soldiers. It was a small release of tension but the soldiers knew they couldn’t be overconfident.

            Then a large head appeared from the portal, followed by small hunched shoulders, long arms, a torso and long legs. This was a twelve-foot tall shadowman emerging from a nine-foot tall portal. The large shadow creature had hands like dinner plates and long spindly fingers that twitched and moved in unnatural directions. This creature stood for a second then charged at the group just the same way the smaller shadowman did. This action was followed by dozens of regular sized three foot tall shadow creatures to pour from the portal.

            The extra time it took for the large shadowman to emerge from the portal gave Nathaniel and his other archers enough time to target the beast. When the tall shadow sprinted forward a volley of arrows were already on their way to meet him head on.

            The large shadow creature reached out its large hands and grabbed several arrows out of the air. Two arrows struck the creature in the chest and one arrow struck the head. The giant shadow fell forward on the arrows and melted in the ground, but the arrows remained. The dozen arrows that had been fired were now black and covered in ooze.

            The knights charged forward with their swords and shields to meet the smaller horde of enemies while the archers took aim and reloaded arrows in their bows. Each slash with a sword or strike with an arrow killed the small shadowmen. The fight continued on like it did the night before, with large number swarming the area and the Bear lord’s forces holding them back.

            Then during the fight the black ooze arrows sprung up from the ground and each arrow transformed into a normal sized shadowman. Nathaniel wondered if everything the shadow creatures stole was just used as food to make more shadows. The extra shadowmen caused the tide of the battle to shift and the Bear lord forces had to fall back several feet so as to not be swarmed on every side. Doing their best to keep the enemy in front of them, the soldiers of the forest fought with all of their might. Nathaniel was unleashing arrows, which would destroy a shadow in one hit, but worried that each arrow he fired could be used later to make another shadow creature. Then a shout was heard. Nathaniel and his knights ran toward the soldier crying out and found it was one of the archers was being overwhelmed by shadows. He was knocked to the ground and his entire bundle of arrows was stolen. The thief responsible was already halfway to the portal and surrounded by other shadows so Nathaniel couldn’t get a clear hit. The downed archer was dragged to safety and soon after the shadowmen began to withdraw.

            The third night had passed and everyone was uninjured but worried by what they saw during the battle. Nathaniel surely wasn’t the only one thinking what an entire quiver of arrows could do for these shadow creatures. If a dozen arrows spawned enough shadows to push back the Bear lord’s forces then a quiver of arrows could make the fourth night an even more difficult fight.

 Nathaniel knew he had to last till the sixth night alone before reinforcements arrived , but worried if he and his soldiers would last that long.

Forest Island first night

In the Boundless ocean, among the inlands that are connected by the Pentacle Sea, rests the forest Island. The Forest Island is ruled by the three Forest Kings, the Bear lord, Nathaniel, The Dog Lord Stefan and the Elk Lord Gregory. The three kings worked together in harmony to ensure the peace and prosperity of every humanoid citizen and animal on the island. As the name implies the Forest Island is an island almost completely covered in dense forest. Living on an island covered in dense forest ensures a high level of safety from other possible invading forces. Unfortunately it also means that everyone on the island is forced to rely on each other for survival and would not be able to count on outside help if danger arose.

            Nathaniel the Bear lord was traveling the eastern side of the island on his trusty bear Pubbles when a villager wearing a faded maroon tunic ran up to Nathaniel. “Ma’lord! Thank heavens you are here! I was gonna hafta run all the way to the castle otherwise” Said the peasant sounding out of breath. The Bear lord wore a fancy pointed brown leather hat, with a green feather in it, a brown leather armored tunic and a bright yellow undershirt. His pants were black and his boots were brown. Pubbles the bear had a matching hat to Nathaniel but it was smaller. Pubbles had brown fur and emerald green eyes.

            “What is the trouble kindly sir?” asked Nathaniel as he pet Pubbles on the head. “Trolls, Sir! Small shadowy trolls have been attacking the eastern most villages” said the villager. “Small and shadowy? That doesn’t sound like trolls. I will investigate anyway. Please continue down this trail to my camp and inform my men that I am heading to Cliff Peak village to investigate and they should meet me there” Nathaniel instructed, then made his way up the trail, riding on the back of his bear friend.

            The eastern most village was known as Cliff Peak village because it was positioned a half mile from the peak of a cliff that lead to a sharp drop. The peak of the cliff was also the highest point on the island and the sharp drop would send you out of the forest and plummeting to the beach shore below. Cliff Peak village was one of the safest villages on the island because there was only one path to the village on one side and an unscaleable cliff wall on the other side. Nathaniel was concerned because anyone attacking Cliff Peak village would have to pass through the lower altitude hamlets on their way and those locations had not been attacked.

            Nathaniel traveled through two small hamlets on his way to Cliff Peak, along the way he asked if anyone had seen small shadowy trolls or any unusual sightings. No one had seen shadowy creatures or been attacked, which was good news but even more confusing to Nathaniel.

            The trail to Cliff Peak continued up higher and higher up the large hill. Nathaniel’s guards from the Bear Lords camp had caught up to Nathaniel on their way to meet him at Cliff Peak. While the Bear Lord rode a fierce bear who could help in a fight, the guards all rode horses and could travel faster across the island than Nathaniel could.

            The Bear Lord and his men finally reached the village of Cliff Peak and were shocked to see that it had been ransacked. The huts, houses and storage buildings were empty with broken doors, windows and locks spread across the ground. A woman with a blue dress and bonnet came out of her empty house and ran toward the Bear lord and his men.

            “Sire! It was awful! Please help!” She shouted frantically. “Calm down” what happened?” asked Nathaniel. “Shadowy imps keep attacking the village. At first the men repelled them, but every night they came back in larger numbers. We attacked with swords and axes but any creatures we didn’t kill would steal the weapons right from our hands!” She exclaimed.

            “First I hear they are trolls, now they are imps. I will investigate this, do not worry” Said Nathaniel. “Bless you sire!” Said the woman in blue.

            The bear lord decided that the best way to stop the shadowy threat was to learn as much as he could about them. He and his twenty men guarded the town that night while the villagers slept. Nathaniel let Pubbles roam the village to search for any threats as the bear lord himself walked through the village on foot carrying a well crafted bow and arrows. The soldiers in town had swords and bows, some stayed on their horses and others wanted to search on foot. The Bear lord’s group was on high alert.

            The night was cool and breezy, it had been a warm couple of days and this break on heat was a nice change. Some crickets could be heard chirping in outside of the village but otherwise it was quiet. A loud roar from Pubbles the bear broke the silence. Nathaniel went running toward his friends cries. He stopped in his tracks in shock when he saw it. Pubbles stood nervously in front a six foot tall oval shaped glowing portal. The portal was made of swirling purple energy and from the portal emerged three foot tall jet black monsters. They looked like small humans made of shadow itself. The first little shadow monster ran at Pubbles but was instantly destroyed by the bear’s mighty claws.

            These creatures weren’t invincible or even that strong but their numbers were incalculable and they continued to spawn from this mysterious portal. The portal appeared from the thin air outside of town and Nathaniel had no idea how to deal with it.

            “Men! We are under attack!” Nathaniel shouted as he took aim and shot the closest shadowman in the head with an arrow. The creature vanished taking the arrow with it. Nathaniel stepped backward as he shot at the creatures emerging from the portal.

            Swordsmen charged forward and sliced through the shadows, each slice destroyed them instantly. “Sire, these buggers are no threat to us!” Cheered Richard the swordsman. “Do not be over confident, we do not know if this is the extent of their strength” Nathaniel called back

            The shadowmen continued to flood out from the portal. Soon fifty shadows had emerged and were making their way into town. Richard slashed with skill and precision, each strike vanquished a shadowman. Then Richard was struck hard in the back, the blunt force of a charging shadowman made Richard stumble forward and drop his sword. The second his sword hit the ground a greedy little shadowman scooped it up and ran off with it. Richard yelled in anger and chased the little imp until he reached the portal. The sword thief escaped through the portal, a place Richard didn’t dare to follow.

            Nathaniel was the best archer on the island and his skills were put to the test while fighting such large numbers of creatures. Pubbles stuck close and clawed any creatures who came into melee range of Nathaniel.

            Villagers awoke to the sound of fighting. They saw their king fighting to protect them and this inspired some of the men and women to charge into battle, using rocks, shovels and anything the shadowmen hadn’t already looted from the town.

            The shadowmen continued to pour from the portal endlessly but the combined might of the villagers and Nathaniel’s group was able to fight them back. After an hour of fighting the shadowmen retreated back into the portal, having killed no one, injured just a few and stolen a keg of beer, two shovels, Sir Richard’s sword and Bob the archer’s bow.

            This was just the first night and Nathaniel knew that this would continue until he put an end to the portal.

Story writer

Joe slammed his glass down hard onto his wooden writing desk. The whiskey swirled in his glass then burst from the cup when it struck the table. Whiskey spilled on the desk and soaked his papers.

 He went back to typing on his typewriter, the whole time thinking about the person he lost. It had been a while since he said goodbye and even though he was the one who walked out the door he still hurt just as much as if he was the one who was abandoned.

Joe screamed and cursed, all of the noise and anger meant nothing as he yelled alone in this empty house. He took another drink of whiskey and tried typing but his words were becoming more erratic. Her face and voice drifted through his head making it hard to think and making it even harder to speak. He tried to fight back tears, he knew he was perfectly allowed to feel any emotions that he wanted to but he was the one who left. There was a preconceived notion that the person who leaves in a relationship is the bad guy but sometimes staying is more painful than leaving. While it hurts being left, sometimes it is actually harder to be the one who leaves.

 When you wake up one day and you realize that your relationship has been stagnating for a while you know that to stay would be toxic, and end up hurting for both people. Joe didn’t want to hurt her, the pain he caused her felt like a dagger through his heart but staying wouldn’t have been healthy for either of them.

 Joe took another drink and laughed at his own emotional stupidity, he didn't regret leaving he regretted that he had to leave. He didn't want to leave he wanted to stay, he wanted things to work out and he wanted life to be good, but that's not the way life works.

His phone started to ring as he tried to continue his writing.  He put his face in his hands and listened to the phone ring repeatedly. The phone finally stopped and as soon as it stopped, it began to ring immediately after. He did not want to speak with anyone, he was in too much pain and his nerves were too raw to share any of this with anyone.

 The phone kept ringing and ringing, Joe couldn’t handle the needy grasping for his attention and in a rage he stood up and knocked the phone to the ground. The phone flew off the stand was unplugged from the wall and crashed to the ground.

Joe felt like he had been ripped apart, it felt like he had cut off his own arm just to save the rest of his body. Logically it made sense, but that doesn't make it easier to cut off your own arm. It also doesn’t help if your arm could get right back up after you cut it off and then tried to strangle you to death every time you looked at it. Joe was emotionally wounded and missing his other half and thinking about it made him feel worse. He wondered if having his arm actually removed would have been easier than moving out and never being with Her again.

Happy memories of times they shared flooded through his brain, he slammed his fist down onto his desk out in anger and sadness. As he thought about the good memories the bad ones started to flood in just as fast as if his brain was trying to remind him why he left in the first place. The mixture of anger from having to leave, being reminded of the bad memories and missing the life that could have been, Joe stood up and kicked his writing desk. The desk flew backwards his typewriter crash to the ground and his bottle of whiskey shattered releasing the Amber liquid all over his hardwood floor. He sat on the ground surrounded by broken memories, shattered dreams, broken promises and broken possessions. He wanted to tell himself that things would get better and logically he knew they would but emotionally he felt that he had been stabbed in the heart. It felt so real that no amount of logic could explain away the feeling a chest wound or fatal injury. Anyone who said that emotional trauma is not painful has clearly had a heart that died a long time ago.

 The next morning Joe’s alarm clock went off with a loud, annoying series of beeps. The alarm clock sang out to the world that it was morning. If there were any piece of furniture that deserved to be kicked and knocked to the ground it wouldn’t be the phone, the desk, his bottle of whiskey or even his typewriter, it would have been the alarm clock. Yet the reverse was true and while his beloved possessions lay strewn across the floor, victims of his rage, the alarm clock chirped happily and comfortably atom his dresser.

Joe slowly stood up and rubbed his face trying to get the sleeplessness out of the eyes. He stretch his legs, walked to the bathroom and took a very long shower. After his shower he walked to the kitchen and drank several cups of coffee then headed out the door to greet his day.

No one in is day-to-day life knew or would know about what had happened the previous night, they wouldn't know about the pain or the broken furniture, the wouldn't know about the lack of sleep or the cries of the pain from feeling like he was emotionally stabbed in the chest. He would smile to them, they would smile back and life would go on, boring life would go on.