By Moon Alone

By Moon Alone Page 93

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:11:04 -0800

The persistent viper hangs by its fangs, pumping venom into her all day and night. She knows that if she really wants to she can wrap her hand around this cursed thing and pull it out in an instant. Fangs and all. Just like that. It will probably sting a little and it might bleed for a while but that will be the end of it. But this isn't a viper. This is something much worse. This is a chain.

Then she hears it. Metallic. Distant. Like from a long forgotten dream...

-November 10, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 92

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:17:33 -0700

A satellite's fate is sealed as soon as it gets too close to a planet. At that very moment of orbital decay, a satellite would experience more drag and less orbital speed. As orbital speed continues to decrease, the satellite's path would dip even lower. Soon the satellite would be low enough to reach the planet's atmosphere where it will experience increased heat. The denser the planet the greater the force of its gravity. As the planet pulls the satellite faster and faster into it's thick atmosphere, the satellite begins to burn...

-October 27, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 91

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:52:24 -0700

She can hardly contain her delight as she presents her newly-acquired treasure to her father. He has been away so long that she can hardly remember when she last saw him. But she doesn't care about that. The past hardly matters. All that's important is today. The present. Now.

She calls out the many features on why it's the best book in the world. She praises the careful stitching and the thick paper stock. Oh! And the surprise! She musn't forget that.

This is the best day ever...

-October 19, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 89-90

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:40:51 -0700

He watches them in the silent confines of his corner like a distant satellite observing a nameless planet and its solitary moon. He observes the pattern of their relationship. A gentle caress, a soothing embrace. Words that mean nothing and everything at the same time. Music of the spheres.

He wonders how many strides it will take to span the distance. Maybe two or three. Probably just two. Two strides, and yet it feels like two thousand lightyears from where he's standing...

-October 12, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 88

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:06:36 -0700

She reaches out to him like a sun stretching its rays to a distant flower. She calls his name. Just two syllables. Two beautiful syllables that span the distance of their years with the playful ease of a child hopping from one rock to another across a raging river. The call disarms him and he welcomes the transition. He truly is in her world now.

He comes nearer to her, drawn to her light. Drawn to this frail thing who waits patiently for his every return with honest longing. This dear frail thing who is both his flesh and center of his universe...

-September 28, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 87

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:52:40 -0700

He remembers winning her in a contest. Actually he's not sure if she's really a she. How can you tell anyway? Maybe Melanie knows. He'll ask to be sure later.

Anyway, he likes everything about her, especially her big black eyes and big round belly. She's a tiny thing amidst the swaying plants. The plants must look towering to her. Like skyscrapers! And now she's darting in and out of the fake castle. Perhaps she's trying to plunder the forgotten secrets hidden deep within the sunken halls...

-September 21, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 86

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:31:57 -0700

Michael feels the back of his neck growing hot first. The heat slowly crawls to the top of his head where it erupts into invisible needles pricking his scalp. He knows the right thing to say. The responsible answer. He only has to say it. But he can't. It is like standing between the proverbial rock and hard place. You know you should step out of the way before you get squished.

He sighs. Sometimes you have to decide against better judgment. Sometimes you have to make tough decisions...

-September 14, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 85

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:45:59 -0700

As soon as Michael has said those words, an electrifying flash of awareness strikes her like a tree would be struck by a freak lightning bolt out of a clear blue sky. And in that brief moment of horror, she feels the sickening lull of weightlessness as blood rushes from her head and into her heart. She senses time frozen as it stands on the precipice of the past. One foot awkwardly stretching out in space as it gets ready to make the leap into the future. Melanie's gasps.

And the clock ticks one hand after another...

-September 7, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 84

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:41:00 -0700

Melanie holds it in her hands, gazing dreamily at the dark pink jacket. Once upon a time it might have been a deep shade of carmine or burgundy. Perhaps even crimson. But the years have taken its toll, and the sun has taken as much vibrance as it has given. Even the gold stamped letters have fared no better. But looks do not matter. Not in this case. She knows that far too well.

She whiffs a slight musty scent as she flips the treasure to look at its back. There embossed within a circle a dragon unfurls its mighty wings, its foul breath afire as a lone knight stands his ground...

-August 31, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 83

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:26:02 -0700

He rifles through the books in his bag and wonders whether he had actually placed it in this one or the other bag or maybe even if he had altogether misplaced it somewhere else. Maybe he had left it in the locker back at school... No. He remembers slipping it between his books before crawling into bed last night. Was it between the crumpled science and the worn geography textbooks? It doesn't matter anyway. It's in this bag. Things just don't magically grow arms overnight and unzip its way out in the cover of darkness.

Not in this world at least...

-August 24, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 82

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 04:58:50 -0700

"Michael!"

The sound starts like a hiccup, but the low murmur of gasps and wheezing quickly grows into a tremor of convulsive breathing. His body has curled up to obscure the gagging expression on his face. Melanie feels a sharp shudder run up her spine and her heart thumping like a crazy tennis ball loose inside a box. She knows she has to do something! Quickly! But what?!

She reaches out to him and...

-August 10, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 81

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:11:33 -0700

"For science..."

Melanie feels like slapping herself silly. Of all the half-witted things to say! Of all the amalgamated alibis the world has manufactured, refined, and perfected for centuries, she can't believe her mouth has chosen as her excuse the stupidest pair of words that have sent more men to certain death than the black plague.

She braces herself for impact...

-August 03, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 80

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:18:15 -0700

She shoves the bowlful of salad at him. Michael protests as expected. He's a smart kid and knows when he's being led on. But he doesn't put up much of a fight anyway. She knows he's not a coward. The kid has come home from school before with a bloody lip. He doesn't fight often. In fact, quite rarely. But when he does, he always wins. "They can have the first punch," he would say, "but I'll have the last."

But like always, he lets her win...

-July 27, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 79

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:39:24 -0700

Her hand hovers a few scant centimeters over the fork. It lingers there for a brief moment, like a suspended pendulum unable to decide which way to swing towards. She looks like she's hesitating but she knows it's just a charade. She has decided before her hand has even left her side.

Her brother may not call her ruse right away but he's not stupid. Soon he'll figure it out and she'll be left out in the open...

-July 20, 2009

By Moon Alone Page 77

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:37:10 -0700

He feels like a knight on a quest, slaying one nightmare after another, scaling sky-breaching towers, disarming countless warlocks and orcs, only to find a door locked from the inside at the very end of the journey.

He hears the slithering scales through the thick walls, coiling tighter around her with each passing moment. He can save her. He can pierce the dragon's heart. But she has to open the door first...

-July 13, 2009