The GPS had stopped being helpful three miles ago, leaving me with nothing but my hand-drawn map and the sound of gravel crunching under my tires. My breakup had left a hole in my life, and my office job was a slow-motion blur of spreadsheets. I need...

The research facility had seen better days. Liz cast wary eyes about the domed living quarters, once pristine white, now tarnished by swathes of lilac mulch. The farcical squid-like abomination clamped to the hull was slowly infesting the interior, l...

Adrenaline buzzed through Lena's veins. The outpost's perimeter had been breached, and she and Liz had only just escaped the living quarters in time. Hearing shrieks from beyond the bespattered door, she smiled in sympathy. Jen and Sarah hadn't been...

I creaked my eyes open, rubbing out the sleep and staring blindly into the near pitch black bedroom. A small shimmer of light gleamed in through the cotton voile that draped over the window. A clear night sky let through a beam of moonlight that allo...

The transition from silk sanctuary to bakery explosion happened in exactly 0.4 seconds. One moment, I was drifting through a deep sleep, dreaming of my last 24 hours of boring normal living to crazy messy fun, I was getting butterflies and certainly...

This is inspired by a clip from an old Spanish gameshow I saw on Youtube. In their version the contestant wore a suit that would have kept the mess out, mainly, and a swimming cap and goggles. I felt there could be improvements. -------- Friday Nig...

I turn off my car and sit in the parking spot for a few minutes to settle my nerves and excitement. I'm parked close to an alley that leads to an unmarked back door to a barely known club. The name on the email invite reads, welcome to Club Hum for...

It was early October 1995 and I returned to the club after being on holiday for a few weeks. I had been in the Canary Islands and had a deep tan. The sun had bleached my short, newly cropped hair which was now white blonde. I had missed the messy Sat...

Steam wafted lazily around the cabin's stout rafters. In an open-topped shower cubicle, Sarah closed her eyes and lifted her face into the spray. Water burbled softly through a drain in the floor, until a twist of a dial brought it to a sputtering st...

The afternoon sun was relentless, the kind of Texas heat that turns a casual backyard hang into a test of endurance. Julian stood by the edge of the turquoise pool, debating whether the effort of changing into trunks was worth the reward of a swim. H...

A Dinner to Remember The dining room was a temple of wealth--high ceilings with intricate crown molding, a chandelier encrusted with hundreds of tiny crystals that cast shimmering rainbows across the room. The aroma of roasted garlic, thyme, and b...

I was very pleased with my first embassy party event. The host seemed very happy and there was definitely enough food and drink to go around and people had indeed asked what our company did. I felt that the event had fully justified my buying a new...

Tanya picked up a large and deep custard tart. "Oh no.." I muttered looking at this huge dessert. "Now Ira" said Tanya with a broad grin "Katya wanted me to mention the importance of financial controls and thought something like this" Tanya glanced...

I could make no reply! But Tanya just slapped the pie in my face anyhow! The pie was a substantial one firmly delivered. Thick cream covered my face and some ended up in my hair and splattered down the front of my dress. Tanya tossed the pie dish to...

One day I entered the gym with a swimming pool, wearing a completely blue tracksuit, I lifted my tracksuit pants a little with my hands and sat down on a bench. In the gym, a boy was doing gymnastics, T.S., wearing a shiny black sauna tracksuit. Whi...

To the public, Kana Arima was a vision of poise and success. They saw the red carpets, the high-fashion spreads, and the polished performances that had defined her career since she was a child. They envied the fame and the fortune, but they never saw...

The Third Session Beth sat on the edge of their bed, her mind drifting back over the past few weeks. The first session had been playful, almost silly--a trivia game where she'd "won" and pied Michael instead of herself. She'd been too nervous then, t...

Note: This is another mini-finale marking the end of Act 2. Like before, I'll wait a few weeks before posting the final batch of stories. If you want to read in stages, the best place to pause is after The Event. If you've been following this series,...

Beth stood in front of the full-length mirror, adjusting the hem of her orange shorts for the third time. The Hooters uniform was authentic--she'd found it online last month and Michael had immediately suggested it for a stream. The brown tights hugg...

The fluorescent lights of Goodwill buzzed overhead as I trailed behind Michael through the aisles of secondhand clothing. My mind wasn't on the racks of faded jeans and dated blouses, though. It was back home, in our living room, imagining what Micha...

It's Friday and Ira has had a hard week including a few messy pranks; a cake on her chair, an exploding custard parcel, her face pushed in a chocolate cake, amongst others! Ira is pretty sure that Elena the office manager and Maria from banking are...

Sure enough the pies go in both faces at the same moment! Ira had carefully chosen the pies and they are devastatingly messy pies. Cream pie mess thickly plasters both girls faces with mess in their hair and down the front of their dresses! Both Ele...

Elena clears her eyes of pie mess. She takes a moment to look down her own dress as if somehow she needs confirmation of what has befallen one of her favourite garments. After this Elena steps over to the food trolley and selects a huge bowl of spagh...

I stood in front of the bedroom mirror, studying my reflection with critical eyes. My long brown hair cascaded over my shoulders in loose waves, the color of roasted chestnuts, catching the afternoon light that filtered through the curtains. My face...

I had been the area manager for a group of restaurants for about five years, having been promoted through the ranks from having been a waiter as a summer job. The restaurants were pretty basic family establishments, you would know the sort where you...