is mass hysteria. Somewhere a litany just started. He can sense it on his last nerve. This was it then. He was about to die. His life flashed before his eyes and she saw how small

Whatever it was, the guy behind the counter thought it was some kind of joke.

As the most tenured sheepdog on the farm, it was Balto's duty to show the other sheepdogs how it's done.

Tommy's tiny horse trotted down the trail of time.

A pilot's prop plane puttered over the peninsula with a particular propensity to pull from the path.

would they be fine knowing the truth? Western cuisine for so long had denied and shunned the openness of Eastern cuisine. Maybe it was time to tell them the truth. Grubs are tasty.

- oh- and some cheesy garlic breadsticks. Can't forget the breadsticks. Some people think they are a scam - like paying for pizza without the pizza. Not me. The party was complete.

was a unique name. It became especially popular as the ozone layer depleted. That was all it took to get people to wake up and reverse the trend. A name. Ozona - beautiful, simple.

cism wasn't something to be taken lightly. The dog survived last time, had a demon taken hold of it again? Thank goodness for mothers. When you need a good exorcism, call your mom.

shook his head. "Was I dreaming? No, this really happened..." The CiC stood dazed and confused, realizing all the wrongs that needed to be righted. Sometimes a good knocking works.

Yet it failed, the software was buggy. The steamroller veered sideways and then shut down. Smoke rose in tendrils. Should have known better. And to think, Musk makes rockets too...

Should I decline? Who am I to judge the value of tentacles. Tentacles had their place. Primarily in the sea, or on my plate. Was this tentacle edible? Or an edifice or elucidation.

It was a cheat. Turning a creature against its own kind. A cheat as old as civilization. An effective strategy for victory. What is the Prime Directive, truly? A means for victory.

thought through these questions and more. My stomach grumbled. Food. How enigmatic. I needed to avoid being food, and yet I too needed food. Is there any left in this city? For Me?

I tossed my blanket on the floor. Enough was enough. A hair salon... It was a dream once, but not anymore. Now it was a chore. Today I would find something new. My destiny awaited.

Now this was the life. One story ended, a new one began. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Free to explore the universe. To boldly go where no man has gone before.

It was all nonsensical, that much was certain. An imagining that would never happen. Someone's dream perhaps, but whose? Was it worth pursuing? Time to move on. There's work to do.

The beast growled. It stomped and it prowled. It raised it's head, and then it howled. "Who are you to challenge me? Why do you not flee? Stubborn ilk, face me now, take my milk."

and she bowed and flaunted her prowess. The crowd went silent. AGT - we knew it was an alien genetic group. If the contests could be won, then there was hope. A hope for humanity.

sick. She always wanted me to be a doctor, and I never really saw a reason before, but I now understood. As her breathing slowed, mine quickened. She gave me life. Not once, twice.