Note: this post was from Jan 1., which is the reason for the title. I will be posting the stories I wrote in the past week over the course of a few days until I am caught up. I will still be writing stories each day (as I did today), but I won't post them for a few days - to avoid messing up the order on the blog.

Enjoy!

 

Forgiven
He forgave her. It hadn’t been her fault, nor his. It was their doing all along, those deceivers. He held out his arms, and they embraced one another, sharing tears of many emotions—fear, anger, and…joy.

 

The Ocean
Young Jim stood on the beach, watching the tide wash up the sand, then retreat. Last time he’d stood here…the memory was obscured in fog, but he could remember small details. Harsh lights scattering the darkness. The desperate pleas of those who held him dearly. Then…nothing.

 

Time
Gwen was out of time. She had to leave now. “Phil, we gotta go. Now.”
Phil—a man in his late 30s with a short beard—looked up from where he was hurriedly stuffing supplies and mementos in a nondescript duffel bag. “Just one more moment.”
“No,” Gwen said, walking over to Phil, “we’re out of time.”
Phil looked regretfully around the dark room before nodding and standing up. Together, they crept through the dark rooms of the now-abandoned once-home. They avoided the creaky steps—memorized long ago—as they descended into the basement. Gwen remorsefully thought of how they’d never gotten around to renovating the basement. There was no time for such thoughts. Gwen in the lead, they carried their duffels over to the hidden trapdoor. Gwen set hers down and opened it, then they dumped their duffels and climbed down the wooden ladder into the tunnel. Phil closed the trapdoor on his way down—anything that delayed their pursuit was welcome. Gwen and Phil then hurried through the cramped and uneven dirt tunnel—toward escape.

 

Airborne
The virus was airborne. Ruby immediately began holding her breath, hoping it wasn’t too late. She hastened in her task, flipping switches and typing away on the old-school keyboard. She had to stop the virus before it spread too far. The people who had engineered it were likely safe in a fallout shelter somewhere—vaccines in their bodies—wearing those specially-designed masks and plenty of emergency cures, just in case. The rest of the population wouldn’t be so fortunate.
Ruby’s lungs began burning, begging for oxygen. She couldn’t comply, not with the virus in the air. She began to feel dizzy as she executed commands on the ancient computer, nearly finished. Ruby hoped this would stop the distribution of the airborne virus. As for what was already released…she was doing what she could. She held on long enough to run the final sequence of commands, then all went black as the lack of oxygen caught up to her.

 

Flashes
The group of friends stood smiling together in the dark and empty parking lot, excitement in the air, as they posed for the group photo. One rejoined the others after balancing the phone on the car and setting the timer. The phone flashed its white light as it captured the moment, and the group dispersed, one retrieving the phone. The air turned to terror as they looked at the photo.

 

Snake
His heart beat quicker as he read the text on his laptop screen. How did it know? He looked around his dark bedroom, lit only by the glow of his computer and the Snake window that was displayed on it. DON'T TRY ANYTHING. PLAY THE GAME. “Can you hear me? What the hell is this?” The text already on the screen simply blinked once, as if returning his attention to it. He reluctantly reached down to the arrow keys and started playing the game. He had no idea what he was getting himself into.

 

Seized 
Her chest tightened, heart beginning to race. She felt an overwhelming sudden panic. Not again, she thought as it seized her. Her phone slipped from her shaking fingers as she began to hyperventilate. She pulled the covers close, shrinking back into her pillows. She shut her eyes and tried to calm down, but found it impossible. Her phone buzzed, but she ignored it. She was unable to think clearly. This was the worst one yet.

 

Empty
I flipped through my grandmother’s diary, but was met with only empty pages. Ivy rubbed against my legs, and I reached out to stroke her fur with one hand. Why would the diary be empty? I reached the last page—empty, of course—and set down the worn journal. I shook my head and began picking up books to put them back on the shelves, reminiscing on all the pages waiting to be read. I stopped at one that caught my attention: Hidden Writing: The Art of Ciphers in Journals. I lifted the front cover and scanned the contents. The Caesar Cipher, Mirrored Script... Ah! Invisible Ink. Could it be?

 

Cyborg
It had been only a week since Cerise had awoken to find herself a cyborg, and she was still getting used to the strangeness of it all. The doctors had told her that she’d been found under the pile of rubble from the Accident. Cerise, along with several others, had been saved using the new cybernetics technology. She still couldn’t remember much of what had happened, but she was grateful that the doctors had done what they’d done.
Cerise awkwardly walked on her metal legs through the city streets, wondering how long it would take to get used to it all. The doctors had assured her it would only take a week or two, yet the technology was also largely untested. And so, Cerise made her way into the doctor’s office for her daily checkup. Her ability to walk and move had improved enough that she didn’t need to stay at the hospital anymore, and so she was staying at an apartment that the city was paying for in recompense.
“Ah, Cerise, you’re here,” said one of the doctors, the kindly woman from before. “Have a seat.”

 

Ideas Innumerable
Alex had innumerable ideas. Too many to write down, but he would try anyway. As he pulled the car into his driveway, Alex hastily turned off the car and quickly walked to the front door. He fumbled with his keys, hands shaking with adrenaline. At last, he got the door open and rushed to his desk, where he got out his laptop, waiting impatiently as it started up. After what felt like an eternity, he opened up a new document and started typing.
With each idea Alex typed down, another two appeared in his mind. He typed feverishly, fingers moving of their own accord. Soon, he felt limited by the computer, and so he got out a sheet of paper and a pen. Perfect. Now he could draw those sketches, diagrams, arrows, circles, and anything imaginable. Now he needed more paper. He reluctantly removed himself from his desk, shaking hands searching for that stack of paper he kept. He found it, setting the whole stack down on his desk.
And resumed his writing.

 

The Child
The child lay alone in a field, watching birds flit in the blue sky above. He was peaceful, for the moment. In that field, on a warm summer afternoon, he found it easy to forget and let the time pass.

 

Correspondences
Important
Carl,

I believe that I have figured it out. We must meet ASAP to discuss this new method. Please respond promptly.

Sincerely,
Jane

Jane Rhine
Head of Research
[email protected]

Temporal Research Laboratories (TRL)

* * *

Re: Important
Jane,

Really!? Wow. I’m busy today, but should be free tomorrow morning. We could discuss it over coffee, maybe 9am?

Best,

Carl

Carl Hendrick
Assistant Head of Research
[email protected]

Temporal Research Laboratories (TRL)

* * *

Re: important
That works, thank you.

Jane

 

Welcome
Welcome, the wooden sign read in peeling red paint, to your DOOM! Roy was not scared. This would just be like any other “scary” amusement park. I bet they just have cheap robots or lame “actors,” Roy thought as he walked through the night air past the metal gates. There, he found a stand where a bored-looking woman would be collecting entrance fees. He walked up to her and—after trying to decipher the cracked paint which would’ve had the price—asked ”how much?”
“Five bucks,” she said dispassionately.
Only? Well, Roy supposed he could expect that from a cheap place like this. He fished out a fiver and handed it to the woman, then continued on toward the attractions.

 

Silent
Isaac froze, one leg already through the window. It was never silent. There were always sounds of life. Neighbors chatting. Cars driving by. Dogs barking. Isaac lifted his leg out of the window and scanned his surroundings. Nothing. No people. No dogs. No cars. Where was everyone? Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t remember seeing anyone on his way home from work. He had been so immersed in his favorite podcast that he didn’t notice it at the time, but now it stood out. A quick look told him that all the lights were out—which normally wouldn’t be too notable, but now only added to the eeriness. He got out his phone to text Travis, one of his neighbors and friends, but there was no service. Something was definitely going on. Suddenly, there was wind—stronger than usual—whistling and shaking the trees. He glanced up at the grey sky and saw dark clouds gathering. A storm?

 

Sorry
“S-sorry? What are you talking about?”
I cannot say.
“Why…why not?”
…
“Please, I—”

 

Not Present
It should be there! Why isn’t it there? The whole roadside is empty, not a hint of what I hoped to see. The helicopter is practically on top of me now, so I desperately look for something, anything, that can get me out of this. They can’t take me. If they do…

 

Fire
The Fire’s heat was so very strong. Even from here, I could feel the waves of heat radiating from the roaring flames—still ravenous, despite having devoured so much. I had to find a way to stop it. The Fire could not be allowed to consume the rest of the continent, leaving ashes as the only indication of what had once been.

 

Untamable
The beast was untamable. It shook the metal bars of its cage, growling deeply. It couldn’t get loose again…not after what happened last time. It looked almost like a bear, though it had tough skin and shell covering its face. It had destroyed the bars of its last cage, treating them as if twigs—easy to snap.
Hopefully this new cage would hold it until…until the decision was made on what to do with it.

 

Shivers
Hannah was cold. She shivered as she pulled on her favorite hoodie and climbed under the covers of her bed. The cold didn’t abate. She shivered again, curling up and trying to get warm. Why was she so cold? It felt as if a cold but gentle breeze were blowing under the covers and finding its way to her skin.
Hannah continued shivering, wondering when she would feel sweet warmth again. Eventually, she found her eyelids drooping, and kept starting awake, not knowing she’d nodded off. In her bed—leaning against the headboard and pillows—Hannah succumbed to sleep.

 

Warmth
He felt an indescribable warmth emanating from…somewhere. It wasn’t the type of warmth that made one sweat, no. This was the warmth swept from him all worries, the kind that slowed a racing heart, that soothed rage. He was standing on a sidewalk, people streaming around or with him, depending on their level of urgency. At that moment, he no longer felt the urgency of those surging ahead of him, yet he didn’t quite feel the distractedness of those who began beside him and slowly fell behind.
He felt serene.

 

Water
Josh needed water. He was sweating, mouth dry. He longed for cold water to run down his throat, soothing it. Unfortunately, there was none to be found. Not in this desert. And so, Josh continued his trek through the hot sand, legs already numb from hours of walking.
* * *
Hours later, Josh finally collapsed in a sandy heap.

 

Static
…anyone…hear…
…repeat: can…hear me?
…emergency…help…
…

 

Inaudible
[00:00] Speaker 1: I’m just going to ask you a few questions, alright?
[00:04] Speaker 2: I know what you’re up to.
[00:06] S1: Oh?
[00:07] S2: You [inaudible]. [inaudible].
[00:15] S1: My, what an accusation. Too bad [inaudible].
[Pause 00:25–00:31]
[00:32] S1: You might as well cooperate.

 

That's all for now, but I'll be posting the next two or so days' worth of stories tomorrow!

- Theory