(Warning: This story contains mentions of attempted suicide. If this is something you don’t wish to read about, please return to the archives here.)

Seven more freeways, he thought with a grimace. Seven more freeways until he could get out of the storm for a breath or two. Normally, this should have given him relief, even a spring in his step – a dry place in the middle of the heavy rains? May as well be heaven.
Paul shook his head to clear the water from his eyes. If the amount of Waterbacks and Watchers out were any indication, being indoors could be as risky as facing one of the Reclamation’s mutanta. The thought that being drenched outdoors with a few metres of clear view was more ideal than the safety of a roof and walls gave Paul pause; would the risks of theft or violence really outweigh the benefit of a dry spot?

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The cottage stood empty on the bluff, wind whistling through long-broken shutters as a fine mist descended from the thin clouds. Occasional god-rays shone through, which was as sunny as it got this time of year. The cottage on the hill was, like most structures, derelict – abandoned years ago and nowhere near salvage or food to bother fixing up. As such, it made for a fantastic bird perch, as well as hideaway for one individual.

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This is the third in a series of short stories set in a shared universe: Earth has been pummeled by heavy storms for twenty years, and the governments left over have adapted by genetically manipulating (and in some cases, Inventing) creatures to help them survive the onslaught of rain and wind. After two decades, the storms have diminished, but the changes are too significant to return to the status quo so easily…

Soft summer droplets plinked off of cars and roofs as the figure stalked along the road, silent and nigh invisible in the dim twilight rain. Its tongue flitted out of its lips like a lizard’s, sniffing at the air while the large frame that bore it lumbered elegantly through the brush on the side of the road. IT had been tracking something, or someone, but it had forgotten who or what. It had been tracking them for a long time, was all it knew. Read more

This is the first in a series of short stories set in a shared universe: Earth has been pummeled by heavy storms for twenty years, and the governments left over have adapted by genetically manipulating (and in some cases, Inventing) creatures to help them survive the onslaught of rain and wind. After two decades, the storms have diminished, but the changes are too significant to return to the status quo so easily…

Read more