Robin J. Harrison

The fire bathed his face in an uncomfortable heat. The closer the fire spread, the warmer he became.     Yet he could not move. He was stunned into paralysis by what he had just summoned. Before him sat the single most handsome man he had ever seen.     "Greetings. My name is Hades." The handsome man grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth, which were noticeably sharper than any human's Dan had ever seen before.     "Hi, I'm horny- I mean I'm Dan." Dan's face flushed a deep red at the embarrassment that washed over him.     Hades laughed a deep, rumbling laugh. A full, happy laugh. One that comes from the gut. Like Santa Clause. Except it wasn't a 'ho ho ho', it was a deeper, more gravely laugh.     "Did you summon me just to satisfy you, human?" At least Hades sounded amused by this whole situation. Dan had gotten lucky.     "Yes- I-I-I mean no! I didn't even mean to summon anything- er- anyone. I just found this o...

 Ken awakes as a groggy mess. He's had that exact same dream again. The one where the woman whom he doesn't know bleeds to death in his arms, and as she's choking on her own blood, she begs him to not blame himself. He's never understood why he has this dream so often, but it's a little concerning.  He considers bringing it up to his therapist as he stumbles from his room to the bathroom to get his day started. Once he's able to shake the cobwebs of his nightmare off his brain and get some caffeine in his system, he's on his way to work.  Halfway through his shift at the café he's pretty much forgotten his dream and he's gotten into a groove of busting tables, taking orders, and making drinks when a new face walks in. Only, it's not entirely new to him.  She's the woman from his dreams. It's nice to see her not covered in blood. She gives him the same look of bewilderment and slight freight he's sure he has to be giving to her. As she...

 The way the setting summer sun frames her pink hair makes the way she tosses her head back to laugh at my terrible pun seem that much more beautiful. A soft breeze blows over the pond and tousles her hair gently, bringing the scent of honeysuckles with it. "You know," She says, her voice still light with laughter, "I don't understand why you stay by yourself so much. You're so kind and funny." I want to tell her that I'm only like this to her. I want to tell her that I cherish her and I love her, and her patience in getting to know me and allowing me to open up on my own terms made me love her all the more. I want to tell her that I feel trapped and claustrophobic when I'm around too many people. I want to tell her that I stutter over the simplest of words when I have to go to a fast food chain and order a burger, and the anxiety gets so much worse when I'm around people I want to impress. I want to tell her I'm not confident enough speaking...

  The way the light of the setting sun washed over his face as he animatedly explained the plot of this new book in his favorite series made John look radiant, Thomas would go so far as to say divine, even, and when the light breeze blew John’s shaggy, chestnut brown hair out of his face, revealing his adorable freckles, Thomas almost felt his heart explode. Thomas wanted to tell John he loved him, but the thought of John being quiet, even just long enough to listen, didn’t seem worth it. So, Thomas just admired the man next to him on the pier, falling more and more in love with every syllable John spoke. “Boys!” The two men looked behind them to Susan, pushing the baby stroller past the pier. “It’s getting late, the twins are asleep, let’s go home!” John smiled at Thomas, who smiled back. They nodded to each other, and walked off the pier, hand in hand, back to their girlfriend.  During the short walk, Thomas squeezed John’s hand, trying to transfer all of his affection for J...

  She knew he was an undead abomination er- a vampire. She had started completely avoiding him at all costs after he had told her, her necrophobia getting in the way of interacting with him normally anymore. Unfortunately, this professor’s random pairing for this project had forced her to be with him. Naturally, she sat as far away from him as she could while still technically being at the table.  “Jess…”  Her blood ran cold when he addressed her, but he sounded so utterly defeated that she couldn’t help but feel bad for him. She decided to let him talk. “I… I’m really sorry I scared you. You talked a lot about your love for paranormal romance novels, and how your favorite trope in them was the vampire that feels displaced in time, so I wrongly assumed that you would be excited to learn about who I am, forgetting that Who I Am is, well, a monster to most people.  “I should have waited to tell you until we were in a more public area. I know you must have been so ter...