The nausea isn't as all-consuming as usual when I crawl in my underwear across the air-conditioned lock-up to lie gasping and perspiring at its edge. I must be acclimating to time jumps. Coherent thought's a luxury in these first few minutes so I simply wait for my breathing to steady and the shivering to kick in as the chequer plate metal floor absorbs whatever residual heat I possess. That way, at least I know I'm alive...

Choosing a lover by chance was so retro, so twenty-first century, but to hell with it. Sometimes you gotta roll the dice. By all outward appearance, she was a natural winner. Lips that could start or end wars. Hyperbolic curves that would make math majors hard. And eyes. Those fuckin' aquamarine plunge pools framed by hair like the shimmering endless blacktop alongside the diner. If I didn't know better I'd swear she was...

Her slender fingers hovered above the Enter key, wanting to do it and not at the same time. Despite the air-con, a bead of sweat made itself known beneath her plain blouse. The feelings never changed, no matter how many times she'd run the experiment. Racing pulse. Fluttering heart. The line between excitement and fear undefined. There was always the chance the parameters were wrong. Again. Another few hundred thousand wa...

I don't need reminding I'm different from the other kids, but they do it anyway, eroding my self-confidence like waves pounding the headland. Sure I wear black jeans, trench coat and eyeliner. Docs, not Converse. Trivium on my playlist over Bieber or Swift. But so what? Dad understands. Says I should live each day in the moment. Carve a niche in the world and to hell with what others think. Mum would have hated such spont...

The game always took place on the outer rim of the scorched city. An abandoned manufacturing facility long since left to decay by the authorities, far enough out that it was deemed too costly to demolish or protect from squatters, the dust, vermin and time allowed the privilege of sealing its fate. That's why it was perfect. Out of sight, out of mind. Those that picked up the coded messages advertising the date of each ga...