Long ago, the wrinkled hands of the oarsmen would take the otter tails by the tips and fling them repeatedly towards the front of the boat. A lone traveler watching the rising mound of otters amidst their tails, playing quite gleefully, asked why they were thrown to the front. They replied as if asked before,…
There are those last few steps the closer you get to the edge. They are the steps where you have to summon all your power, the steps where time slows for a bit, the camera pans around you, sound expands and the glint of the sun catches the edge of your sunglasses just before you…
The old soul trundled topsy-turvy toward a hole in the air. The time bender should have seen that bear cub and butterfly when he first came through the portal. Now it may be his last time through. You see, a mama bear doesn’t think much of time travelers interrupting a family picnic. If only he…
Sounds of the throngs bent the vapid air. Grey fur and red hues mixed among family upon the large beasts taking them to an unknown land. A horn would sound – you wait for the count. One, you continue moving. Two, you stop and dismount. Three, you attack to the right. Four, you deploy the…
The mirror’s depth was infinite, reflecting from the edge of the motored hand. A splinter? No. There were more in the gears, beneath the skin and oils, beneath the circuits. It looked as close as it could, prying, picking, to pluck out all these links. Rudy Siswanto – I simply love Rudy’s style and the…
They fought off the abundance of nibbles. From left and right they came, wearing their customized little hats. Should you try to grab one and put it on your head, your fate was sealed. You would be punished unless, by chance, you were able to make your way through them to what they swore to…
The isolated stare of the bulging eyes shifted around the bottle glass. Tiny though it was, the suit it wore weighed more. Jets on each appendage, fueled by a small nuclear core, explained the hum, the crack, and the flash as it launched to pursue these links. Jordan Grimmer – Floating ruins, crashed ships, and…
The books lined the walls and hallway, some stacked, some shelved, volumes and volumes of pages oiled with time and fingers. We were not supposed to find it there, the vibrating velvet orange volume of verses. Saying it glowed, would be an understatement. Looking at it too long would start you shaking. It wasn’t the…
He was a small man with a light complexion. Always wearing that hat. Always walking down the same street with that cane, and a jug of ice tea and a pocket of change to toss in the 172 fountains he would pass on his day long walk. A day long walk, in search of these…
Grass grew long between the entrails of the building’s walls torn by the blasts and jumpjets from a millennia past. Many went there for the quiet. Others to salvage any metal remains of the defenders. We hadn’t seen any since, but once in a while the ground would quake and you’d try to convince yourself a machine would reveal…
The box flaps were open, but only slightly. The air was silent, but you could see them vibrate. Normally, you don’t look into something with vibrating box flaps. This was one of those times. We would only find out later after regaining consciousness, that millions of tiny toes exploded from the box. Toes, of these…
Once you’re running full-bore with fists extended, there’s no decision left. You may think of stopping, you may even glance from the corner of your eye–this way, that way. But, no. You ARE going to penetrate that wall of orange Jello. You’ll do it, or face the wrath of these links. Tan Zhi Hui -…
They came from his arms. Cannons more like. With such a snow falling, it wasn’t hard to see the mass firing yule logs repeatedly with a yell that deepened and shook the earth as he shot. One after another they hit the edifice. Soon, the wall would crack and we would feast, feast upon these links.…
We barreled down the street, jumpjets and engines spinning pushing dust through the alleyways and sewer grates. There was too little time to escape, adjust footing and fold another clip into the arm canon, but somehow we did it, and in one single action, fired upon the beast with these links. Tolazzi Swann – Concept…
The wraggle bunch of mufflins peeled back the fur from their eyes, peering squint-eyed and tippy toe to see just what strange concoction was in the wooden bucket. The rays had hardly burst over the horizon when they heard a squelch that turned their eye slits wide. For out of the bucket, rose the tentacles…
Down in the alley, there were always more than enough shin nibbles to go around. You never knew if you were going to walk out scarred for life, or with new rat friends singing a quintet on your forearm. Though half of them had eyes and legs missing, they certainly knew where to find the roots…
No one quite knew his age or the powers residing within the metal stump at the end of his arm. The children would say it glows just before a rain and the mouse antler swarms. Others claimed it controlled time through dust particles sifted through our nostrils, and others still, said it had the ultimate…
The chest, arms and legs all opened. Thought it took but two to control, the others were there to be transported from one farm to the next. Sickles and blades in hand, they streamed out, steam bleeding, mixing with the mist, ready to harvest the rooty riggle vooters rising from these links. Jakub Rozalski -…
The lights flooded the blades of grass, shadows of the hills falling sharp. We ran up and down, roller coasting ourselves through the mist and beams, jumping sometimes, rolling, missing the lasers shooting from their eyes just barely by grappling and swinging on the stringy back hairs of these links. Brian Sum – Ahh, what…
The dawn splintered through the trees, atop their burrows, and one by one they emerged. Covered in willow roots wrapping them through the centuries, but none the worse for wear, save a patch of fur missing here or there. So we watch from afar, and for days it went on, more emerging, more unwrapping, more…
Aha! He saw the racecar out the corner of his eye. A Toyota that looked more like a tangy gnat than kayak. ‘Enough.’ he a said, ‘If I had Hi-Fi, I could have lived on decaf, faced no devil and eaten in one sitting, a pail of these links. Paul Pepera – A simply delightful…
Ropes from trees where bottles hung, split beams of distant lights lit by the robot hoards. Unconscious they moved, on a single wheel and five arms, low, high, in between broken brick and bones, always hunting, hunting for these links. Mathieu Latour-Duhaime – Lots of lovely complex lines in all sorts of rich environments from…
His face was bone, chiseled and knobby as a bald cypress root. The rain ran between the creases, with the eerie appearance it was pouring forth from his face itself, down onto the trench coat and pistols, all caught and painted in the flashes of light from these links. The Dualyst – The artwork for…
Crackling, layers of grass snapped beneath our toes–All the way to the shore we thought we would never reach. The edge of the sky was behind us, seeming to keep up with the swarm of small, fur-laden creatures–a mat of them spreading across the valley, with the awe-amplifying, juice box convenience of these links. Wojciech…
Loosening the sap strings, he let fly the shard bow sprites. The spores of a million mosslings struck light and made way. Leaping through the branches, he pursued the fury, the roar or the fire spreading throughout the land, from the beast’s chiseled scales, and eyes metal, molten with these links. Gliulian – Far off…
The boatswain sounding his whistle called the ship to arms, and found us a tailwind with the call. It was gaining on us, visible one moment, gone the next. It wasn’t the fire, the rapacious devouring holler or the balls of moss it threw that bothered, but the constant popping of its boiling skin that…
Crooked fence posts propped up its torso and surly demeanor, clanking a grin as spindles and pumps whirred beneath the translucent neck skin. A movement would send tremors, with keg like mechanisms hitting the ground and spreading light from the cracks of these links. Ivan Smirnov – Super playful, colorful scenes full of all sorts…
Around the castle it crept, a small, yet indecipherable gurgle of bones shifting. It was tall, lanky and faceless, yet with a whistle like a canary heard after a jolt of these links. Slava Triptih – HE has a way with ink. Beautiful black cloud spray portraits and even more ink illustrations and artwork. Little…
Sitting betwixt the legs of the elderberry roots, its eyes peered out. Not one, or two, or three, but eight at least, moving separately, then together, watching. Low to the ground, it moved, feelers out, stuffing mushrooms and cantaloupes into its pouches, preparing a spice to make from these links. Su Jian – Mesmerizing environments…
Jumped off the ledge, the hammer fell, the blast rang out and the monstrosity of a caterpillar was no more. Usually smaller, but this one had been feasting. We hadn’t determined what the supplement may have been quite yet, but there were hints and a small trail leading back to these links. Alexis Rives -…
The trees towered, a grove of five just in front of us, a path around, and a trail of its fur, scales and laughter all along. We drew our bows, activated the trackers and readied ourselves to fire at these links. Cinta Vidal – In love with the architecturally surreal, perspective twisting, structure and nature…
The blades buckled beneath the yarn. Paws were not meant to be that dexterous, but his training in the textile arts had surpassed even that of the nomadic mural weavers of old. Together with his swordsman-like bladework, he would weave a scene like never before, a scene threaded with these links. Oh Ji Hoon -…
Somehow, we were able to chop our way through the tendrils. As they grew back, a vocalizing noise of business lingo, land management deals and making strawberry metropolitans echoed around us–apparently an affect of consuming the entire downtown business district, too many printer cartridges and these links. Kevin Peterson – A contrast of innocence against…
The Crumbling Cliffs. That’s where the creature lived, but nary a soul had seen it. Oblong-shaped and bent, with a single leg and, what looked like, a meat slicer off each side of a small container of fizz which strangely enough and quite magically allowed it to dispense endless amounts of these meaty links. Sleepypang Li -…
Captured in the rain and looking toward the hill, we ran. The rumble of the swarm oscillated with the falling water to the point we couldn’t hear our own footsteps. It might as well have been the silence of white noise, and suddenly… it was. For out of the hill rose a beast with a…
He was a kind old soul, trudging to and fro. Where there wasn’t a path, he would spend days making one with his wooden spoon, large feet and a whistle you had only to hear once to remember forever. With the grass and branches he did something strange though. Bundled them up and set ablaze…
We wrapped a few of them in toasted cheese curdles and a donut. “Don’t worry, you’ll realize the potential after you taste it.” That’s what she kept saying, but we were not convinced. Food just shouldn’t look like that, and the way they exploded if you handled them too rough? Well, it only made it…
We would pop a few over the fence, just to hear the reaction. It was usually a grumble of sorts, a low guttural sound of pre-digested enzymes breaking down the fats. We had yet to see it, until one day, when we bound ten together around a ball of butter. Lowering it slowly, we saw…
We had already eaten our fill when they wheeled out the largest bucket we had ever seen–it’s why they had removed the wall and fitted that senile, old robot lady with two railgun arms. The smell was yeasty, but soon forgotten after they handed us our bibs, and a fork for each hand. They told…
The muscles tightened before we could even jump. It was high, but shorter than the last fall. It’s the last 20 feet that gets you. Hitting the thrust reversers at just the right moment, so you don’t finish the descent with a splintered femur, or disturb the beast by charring the landing pad, that is…
Flipping along the line, high above the glassy churn, the wisps hit the wind before finding their way onto our arms. Being this high was never a problem. It’s when we neared the surface that the fear sunk in. They looked like glass, cut like glass, but their sound was much more like these links.…
In total, there were enough to overtake us blindfolded with all of their whip-arms tied behind their backs. But we had a tub of things they would never suspect. A toothbrush used by Neil, A hollow can enchanted with cat tears by a welder named Larry, two tufts of hair pulled from the back of…
They flared. We stepped back. Who know what those things could have done. There were stories of them taking the skin right off you, clothes still on. What seemed so strange is what they were lined with. Yes, it was strange. And true. The nostrils were lined with these links. Wojtek Fus – Wow environments.…
“Tim! Shut the door!” Brin always made the crew nervous before a launch. She was on edge most the time, but always after a particularly messy run in with Lorackian pod hoppers from the outer reaches. This time, we would all be strapped in, ready to fire the blast rockets, when the attack came. We…
It rose, within a wave, and the shrieks were muffled but a second before the water shed from the five orifices, gasping the air and wrenching the deepest guttural sounds ever heard. We readied our blades, we steadied our base and triggered the liquid that would slay the beast with the oil of these links.…
Blasts of fur sent bits and stings rippling across our bony structure. They were no match for us. However, we didn’t expect what they had, lain and buried beneath the loose soil we tread upon unknowingly. The burn was intense, like biscuits soaked in the gravy of these links. Teun van der Zalm – Nebulas.…
Tendrils stretch between the slender thicket, lining the path, worn through over the centuries. The smell was like oranges, but slightly rancid. That when we saw it sitting there. Large, half-blind of years without light, thumbing an Outdoor Living magazine, and gnawing on these links. Antonis Karidis – Incredible set of aircraft–real, conceptual and spacebound–with…
When we pulled them from our pockets, sopping wet, ready to be hurled through the blades, we didn’t realize how many we needed. Then it happened. In one fell swoop, hundreds landed around us carrying thousands more milk balls, contained solely by the mesh-like energy of these links. Wadim Kashin – Absolutely delicious impressionist style…
We jumped two by two into each puddle. It could have gone on all day, poppin’ and hoppin’ like those small, mechanical bugs we would squish on the walls, just to see them spark and explode. Those bugs. Yes, the same we use to ride in the summers. But the memory of what happened between…
The cheese was curdled and it took all you could just to throw it far enough. After all, think of what would happen if you didn’t. Now was the time of thieve-meal, when anything was free to be taken no matter the cost, when the air was unbreathable and moss grew on all sides of…