Hugh J. O'Donnell

The witch left seeds out for the birds every morning.
At first, the blackbird avoided it, certain that it was poison. He would watch the other birds peck at the seeds, heedless and twittering, and watch what happened to them.
When they didn’t fall over dead, he hopped to a closer branch, watching carefully for her cats to come tearing out of a dark corner to pick off a straggler.
When they didn’t appear, he flew to the edge of the feeder.
He would take her food, but never forgive her for the curse changed his form from a man’s.

The woods outside of the village was a ‘soft’ place. The occasional hiker went missing, but strange and wondrous objects could be found among the misty pines.
A cottage industry grew around the site, catering to thrill seekers and treasure hunters. Things went well for many years. A few people got rich, a few people went missing, but for the most part the village simply prospered.
Until the scout appeared with his loose clothes and strange weapons. He surveyed the village and spoke into a device on his wrist.
“The portal is stable and resistance minimal. Send the army through.”

The Alien Commander stood and watched the workmen tear down the galaxy. He’d have liked to sit, but his Star Throne had already been removed.
He heard a polite cough and turned to see the Plucky Junior Officer standing beside him. They hadn’t worked together much, so he’d never noticed how young he was.
“What will you do next?” the kid asked.
“Go back to the Theatre, I suppose. You?”
“I dunno.”
“Let me give you some advice. Your first series is always special, but nothing lasts.”
Someone in the control booth flicked a switch, and the stars winked out.

The dryad sat curled in a high branch of her tree, with a pile of swords resting near the roots.
“Where did you get those?” A passing faerie asked.
“The knights gave them to me.”
“And what did you give them?”
“A quest, of course. What else?”
“A quest for what?”
“I had some ideas about establishing trade routes. I convinced them all to become merchants.”
“Why?”
“I like spicy food, and I haven’t been free to travel in centuries.”
“But who will defend the kingdom?”
“Don’t worry, the ladies will be arriving for sword practice in a few minutes.”

The wizard descended from the sky and rejoined his companions. “My friends! The Sorcerer King is all but defeated! I have met him in magical combat, and bested him. Even now, the cur flees, but if we hurry, we can cut off his escape!”
The rest of the party glanced around awkwardly.
“What is it? Don’t tell me you’ve all lost your resolve!” he said peevishly. The cleric set a mirror down in front of him, and the wizard finally noticed that he had been transformed into a chicken. “Huh. Well, strap a couple wands to me and let’s go!”

She eased her ship into a docking orbit with the dead asteroid and inspected her home for damage.
From the outside, the mining colony didn’t look too bad. You wouldn’t know that everyone inside had died catastrophically.
It had started out as a peaceful miner’s strike. Corp news nets called them riots and sent a platoon of security officers to ‘resolve the escalating violence.’ Something ignited the colony’s atmosphere three hours later.
The corp labelled it a terrorist action by the strikers. She was going to find out the truth, and show the whole system who the corp really was.

“If you want to be the best,” she said, climbing into the seat of the contraption. “You have to think big. Even if you’re a bicycle thief!”
“It’s certainly big,” I said. The pile of wheels, gears and pedals stretched ten feet high.
“The Omnicycle is a work of genius! Every stolen bicycle will become a part of the frame! I’ll steal entire racks at once!” She cackled and began peddling furiously. She was almost to the gate before two gears locked and threw her from the seat.
“There may be some kinks to work out,” she said.
“Do tell.”

He returned to base grinning like a fool and fiddling with an old pocket watch.
“Hey, where’d you get the fancy watch?” One of the other soldiers asked.
“So I’m in the city and I see this girl running from two creeps, right? I step in, and get her out of there, and one thing leads to another, and the next morning she runs for the train and forgets her watch.”
“You’re full of shit.”
“Nah, man. I’m going to find her after the war.”
“Whatever. You probably found it in a pawns shop.”
The watch exploded two days later.

The girl lay on the bed, asleep, but unquiet. She tossed and turned in the darkness, haunted by unpleasant dreams.
Her nightmare was curled up beside her on the mattress. It was a vague and formless thing, built from her fears and anxieties. It bristled with spines and claws. Needle teeth protruded from its maw.
It lay still and watched her through inhuman eyes. It took in her bedroom, and saw past it to the places a human couldn’t. It saw the things stalking her.
It was her nightmare, and it loved her. It would keep her safe from harm.