Hugh J. O'Donnell

We all came outside to see the captured giant when they brought him to the fort. He stood almost thirty feet high, and his head was flush with the guard tower.
They had shackled his arms and legs with thick chains, and he wore a battered helmet. Otherwise, he wore rags. He barely had a tattered loincloth and leg wraps to keep out winter’s chill.
The company rejoiced. The giant had been raiding farms throughout the hills for months.
But I was moved to pity. As soon as I saw him I knew I had to set the giant free.

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The teens had a hidden nest in the maze of fake houses behind the airbase. The buildings were from the Cold War. But now they were abandoned, half-buried out in the desert.
Gina had swiped a box of wine from her mom, and they’d driven up in Tommy’s dad’s truck. They were relieved to be away from the world for a few hours. Their place was a refuge from the pressures of the outside world and the news.
If another war came, they would at least have today.
They didn’t hear the bomb test siren until it was too late.

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The man read over the bill he received in the mail and saw red. He didn’t understand any of the legal nonsense in the letter, but he wouldn’t pay anyone a dime.
He was going to give this FeyCo a piece of his mind. He angrily punched in the customer service number.
“Good morning, this is Blossom,” A sweet, practiced soprano said. “May I have your name please?”
“Yeah, this is Douglas Jones-“
“Thank you.”
A few minutes later, the fairy disconnected the call and made a little mark in her book.
“Lord,” she chuckled. “What fools these mortals be.”

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A cherry tree appeared overnight, growing to full height in the middle of an intersection while the city slept. It pushed up through asphalt and concrete, reaching for a sky blanketed by smog.
That morning, everyone came out to marvel at the tree shedding pink blossoms and covering the hot garbage smell of the city with its sweet scent.
The city sent out a crew to chop it down. They were met by a sea of angry picnickers.
“It’s just a tree,” The kitsune said.
“And look how they defend it,” the tanuki replied. “Which neighborhood should we do next?”

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He was working on one of the massive electrical towers south of the city when the northern hills erupted.
He heard the explosion echo across the valley and smelled the sulfur as lava and ash rained on the city.
He got on his radio and got to work.
Everyone has a story from the day of the eruption. The survivors remember the loved ones that they lost. They remember their narrow escapes and rescues. But nobody mentions him.
People take it for granted that the grid never went down during the catastrophe.
But he remembers why, and that is enough.

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She made her daughter promise to be careful and to carry a knife with her in case of monsters.“But they look like us,” her daughter protested. “And they sing such beautiful songs.”“They may look like people, but their song is to lure you in. When you swim near, they will catch you in their nets, pull you out of the water, and drown you. Promise me you will be careful.”The mermaid’s daughter swam in a sulky circle. “I promise, mother.”But the mermaid was always fearful when she saw the shadow of a human boat pass overhead.

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When Harold’s sister had her first child, he quit touring and came to stay with them. She and her husband were glad for an extra pair of hands, but they weren’t sure how the now ex-roadie would do as an uncle.
To their surprise, he was fantastic. He stayed up with the baby, fed her, changed her and sang her to sleep. It was very sweet, as long as she didn’t listen to the lyrics.
The only odd thing was the pacifier he gave her. “Is that an amp dial?” his sister asked.
He grinned. “This baby goes to eleven!”

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The Elf sat at the back of the subway car, pretending to scroll through her phone. Next to her was a pair of nervous-looking Halflings. Opposite, a grumpy dwarf sat next to a dozing gym rat orc. None of them was her target.
She brought up the camera to take one of those self-photos mortals enjoyed and caught the Goblin leering at her in the screen’s reflection.
She winked at him and exited the train at the next stop. Her mark followed her up to the street, believing he was stealthy.
By morning, she’d bring down the whole kidnapping ring.

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The “Tree of Life” was a mass of red tubing, glass, circuitry, and netting that stood at the center of the Colony Habitation Ring.
None of the residents knew what it did, but Management said it was a vital part of the Life Support System, a part of the computer that kept the compound running and safe. Every so often, a resident would be called to the Tree of Life and disappear.
When they tore it all down, the residents found the Tree of Life was empty, nothing more than another trick played by Management. That just made them angrier.

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He sailed through the sky, gliding from building to building, leaving behind a trail of glittering exhaust from his jetpack assist. His helmet HUD could spot a criminal from twenty stories up.
Something was wrong with the city. That’s why he became a vigilante. It wasn’t enough to be law-abiding in a world sliding into chaos. He learned about the problems from the Vigil_NT app and knew he had to do something to help. He would bring order, both online and from the rooftops.
But he never expected the malware that took him down to come from inside his suit.

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