I came down the stairs after I heard the rumbling in the streets. Something shook my potted plant, the one my grandmother gave me before she died. It shook so hard, it fell to the ground.

Earthquakes don't happen in Chicago, and my third floor one-bedroom was luckily sturdy enough to withstand whatever caused all this motion.

The rumble happened again. This time more prominent feel. The earth began to split farther up the street. Cars rocked on their shocks.

I knew what this was, and I knew it was here for me. The shaking continued, the sky darkened. He...

It was raining. It seems like it was always raining these days. What with the movements of this air flow pattern and that air flow pattern, Chicago had been caught in the middle of a vortex. And all the moisture and condensation of the Earth seemed to dump here.

So, I waded through the puddles and small rivers forming in the streets. Cars were uncomfortably close to being a little too deep in trenches of the alleyways.

I crossed this street and that road. On my way to meet a friend, someone that I use to know. Back when the...

Hooked up to machines and pipes, I lay here, hearing my hard breathing, my hard heart beating.

I hear the beeping of a machine. I hear the sheets of my bed move together and I shift my weight from my left to my right. I hear my joints grind.

It is so loud in this room. So many things making so many noises. I can't stand it. Someone just come in here and make some actual noise. Something that an old man can be distracted with and not focus on the frivolous.

The frivolous things such as the time I...

He does not even see him. My goodness, quit taking pictures of me and turn around you moron. The hyena is laying low to the ground, covered by the brush, unless you look at him head on.

The hyena is inching closer to the human, who of course, is facing me. I need to get over there quickly.

My back condenses, and loads like a spring. SNAP. I am the fastest land animal. I should be able to get there in time.

I am off, and this feeling never gets old. The brush is tall, but not tall enough to...

We sat silently in the bunker. We received the call a few hours ago. HQ could not send back up, and the horde was descending on our location.

We held a massive attack on the base last week, but after that was thrown at us, we lost too many men to stay. But we did, as our orders were to do so.

Those bugs just would not stop coming, and apparently they hatched new creations. This time, they will win.

Julio smokes and Johnson just stares at the ground. The bunker could hold for an hour, maybe. We secured the...

The rain pounded on his jacket and head like furious warriors attempting to break the city's gates.

His paced quickened and he tried to pay attention to the drops, now falling in droves. Relentless was the water falling from the sky, and relentless was his restless mind.

A restless mind trying to forget the words spoken to him 15 minutes ago.

They say no parent should bury their child, but no parent should have to hear, "I hate you" or "I just don't want you in my life anymore."

He was a good father, when she was younger. He saw...

He was on edge today, I could tell. The whole drive over to the crime scene he was quiet. He is never quiet unless is trying to solve a case in five minutes, his ex-wife is being a pain in his ass or some thing more sinister was on his mind.

We crossed the holographic police line. It recognized our badge numbers and IDs instantly. These things save so much more time than that old, shitty tape we used years ago.

He knew who to talk to, and walked right up to the officer in charge.

"We got this boys,"...

"Wait, so he hit you?"

We had been over the story several times by now, as Carl sat down bringing a fresh round of amber colored liquid in pint glasses.

I ignored his question as I tried to figure out if this was another IPA or something different.

"Yes," I said, snapping back to reality.

"Damn dude, that fucking sucks," Carl said taking a sip of his beer.

I shook my head in agreement. Took a sip. It was the IPA. Damn that is a good beer.

"Yeah, he just snapped after I told him he was being an asshole...

She paced the living room. He would be home soon, and she had no idea how she would answer his keys in the door.

She had spent week thinking of the words, only to lose them now. Her hands were clasped as if praying were something that would work now.

"I have to do this," she thought to herself.

"I have to do this," she said to herself.

The car could be heard pulling into the driveway. A car opens. It shuts.

She freezes. Hands down at her side. She stand amongst their furniture, their pictures, their nick-knacks.

She stands...

The two of them sat there, staring at their glasses. They each had their of Johnny Walker, black for one, red for the other.

The bar tender walked by, they almost simultaneously motioned toward their glasses.

The pour seemed slow, but they paid no attention to it. Garbed in black suits, with white shirts and black ties, they hunched over their vessels, as if protecting the precious liquid from some evil darkness.

"I just can't wrap my head around it, Gabriel."

"I know Joseph."

"I mean, today was one of those days you read about, you watch in movies, man."...