The Hugoverse

[WP] You are able to see how long every person you come across has to live. As you walk through the city you come across someone with only one hour left. [ Link to post .] I glanced up from my phone as I reached the bus stop, to get a quick idea of the passengers. Even one dying on the bus ride would slow my day down, but all the times checked out fine. Most of them could look forward to several long years ahead of them. One of them, a beautiful young woman with light curly hair, had a week left to live. I decided the bus ride would be fine and focused on the game I played on my phone to wait for the bus.  It wasn't easy to get used to at first, but I became numb to it. I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone turn a corner with less than five seconds left on their clock. Being constantly aware that everyone is temporary brings a sort of peace with it. I could check my own clock as easy as glancing at a mirror, but over the years I trained my mind to ignore i...

[WP] Sunday Free Write [ Link to post .] "Do you think she's okay?" Dirge asked. The two girls did not wander far from where they landed before the girl with dark curls questioned Dread. "Who?" Dread stopped walking and let her eyes roam over the empty green plain as she looked for someone in danger. "La Sirena on that last Earth. What do you think she'll do now that she's free?" Dirge asked. Dread shrugged and gave a half smirk. "Probably complain about her Paraguas being stolen," she said. Dirge posed; the white lacy parasol appeared in her hand with a flash of golden light. She gave it a gentle smooch. "Awww, she wasn't using it." Then the umbrella disappeared in another flash. "Anyway, haven't you ever been curious about what happens after you leave?" "Yeah, a few times I guess. I couldn't go back, so it never mattered." Dread said. Dirge hooked her arm in Dread's and walk...

[WP] The first fully immersive online VR game has released in which anything is possible. After months of saving you eagerly log in and hit 'random server.' [ Link to post .] Thomas Fincher smiled at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His dark brown eyes roamed up and down his mostly naked body, making sure he attached the electrodes in all the right places. He grabbed the instruction pamphlet and checked all the marked spots on the pamphlet and himself. "Wrists." He checked the golden stickers on each wrist, each had a golden AlterNet logo on it. "Temples." He looked in the mirror, the stickers appeared to be affixed in the right places. "Back of the neck." Thomas reached behind his neck and felt the textured sticker attached to where he guessed his spine connected to his head. He grabbed his phone from the grey marble counter top in his bathroom and padded out, in just his boxers, to his newly built 'Game room'. It'd taken h...

[WP] Whenever a baby is born, he or she is taken to The Armory, an ancient alien temple where each child has a unique weapon bestowed upon them, for use their whole lives. You were given a key. [ Link to post .] "Sit still!" Sam's father grabbed him by the scuff of his collar, and straightened him standing up. "Your brother's going to get his next, then we can leave." Sam tried peering over the crowd to watch his little brother's ceremony, but he was too short.  "Is he gonna get a key like me?" Sam asked a five year old's innocent question. His father shook his head.  "No. I'm sure he'll get something useful." Sam's father let the statement hang. If his wife was there she would have reprimanded him but she was busy taking their other son, Simon, to get his weapon. "Keys are useful!" Sam said. He excitedly pulled out his 'weapon' from his pocket. He waved it around like one might fly a toy ai...

[WP] You wake up alone in a motel room with no idea who you are, where you are, or how you got there. On the bedside table is a map and a choose your own adventure book. [ Link to post .] I opened my eyes, soft yellow sunlight filled my vision. A quick inventory told me I was laying down on a bed, but I didn't feel comfortable. I sat up and looked around. The place was instantly recognizable as a crappy motel room, one I wasn't familiar with. I looked down at myself. " Still got my pants on ," I thought. I didn't see any clothes in the room other than the blue jeans and black t-shirt that I wore. " Guess I'm here alone. " I decided to wash my face, but I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw my reflection. I didn't recognize the person looking back at me. His beard was grey and scraggly, his head was mostly bald. I tried remembering a better self image, but that grey bearded kook kept staring at me. He shook his head when I shook my head ...

[CW] Flash Fiction Challenge! Location: A Museum | Object: Lemonade [ Link to post .] "I don't see why I couldn't stay home," Oren complained to Eva. They stood in Grapefruit section of the Citrus Museum, surrounded by grapefruit themed sculptures and paintings. Everyone that walked by seemed to have either a smile or a refreshing drink, often both. Eva returned every smile that came her way.   "Because it's his birthday," Eva reminded the 9 year old boy. Oren wore dark black jeans and a black t-shirt. His hair met in a widow's peak on his forehead, but the rest of it was brushed back. "Quit complaining, here he comes," Eva said. Jake walked towards them holding a drink carrier with three plastic cups in it. "Everyone I've talked to on this Earth says this is the best lemonade around," Jake presented the drink carrier to allow Eva and Oren to grab a cup, then he grabbed the third one. They all took giant sips from their...

[WP] "The jailer is the key, kill him and you'll be free..." [ Link to post .] "So that's it? We just gotta kill the jailer?" Mickey hovered around Fig, the tall blue skinned troll that gave him the hint. It was Mickey's first day in the prison and he took to exploring the exercise yard when he ran into the aged troll. Fig shook his head, almost swinging one of his tusks into Mickey's fluttering form.  "You're new. You've still got hope, that's understandable. But let me tell you, ain't no way you're killing the jailer," Fig laughed heartily and gestured at Mickey, "you're not even a fighting class, you're a merchant. Maybe you can save up enough to bribe him, eh?"  "Bribe him? But isn't he one of the Forest guards?" Mickey asked. The Forest was the virtual prison they were sentenced to, destined to live out the rest of their days as player characters. A sly smile came over Fig. ...

[WP] Your job as a researcher in the facility isn't too bad. The hours are shit and the coffee maker is broken, but at least the people are nice. And the job is easy: talk to the telepathic spider, run some tests on the witch, give the eldritch god his daily newspaper, basic stuff. Describe your day. [ Link to post .] Stephen Miller sighed as he clocked in. He felt a flash of disappointment when he saw the duty roster above the time clock; his name had all the worst boxes checked off. Supply run, Feed Spider, and Hide Spider. He chuckled to himself. " Might as well be my damn pet ," he thought. He bumped into Johnny, a youngish guy with dark hair, on his way out of the break room. "Hey Johnny. We got any Spider food left?" Johnny nodded.  "Yeah, I think there's one left. Don't slack on the supply run, or there'll be trouble tomorrow." Stephen nodded. "Yeah I'll take care of it. Hey, how bout a hand with the feeding before...

[WP] Sunday Free Write [ Link to post .] Dirge and Dread followed the skeleton marked by Dread until they found Ballisea's shrine. It stopped on a hill overlooking something that resembled a stone gazebo. Black stone stairs led up to a pool of glowing crystal clear water. Five tall black pillars jutted out of the stone around the pool to support a large silver ring between them. In the center of the silver ring a beach ball sized orb of glowing red energy hovered, suspended over the water. Skeletons milled around the pool and on the ground floor in front of the stairs. Dirge and Dread sat down on a hillside overlooking the building and Dread explained what was in store for them.  "This'll be easy and awesome," Dread said. She pointed at a small golden ball of energy orbiting the red ball. "That's an Inanimate Soul. When we get the orb I'll let you keep it."  "Alright! Loot!" Dirge stood up and cheered. "Let's go get it...

[WP] "Let's just blow it up and call it a day." [ Link to post .] Dread stepped out of the black portal, and looked around. She felt glad to see signs of life dotting the dirt plain with green. She looked up and smiled at the violet sky. Dirge ran out of the portal after Dread and took in the same sights. "How come the sky isn't red?" Dirge asked.  "Either you missed," Dread began to speak, but girl with raven curls interrupted her. "I did NOT miss!" Dirge said. She gave Dread a playful shove. Dread chuckled, then finished her thought. " OR  this is still a recent conquest. Ballisea's corruption hasn't had time to set in yet."  "What if she's still here?" Dirge asked. Her orange eyes widened at the thought. Dread shrugged. "We run," she said.  "Booooo, fine." Dirge kicked at the dirt. "Anyway, let's get started. How do you find the orb?" Dread looked around...

[WP] "Tag you're it!" She giggled. "See you in a hundred years!" [ Link to post .] Dread sat cross-legged in the dirt , in front of a pitch black portal . She stopped "waiting" an hour ago and meditated to pass the time instead. A brilliant golden glow emanated from her body; its light kept an army of skeletons at bay. They surrounded her, but made no other moves as long as she continued to maintain light.  A pale girl with raven curls and orange eyes popped her head out of the blackness, but Dread's eyes were closed. "Hi! I'm Dirge!" the girl said. Dread's eyes popped open, then she stared at the head while she stood up and dusted herself off. The girl walked out of the portal . Dread extended her hand. "I'm Dread." Dirge accepted the hand and shook it, then she walked around Dread to appraise her. Dread felt conscious for the first time in her life. She stood up straighter, and ran her hand through her bone-...

[WP] They fear the light. [ Link to post .] A golden streak coursed through a field filled with hundreds of walking skeletons. The red sky drowned out the sun, but Dread ran confidently. She ignored the skeletons to focus on her objective. As she moved, the skeletons cowered away from her brilliant aura. She reached  Ballisea 's altar; her ticket off that Earth. A glowing ball of red energy, the size of a beach ball, hovered above a large decorative silver and gold ring. Purple crystals rose from the stone floor to support the shiny metallic ring. Dread smiled to herself and touched the red ball. Its energy flowed into her hand, up her arm, and into her brain. Then, a small black dot appeared in the air next to her, like an empty space in reality. It grew larger and somehow darker until it was tall enough for Dread to step through it. She jumped in without hesitation.  On the other side of the black hole Dread found another blood red sky, another world overrun by skeleto...