Samuel Bowen

“Project Un: Archive 471” by Samuel Bowen

“I’ve condemned a man to a hell before hell, and I feel nothing.” - Captain’s log, R. Gunson, Paradigm Prime[Date: ERROR unsynced with U.R. Standard][Subject:EIU01][Bio: REDACTED][Vital Status: Stable][Species: Unknown][Days held: ERROR Exceeds Allowable Input][Chamber status: Stable][Cam 1: On][Mic 1: On][Archive LT: Live][Designation: Protocol 4_Variant Detainment]Archive 471 retrievedAudio file foundPlayback initiated.An idle mind is a dangerous thing. I am no longer a man. I am a beast. Further becoming mindless as eternity stretches bef...

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“Project Un: The Whisper of the Stars” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #210

“There are whispers in the stars; A prophecy of things unknown. For the observer, it is chance and circumstance, but to the believer… to the fanatic, it is truth.” - Captain’s log, R. Gunson, Paradigm Prime Sebi, Daughter of Medai, Daughter of Shura, did not like the desert. Of all the many complaints one could have of the wasteland devoid of pleasantries, Sebi disliked only the solitude. Discomfort, hardship, and danger, these things are unavoidable, but solitude is not. If one is alone, they can find companionship in animals. One can fi...

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“Death of an Angel” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #181

Aether, of the Angels of Eldenar knelt by his bedside, repeating to himself the Mandates Unbreakable. A breeze from the open window dared to silence his whispering devotion. Today was an ill day. To Aether, the air reeked with the smell of heathen magics. He knew the scent well, for it was his duty to stamp out such evil. The unseen energy flowed through the morning like a river of power. It urged Aether to feel it, to keep it... To use it. "Do not indulge in the power of the Forbidden." Aether said, breaking the near silence. This was the f...

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“Lancer” by Samuel Bowen

          The cigar fell to the ground with a muffled thump unnoticed by an uncaring world. The sunken eyes of Lord Zenith Crux kept their gaze on the scattering of ashes that lay at his feet. His fingers remained outstretched holding silent air instead of the cigar. Crux rubbed his fingers together, unsurprised at the complete lack of feeling between his calluses. He didn't mind the sightlessness of the dead nerves, but dropping cigars was quite bothersome to clean up and this time the ashes...

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“Til Dusk Do Us Part” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #174

The elegant and noble gaze of Caul Ebb remained transfixed on the smatter of blood and gore that coated his hands. A corpse lay at his feet drooling bile onto his well polished shoes. The face was unrecognizable and barely attached to the shredded remnants of the body. The grey flesh hung limp and bloodless, fluttering like flags in the wind. Caul watched as liquid trailed down his fingers and dropped like rain watering the corpse beneath him. The night’s wind gifted him the putrid pungency of death in a vile breath of a breeze. At the horri...

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“A Boy of Glass” by Samuel Bowen

In the land of Everdream, there was a boy in a world of glass. There were not four walls to his world, but rather a rippling dome of reflection. It shimmered like a bubble, transparently separating him from the ‘Out There’. Out There was a nasty place, full of nasty things and nasty creatures. Yet within this world of glass, the nastiness stayed away. Here, every color was potent, every sound pleasant, and everyone… Everyone stayed indoors safe with their families.  The boy wasn’t in charge, there was government and rules and that sort...

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“An Odd Comfort” by Samuel Bowen

"Ma'am, I didn't order anything," The man said having been stirred from his thoughts by the sound of a full mug placed next to him. His unkept hair shrouded his face in a veil of unwashed blond locks. The waitress looked back at him with a faint smile."You look like you need a drink," She said."I can't pay-""It's on the house," She said before disappearing in the swarm of drunken customers stumbling through the pub. He was left staring at crowd of jeering and swearing idiots bumping into each other. The pen slipped from his hand, turning his...

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“Madabaladun” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #139

TW: This is meant to be Lovecraftian Horror. It describes a very unwell state of mind along with the vague elution to drug use/misuse and is written to be disturbing. November 1st If I am honest, there is no starting point that truly began the madness I have seen. Every fiber of my being denies the terrible need to record the events that have taken place, and yet my sanity begs for a fragment of reality to confirm the horror that will forever haunt my memory and mind. No one should know, and yet if not, then my torment is but doubled in aban...

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“RavenWolf” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #105

"The winds of winter guard my home, swirling and surrounding me in a shield of nature itself. No beasts hunt in the rifts of the mountains, save for the Jötnar. Thus, with the tales of giants, no man dare venture here. My home between stone is the only haven on the edge of Midgard; defended by the chaos of nature and the fear of myth. No man could find me here." The Norseman sighed. "I did not prepare for guests, young Valkyrie." The Norseman sat at the back of the cave illuminated by the curling flames of a campfire. His fa...

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“Nevermore” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #98

The lies stopped the day I set foot on the red sands of Revina. Words spelled in blood said it all. Return Nevermore! was smeared on a charred bit of cloth; It was tied to the hilt of a shattered blade firmly smothered in the ground. Soldiers brushed past me as I stood stunned by the ill omen. I shook my head as if to clear it of the tangible fear that crept from my heart. Hardly a moment later, the smell of smoke pierced through the air. Through the clatter of steel and footsteps, some fool dared to yell the forsaken truth of our fate."THEY...

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“Rainfall” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #98

Trigger Warning: Contemplation of Suicide. (And also swearing) The night air chilled my skin. The downpour forced the trench coat to wrap around me like the cold hands of death grasping at my soul. Gusts of wind spat rain at my face in periodic breaths. The wind’s exhales dared to snatch my fedora off my head. I checked my holster one more time and twisted relief washed over me as I found the pistol safe next to my chest. A single bullet was loaded. “They may have my badge, but not my gun.” The words sounded weak coming from my old lungs....

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“Good Old Nancy” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #97

The city lights glimmered like stars against the twilight horizon; like specks of beauty in a world of hopeless shadows. Heaven's tears dripped past the cracks of the window, splattering raindrops onto the blood stained pavement below. I crept back from the elegance and calm of the glass framed night in a shudder. If I let myself admire the view any longer I might have become an optimist. There's no need for that here, I muttered before shifting my attention to the garbage bin of an apartment I called home.Fluorescent light flickered on and ...

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“The End of Before” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #95

Storm clouds billowed from the twilight horizon, blotting out stars in their march across the sky. Brief crackles of lighting lit the night as rain sent ripples among the heaving waters of the Starlit Sea. Waves spilled in deep blues across jagged black stones; the water coated a crimson stained figure splayed upon the shore. His limbs were twisted in unnatural and painful ways among scattered bits of timber. Wounds and rain distorted his features and dampened his already soaked and tattered clothing. The man remained unmoving through the ch...

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“Through Hellish Eyes” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #87

There are many ways to kill a human, the fun is finding what best suits them. Yet after a thousand years of killing, it hadn’t occurred to me that I could choose the wrong victim. Yet in this land of Un there is a man by the name of Journey. To some he is the traveler, the ever wandering hero. To others he is the twice cursed one, the half-breed of war and peace. To his enemies, to me, he is judgement and the herald of death.  Not a day goes by without the retelling of this tale. I close my eyes and even now I see him. The wretched man...

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“An Ending Hello” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #81

My life is simply a long list of goodbyes, but I never expected you to be on the list. This was the thought I had as I passed by the woman I had loved. It had been almost a year since we had last spoke. I had forgotten her, but something had nagged at the back of my mind like a divine warning. It was there and yet I had almost convinced myself that I’d never see her again. I couldn’t have been more wrong. It all started with a single night. We had been walking down the same shore we had walked a hundred times. The stars reflected themselves ...

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