Quax?

Note to self.
Styx? Seriously, dude? SHUT. The HELL. UP. Everyone is sick of your whining.
Now that's out of the way...

Exam tomorrow. I should be studying. Instead lately I've been playing Dark Ages. Really old MMORPG, about 77 deochs or whatever that translates to in real-world time. The only players still around are the veterans who use it as more of a social networking service and the utter n00bs who plague it. I'm not registered, so while it's free for me I only get around half the content. It's okay, though. I'm not looking to master it or anything, it's just to pass the time. I guess I'm just the sort of person who can lose themself in pointless repetition. What can I say? I like RPGs. Also, I get to kill things with my level 28 warrior. It's strangely satisfying.

I think the amount of productive work done in any period of free time rises in proportion to the amount of free time available, and inversely proportional to the amount of work that needs to be done. I think.

I was challenged to write a very specific story on the spot. This is the result.


It was morning again. At least, it looked like morning. The sky was always red now. Vaguely Sam wondered why, but he didn't really care. He was hungry. With a small yawn he stood up and stretched.
The rest of the family was in the kitchen. Sam looked at their tired faces and wondered what the matter could be. He was sure it would be all right, though. Grown-ups could fix anything. "Mom?" he called out. "What's for breakfast?" His mother looked up, her face grey and haggard. She obviously hadn't slept in a long time.
"Nothing, Sam," she said softly. "There's nothing left."
"But I'm HUNGRY," whined Sam. Seeing as no reply was forthcoming he gave up and went outside. The heat was almost unbearable, but at least it was quiet. "Biff?" he called out. There was a quick scampering and a small, painfully thin dog crawled out from under the deck.
Sam jumped down and gave him a hug, careful not to touch where his ribs were showing. "There's nothing left to eat, Biff," whispered Sam. "What do you think we'll do now?" The dog stared, blinking stupidly.
The pair went back inside, cooling only slightly as the failing air conditioning hit them. Nobody looked up. They just sat, hunched over, staring at nothing.
Sam approached his mother, tugging softly at her sleeve. "Momma," he said, an edge of uneasiness creeping into his voice, "why is everyone so sad?" She only sighed softly and put a limp hand on his shoulder. Biff whined.
Uncle Max glanced over slowly. He nudged Frank. "The dog," he said simply. Frank hesitated, started to nod, then stopped. Everyone seemed to look sideways at Sam.
"No!" said his mother fiercely, suddenly angry. "We agreed. We can't do that."
"Why?!" Shouted Uncle Max back. Sam walked back and sat next to Biff, hands over his ears. "So we can die a little sooner? Why the hell not?"
"What does that make us?" screamed his mother. Tears started to well up in Sam's eyes. He didn't like it when people shouted, and they were shouting because of Biff, and he hadn't even done anything wrong!
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Yelled Uncle Max. Then he was out of his chair, and Frank was standing too, and then someone pushed Sam out of the way.
He screamed and closed his eyes, hands still over his ears. Biff let out a yelp. Sam's mother stood screaming at them to stop, and then she hit Frank, and Frank hit her back and she fell over. There were a few moments of silence, and when Sam opened his eyes Frank, Uncle Max and Biff were all gone.
His father still hadn't moved. Slowly he let out a sigh and put his head on the table.
"Momma?" Sam asked, tears beginning to run down his face. "What are they gonna do with Biff?"
She took Sam in her arms and held him tight. "It's gonna be okay, Sam. It's gonna be okay."
There was a tiny clunk and the air conditioning finally gave out, surrendering the house completely to the blood-red sun.

Also, they're making a movie of Watchmen. Very exciting. Apparently it struggled in developmental hell for the longest time because everyone said it was unfilmable. I hope they do a good job.