'The Quiet World'

In an effort to get people to look
into each other's eyes more,
the government has decided to allot
each person exactly one hundred
and sixty-seven words, per day.

When the phone rings, I put it
to my ear without saying hello.
In the restaurant I point
at chicken noodle soup. I am
adjusting well to the new way.

Late at night, I call my long
distance lover and proudly say
I only used fifty-nine today.
I saved the rest for you.

When she doesn't respond, I know
she's used up all her words
so I slowly whisper I love you,
thirty-two and a third times.
After that, we just sit on the line
and listen to each other breathe.

-- Jeffrey McDaniel

I was abruptly and utterly awake. There was a tense air about, and I feared my slightest motion might result in something catastrophic. My eyes opened slowly, cautiously, to be greeted by a wickedly sharp dagger hovering in front of them. The dagger had a hand around it, I came to notice, and the hand belonged to a short, strong-looking man with murder in his eyes.
"Do you know why I am here?" he asked me evenly, to which I had no immediate reply. "Why don't I tell you," he went on, "what you've done to deserve a painful demise at your young age.

Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped.
- Sam Levenson

The doors to my cell closed with finality: I didn't have to check to know I wasn't getting out of here any time soon. At least they let me keep my smokes, I thought to myself. Slumping down against the stone and cement, I pulled one out and lit up, inhaling deeply and blowing a jet of grey towards the ceiling. At least they let me have my smokes. There were no perceptible sounds, despite the number of inmates I knew I had. We all knew that it would do us no good; that we'd never make it out of this place alive. It was Monday, and I'd heard that nobody had lasted more than a week before starvation or execution. I was hoping for the latter, since a fear for drawn-out natural death had caused me to join the army in the first place. What a grim situation. Maybe I'll catch some sleep, at least. Pass the time in oblivion.
   I awoke suddenly to see the guard snarling at me through the bars. "Whatsa matter, boy, you scared?" It's the cowardly types, I knew, who would taunt a dead man. He's just doing this to quell his own ensecurities. Still, frustration overtook me after another comment and I leapt at him. Quickly my arm found its way between two bars and grabbed the guard's shirt. After a sound of surprise, he reached for his belt, maybe he had a gun or mace, but he never got to it quick enough. I pulled him towards me, and he crumpled to the ground with a bar'shaped mark on his forehead. The others felt that I was starting a rebellion, and started rattling the bars on their cells and yelling. I wasn't about to help them out; they probably deserve to be here more than I do anyway. The ring of keys was easy to retrieve from the wounded guard's belt, so I helped myself and felt freedom once more. I began to leave, ignoring my cellmate's angry protests, when I realized that gun might help. I reached for the guard's pocket and sure enough, a sleek fully loaded pistol. That's good, I assured myself, that's good. I walked away.

   The stiletto whirred as it cut through the cold evening air. Its spinning blade gleamed cruelly in the moonlight, a beacon of death to the man in its path. He never made a sound.
   I'm in. The other members of my company have been assigned different sections of the property. It has been acknowledged that some of us will not make it in, so by spreading out maybe one of us will complete the objective. I crept up to a window, alone, and peered through. An underpaid security worker was snoring loudly into an array of security camera feeds. In one, I saw a stealthy black-garbed figure slide by. One of my brothers in arms. Carefully I applied shock-absorbing paste to the edges of the glass, and then punched in the window with a cloth-covered fist. A light tinkling sound broke the silence. The guard stirred, then fell still with his neck bent at an awkward angle. It really ticks me off when I have to kill innocents with my hands.
   After flicking a switch and disconnecting a couple red wires, the alarm was no longer a threat. I tapped my comm system to let the others know. I immediately heard several rounds of silenced pistol discharged. A pause, then the door opened and three of my four co-operatives joined me. Silently we realized the fourth would not arrive. Two fingers and a nod of the head from my superior allowed us to continue. The others went their own ways inside and I retreated out of the broken window.
   I uncoiled my plasteel coiled rope and attached grappling hook, and sighted my target. The building was only three stories tall.
   Once on the roof I walked to the four corners, and planted powerful C4 charges before covering them with inconspicuous leaves and such. A twinge of regret shook me before I jumped back down to the ground and ran quietly away.
   The sky was painted with fire for hours.