Alex Johnson
Bio
Imaginator, Instigator, Rhinoceros
Achievements (1)
Stories (10/0)
Celestial Hobbies
It was thrust into consciousness and light. Then there was pain. It cried, but the feeling passed, and it was able to focus. It found itself sitting on a bench in a room full of other, empty benches. They formed two, identical columns down the length of the room, separated by an aisle that ran between doors at each end. Every bench had recently been painted green, and was shining in the light coming through the windows along the walls. Outside the windows, a colorful landscape slowly passed by. It instinctively gripped its seat upon realizing the room was in motion. A soft, electric hum vibrated through the bench with a sound to match coming through the open windows. It peered out a window and saw a procession of train cars ahead, rolling along a curving track, and towing the room it was in. It recognized that the room was, in fact, a passenger car on a train, and it swelled with excitement. Climbing out of the bench, it walked up the aisle towards the front of the car. But when it reached for the handle on the door, its hand collided against a flat wall. It stepped back and discovered that the door was merely a painting on the wall. It hurried back down the aisle, but found the same to be true for the rear door; no exit, just a painting of a door on a solid wall. Its eyes grew wide as it turned to face its enclosure.
By Alex Johnson2 years ago in Fiction
- Runner-Up in Dads Are No Joke Challenge
The Love to Leave Me AloneRunner-Up in Dads Are No Joke Challenge
In every game of chess we’ve played, my father has beaten me. Except once. When I was very young, he taught me the complex rules of the game, and I always enjoyed playing against him despite my countless losses. But one day, he gasped.
By Alex Johnson2 years ago in Families
Mortal Quest 3
Mortal Quest 3 By Alex Johnson CHAPTER ONE - Damage Control There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. Jackie had made sure of it. As Head Developer for Gauntlet Games’ newest release, ‘Mortal Quest 3’, Jackie had scrutinized every element of the fantasy game before it’s launch. For the past three years in fact, her every waking- and often even sleeping- moments had been consumed with designing and building the game’s virtual reality experience with meticulous detail. Jackie designed all of the game’s beautiful and vast landscapes, every one of the complex atmospheric conditions, and the authentic architecture of multiple castles and villages. She created all of the game’s non-player characters and creatures, crafting customized artificial intelligence for each one. She invented all of the game’s weapons, imagined all of the game’s magic spells, and wrote all of the game’s storylines. Jackie had even learned medieval music theory in order to write the game’s entire score. There wasn’t a single aspect of Mortal Quest 3 that Jackie hadn’t built and examined ad nauseum. So when she learned that players were reporting a massive glitch in her game, that dragons had been spotted in the Valley, Jackie was incredulous. Tim, one of the VPs at Gauntlet Games and Jackie’s closest ally at the company, was the first to notify her of the reports.
By Alex Johnson2 years ago in Fiction
Under The Surface
The ocean’s surface was a clean sheet all the way out to the surrounding horizon. Glassy. It was not an uncommon sea condition, but whenever it occurred, Gibbs always felt like he was sitting on top of a massive fishbowl. Marine life swam freely underneath and around the giant steam ship like it was just another toy in their bowl. Gibbs looked over the command deck and watched the flashes of schools in silver and yellow. Further down, large shadows passed by more slowly. Strangely shaped creatures with propelling tentacles floated to the surface, only to drift back down into the deep. And every now and then, a flopping fish would splash the clean sheet, creating ephemeral ripples, and reminded the young sailor that the world above the horizon and the world below it could occasionally be traversed. He looked up to see if there were any birds that could offer another dimension to his fish-tank daydream.
By Alex Johnson2 years ago in Horror
Mr. Saucy Pants
I walked around the corner surprised to see a table full of my coworkers. It was lunchtime, so the fact that people were gathering wasn’t out of the ordinary, but I’d never seen this many people at the same table before. Then I noticed my boss sitting in the middle of the group.
By Alex Johnson3 years ago in Confessions
Glory, on High St.
Two bartenders floated between the bar and tables. The after-work crowd had just about cleared out, but the house was still buzzing with seekers of proper food and potent drinks. This was the place. Every patron was given priority and, without fail, a taste of something they had never known they’d wanted so bad.
By Alex Johnson3 years ago in Proof