When the boiler blew the captain knew today would be his last.

Scavengers all, their literary circle became famous by picking the bones of their lesser known contemporaries.

In her ribbon and bow filled world he was just another ornament.

Clarice knew she was just a government mouthpiece, but it kept her fed.

The day the meteor was to arrive Bertrand ate a long leisurely breakfast, caught up on some house chores and read a magazine, while all around him the world went mad.

Kirsten was haunted by the deaths she wrote about as the obituary editor for the local paper.

It became harder and harder for him to drag himself away from the pool and he suddenly realized he wanted to be more like Kato Kaelin, but with a better haircut.

In an automated world Frank still chopped wood for fuel and made his own clothes, but finally  bowed to pressure and bought a watch. 

I rolled those dice in a panic like a drowning man trying to reach the surface before the water rushes down his throat.

He saw an image of the Virgin Mary in his omelet, but was just too hungry to care.

They removed the king's name from all the facades, ripped down his statues and decried his name never be spoken — a process that they themselves went through when toppled from power.

Berniece was running out of things to say and so became a really great listener.

He wore $10,000 suits that were wrinkled and stained, and refrained from wearing socks with his loafers.

Jane worked two jobs to keep her family afloat, knowing just how quickly and how far you could slide given the right circumstances.

He was blindsided by time.

Alden began to think of his nose, with its constant dripping, sneezing and itching, as an enemy.

The storm wouldn't be outdone by the wildfire.

She questioned everything but her own taste.

He suddenly heard the characters of all his unfinished stories call out to him in anguish, begging to be finished.

Reading the morning paper Norman sipped his coffee and wondered just how close to the end of the line the world had come.

When he read the one sentence e-mail — "Snitches get stitches" — Sgt. Black realized the government agents knew he was the whistle blower.

Tuesday hated Mondays even though they were her Thursdays, as far as her work week went.

A woman of far-ranging talent, she wasted her life on bad men and worse decisions.

Turned down by every woman in a 50-mile radius, Turner moved to the neighboring state after finding data that showed the ratio between men and women there was in his favor.

He flicked the light off in his office, closed the door for the last time and wondered if it would be raining when he made his way across the parking lot to the car.

No one was willing to tell the pop star that she had lost touch with her fans even after her last album "Sleeping on a Bed of Money is Itchy" failed to chart.

Once he touched her he knew nothing would be the same again.

The sky was slate gray and pink as the fog rolled in.

Zane dreamed of pancakes and a mysterious death and wondered, when he awoke, if the two were connected.

The tipplers toppled out of the tavern after it closed and continued there merrymaking in the lane.