P is for Potential

By JL Boutell

In "P is for Potential", Boutell compiles several later short stories within the fantasy, sci-fi, and horror genres. These all revolve around the potential that there is more than meets the eye, aiming to give the reader a small journey and glimpse into one of the worlds Boutell has crafted. "Storm Within" and "A Good Mind" contain quick views into Boutell's more well-known fantasy and science fiction, and "The Scavenger" is a horror story, crafted straight from Boutell's nightmares.

Please enjoy these glances into the mind of an up and coming novelist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JL Boutell
• Release date: Oct 22, 2017

JL Boutell

JL Boutell is a novelist, an idealist, and a cynic earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. The duality of paradoxical philosophy inspires much of his work, exploring contrasting views through science fiction and fantasy which themselves explore the core struggles of society and the human condition. He has published a series of sarcastic articles for Denver: Off the Wagon, several short stories, and the first book of a sci-fi series entitled Dogs of Titan. He is a NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) winner, having developed and written a historical fantasy novel of over sixty thousand words in under seventeen days. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-boutell-b6088465/ https://www.solarcrucible.net/

Book preview

P is for Potential

By JL Boutell

P is for Potential

Published by JL Boutell at Smashwords

Copyright 2017 JL Boutell

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Copyright

Table of Contents

Storm Within

A Good Mind

The Scavenger

About the Author

Storm Within

We thought we’d be ready when the storm came.

We weren’t.

Wind whipped through the city like the vengeful wraiths of the deep Illanthi wood. Rain fell in thick, oppressive sheets that flooded the lower districts almost immediately, and quickly turn to heavy, thick hail. Those without the good fortune of a solid roof over their heads suffered the worst. The cries for help reached all the way up to the high tower of the Sylvan Academy of Magic, where I have made my home for years.

During the hail, we were powerless to help them, and when the first streaks of sunlight pierced the clouds, the Academy Council breathed a collective sigh of relief. Finally, we thought, finally we could descend from the tower and offer aid to those who needed it most.

I’ve heard sailors tell tales about being in the eye of a storm. The sudden and misleading calm, a quick gasp for air before plunging back into the darkness, and how deadly it can be if one isn’t prepared.

As the members of the Academy Council, the teachers, the faculty, and the headmistress departed the tower to aid the villagers of our home city, the storm turned. The eye passed, and darkness fall like a stone upon us, bringing with it the full, unseen fury held from sight.

The storm can be a deceitful thing.

In a desperate move to protect the students of the Academy, the headmistress spent the last of her power sealing the tower shut. The students were locked in, presumably for our own safety as the howling, raging winds touched down with destructive forces unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. The younger students cried while the older ones whimpered in fear, huddled together in the sturdiest corners of the tower.

From the high windows I watched as the dark clouds became funnels, reaching down to the ground like