1. Dealer's Choice - I typically don't care for such a conversational narrative style, but, this one I found appealing and reread several times. One is left with a sense of impeding conflict and an desire to know more. I can see a myriad of stories blossoming from this well crafted scenario.
2. Unleashed - Reminiscent of a George Berkeley take on reality. Where Berkeley used the idea that for reality to exist, an all seeing watcher (God) must exist as a justification for leading a good life. This character is destined for a downward spiral of violence, a damn good burnout. Perhaps this will make things seem more real for our hero.
3. Bit's & Pieces - Liked the story. Didn't like the ending sentence. It felt tacked on, unecessary. Given the format of the story, something less obvious to round things out would have been my suggestion.
4. Honorable mention: Midnight Special. Liked it, but, was left not knowing why. Found it too sureal.
Overall, I was impressed with many of the enteries and thought that many of you are wasting your time playing on a chess site when you should be writing. Equally obvious is the fact that many of you are talentless hacks that have no business crafting a sentence, let alone a story of any kind. Some of you are a blatant insult to literacy, several thousand years of story telling tradition and, in fact, should be severely beaten with a burlap sack full of rotton haddock.