The Dolphin Dauphin, boss of the High Council of Terrestrial Intelligences, ordered the total evacuation of Earth. “The time’s come,” he whistled. “Sol’s going sub-giant. So get your butts outta there.” Poor Mother Earth was worn out, her mountains eroded… Continue Reading
She hated him. Granny’s favourite. He’d pushed her and hurt her, and she’d said something nasty to him and repeated it several times. Her grandmother had put her hand over her mouth, spoken about soap and water and vile language… Continue Reading
“I thought this was supposed to be fast food…Ally.” I glanced up at the fleshy mass of guest leering down at my chest as I built his burger. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, because my nametag (Hello,… Continue Reading
I want Mandy out of my head. They say the Dream Doctor is the man for the job. He is a small, hunched man of vaguely Central European origins. He wears small rectangular glasses perched on the end of his… Continue Reading
The scent of charred flesh stung Vaughn’s nose. His father’s body lay crumpled on the floor of the office. He knelt to console his sobbing mother, then examined his father’s hands. The pad of each finger had blistered around the… Continue Reading
Edgar slid through the door of the bookshop minutes before Lady Randolph would flip the sign from “open” to “closed.” Wintergreen and cigarette scented air huffed out between her loose lips as he walked past the counter. He rubbed his… Continue Reading
I had been prayin’ for the role of Mary in the church Christmas pageant. I had a hankerin’ for Mervyn Swank who was playin’ Joseph. But Georgette Raymond, who was my sworn rival on all things artful, got the part.… Continue Reading
In that last hard winter of the war, the farmhouse looked almost like a cabin for the enjoyments of the season. Those gorgeous drifts of snow would have burned your toes to stumps, if you had no boots. No one… Continue Reading
Lotte wondered if her boss would appreciate the retro arcade games she’d bought for the company holiday party. It was the cheapest gift she could get away with, but he’d be thrilled by the anime girls on the package. So… Continue Reading
Everyone in the village thought it was ridiculous, the way Laurent was pretending not to notice the bear that had become attached to his coattails. To be fair, it was a reasonably subtle bear, as bears go. It didn’t grunt… Continue Reading