“You should leave Tani here…” Gwen was digging in her garden as usual, on bended knees amid rows of mutated hydrangeas. It was Ms Krilov speaking behind; that monotonous tone was distinct and grating. “…I doubt,” Ms Krilov paused temporarily,… Continue Reading
If not for the flames I wouldn’t have believed the woman. But there it was, the enemy’s construct surrounded by flames so hot the brass fittings melted off as it caved to the cobbled street. Rain hissed from hot metal.… Continue Reading
We sit at the picnic tables behind the Dairy Queen eating soft vanilla ice cream. Charlie’s cone has rainbow sprinkles. Mine has chocolate. Only mine isn’t in a cone. It’s in a cup. Cones come with an inevitable stickiness that… Continue Reading
Anya’s earworm was malfunctioning. There could be no other explanation for what she was feeling: she had caught herself several times humming the melody of a tune that wasn’t her graduation song. Just this morning at breakfast, her fingers had… Continue Reading
“Hey,” Max says. “Got some bad news. We’re shutting down.” I stare at him, slack-jawed. His tongue lolls out, and his tail gives a vigorous wag. “I hate to harsh your day,” he says, “but I thought you might want… Continue Reading
I take the body out of the freezer – the middle part, stalk-like and twisted, is very brittle, so careful, there, Mike – and put the amazing body on the steel autopsy desk. The protective suit is heavy and ultra-uncomfortable.… Continue Reading
An image of velvet drapes, slung low under the weight of their tastelessness, was projected on the wall. The Marker repeated the section of my figurative language lesson that we were stuck on. “Periphrasis,” it said. “What color are the… Continue Reading
A tall, ruggedly handsome man gingerly picks his way through a bazaar, trying not to be jostled but failing in the thick crowd. One hand steers a path between patrons of the mem dealer, while the other hand stays protectively… Continue Reading
A ship from Earth twinkled among the horizon of stars. Torpos Hansen, Ambassador to the immortal Factory, greeted all races, but his excitement peaked when vessels from home arrived. Sadly, his fellow humans rarely continued their existences beyond a single… Continue Reading
I sit on my porch overlooking the erupting volcano and think to myself, Crap. Jimmy comes out from the kitchen with a tray carrying my typical afternoon muse. Scotch on ice. How quaint. Of all the afternoons I sit up… Continue Reading