Charlotte sank her pitchfork into the fragrant compost and daydreamed of libraries — the old-fashioned sort, lined with yellowed tomes of liver-spotted pages and fragile leather spines that crackled against her palm. As data technician officer for the colony on… Continue Reading
The phone meowed twice. It had never made that noise before. Why would anyone call at three a.m.? Eric picked it up, but there was nobody there. Mr. Ruffles stopped licking his fur and stood on his two hind paws.… Continue Reading
Tag likes blood. He savors the sight, the smell, even the taste when hit hard enough to find some of his own in his mouth. He likes the Game and making the other boys bleed. He enjoys his own wounds… Continue Reading
The Twin grew ever larger in the sky, from a distant speck of light to a full moon to taking up half the sky. It pulled our waters up, tides not seen in four generations. Even the ground seemed to… Continue Reading
I am not myself today. That thought continues to seep into my conscious mind, at work, at home, when I’m at the park with the kids. I am not myself today. It’s something I’ve said aloud too many times to… Continue Reading
Dear Sorah, Be brave and be strong. You have not been forgotten. Memorize these words like you memorized The Fifty Chronicles of Humanity in primary school. Recite them each time you lose your way. They traveled great distances and changed… Continue Reading
The void of space. Dark. Empty. Lit only by the pinpricks of starlight as I floated in the vast emptiness. Alone. Oxygen running out, blaring blood-red on my heads-up display. Time to die… The animal in us can’t conceive of… Continue Reading
Android JT1K checked its data. Alert: Power low. Reduce load. The solar flares they’d experienced in high orbit must have done more damage than had been recorded on board the mother ship. Power to the lander had almost drained. Decision:… Continue Reading
“I’m glad you could come see me off,” said the woman behind the airlock. Her voice crackled through a speaker in the ceiling of Sector 8-G, but Dr. Hauser could tell she was smiling. He imagined her kneeling, plump and… Continue Reading
I looked at myself in the mirror, wishing that my eyes were lying to me — that this was all just some screwed up nightmare. But it wasn’t. My eyes were telling the truth. The bony, pinkish arms that I… Continue Reading