GIG • by Brett Bailey
It was a shitty little black-and-brown joint squeezed into the leftover space between a sports bar and a gun store. People called it a hole in the wall. It was more like a hole in the ground, one you stumbled… Continue Reading
end of the world
CROSSWORDS • by Ethan J. Stone
He filled his seat at the table as though poured into it. Sprawled out in front of him was a book of crosswords. At 8:45 every morning he sat at his place and pondered over a crossword while the coffee… Continue Reading
ALARMISTS • by Barton Paul Levenson
The aliens came down and wanted to help. They gave away free technotricks to big firms like Westworld Petroleum, Royal Dutch Smell, and Coke Oil. The economy boomed and everybody was happy. The aliens just wanted one thing in return… Continue Reading
LAST WORDS • by Richard Cripps
The five climbed the gantry in silence to view their work completed. As they walked out in front of the great viewport and were bathed in the light of the universe, their leader, Esil, wiped a tear from the corner… Continue Reading
TO THE END OF THE WORLD AND BACK • by R.B. Kelly
The sirens went off when they were having their usual argument: the one that was about chores when it started off and cycled through his mother, her mother, the relative value of their esteem, their plans for the summer, and… Continue Reading
WHEREVER WE END UP • by Sandy Lim
“Wherever we end up, it’s gotta be better than this.” Without another word, the girl climbed into the transporter. Kaya looked on as, one by one, others climbed in and jumped away. But she wasn’t convinced. Not protesting like the… Continue Reading
EMBRACE • by Alexander Parker
Two years had passed since the world submitted to the welcoming embrace of Death. Humankind, as a whole, smiled into the end of it all, and now a lone man walked a desolate street counting the unbroken windows and taking… Continue Reading
THYZZYL, HOLD THE PAP • by Gerald William Parks
The Traveler’s name was Renapath, it was Wastool… once Schloopy. He had answered to all these names. Quick jumps among a legion of hosts clouded the memory, and few Travelers could recall clearly their origins, hampered as they were by… Continue Reading
DAMASCUS • by Edward Ashton
Just past noon on the fifth of July, under a clear blue sky and a merciless southern sun, Marcus comes out of the woods. His shirt is sodden, his face streaked with sweat. His right eye is swollen shut, a… Continue Reading
SMALL SMOOTH PEBBLE • by Mary E. Lowd
Jenny felt inside her pocket. There was a small, smooth pebble that she’d been hiding since she was tiny. A multi-dimensional creature had appeared to her and begged her to keep it safe. If she dug her fingernail into it…… Continue Reading