Author: Keisha Hartley Amara’s head knocked against the cold car window, jolting her awake. Her fingers were numb from clutching the long black case on her lap. The Uber driver sped down the winding path unbothered by the rain. Ahead, the dark spires of her grandmother’s ...

Author: Majoki Well into the neopandemic I noticed the countdown. Inside my left eyelid. A faint image, like a digital timer flickering. I couldn’t make out distinct digits in the rolling blur of numbers so there was no real way of knowing if it was counting up or ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Jingle bells my ass. Actually, if I’d had one, the ex-wife probably would have. Covered it’s harness in fairy lights, too. She loved sparkly tat. Guess that’s why she hooked up with the bright-eyed pretty boy I used to be. Then she got ...

Author: Alastair Millar Grandpa Jack had a generous ‘meritorious service’ pension from his time in the Terran Space Force, but he never talked about his time in uniform, or shared war stories. “I’d rather not,” he’d say diffidently, or, if pressed, “Just not much to tell, ...

Author: Matthew Luscher It began to pour as the bus pulled in. The driver shot me a puzzled look as I stepped off and made a gesture clearly hinting for me to get back onboard. I ignored him. It had been half a mornings journey down bumpy country roads, following the ...

Author: James C. Clar “Europe during the plague is too tame for you?” The Extreme Time-Travel agent could barely conceal his surprise. His quartz desk glowed faintly under his hands. “You realize that package includes rats, mass hysteria, and the very real possibility of ...

Author: Bill Cox “Well,” she says, impatience dripping from her voice, “What’s it going to be?” I’ve the stylus in my hand, hovering over the pad. I look up at her and it’s all I can do not to stick the stylus in her eye and just keep on pushing it deeper and deeper, ...

Author: Hillary Lyon Lo'e took the small box from the cluttered shelf in the back of his workroom. The metal cube was soldered together from mismatched pieces of metal. Once shiny, it was now dull and dust-covered. He weighed it in his hand; he was surprised at how ...

Author: Majoki “I think therefore I am. Screw Descartes and his cogito ergo sum. That’s the kind of philosophical crap that’s going to bust us, Shannyn. If we want to capitalize on this breakthrough, we need to make every last person on earth damn well believe: I am because ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The figure hunched in the chair leans on the table with trembling arms. "It was a routine trip. Scanning and observation, back before the dinosaurs. We've done several." The stocky figure in the hazmat suit sat opposite points at their ...

Author: Mark Budman The Scrabble board and the box fell apart first, but my wife and I soldiered on. We glued the board together with a homemade glue, and the letter pieces made of real wood were still alive. Scrabble was our best way of killing time. What else could you do ...

Author: Thomas Henry Newell “Who?” They wondered. “Bring him?! Bring who?” Adam was the first to voice the thought. The others looked at him. The glowing orb continued to shine in throbs. “No no no,” said Jayce. “Breed him – that’s what it’s saying.” “It’s an ...

Author: Emily Kinsey I sway side-to-side in the back of the beat-up van. My hands, which are zip-tied in front of me, went numb somewhere between Boston and Portland. I struggled to free myself in the beginning, but I gave up well before the snow began to fall. We’re ...

Author: Luca Ricchi Vernon Liu snapped awake as his pod shot up through the bunker hatch into the ashen dusk. ‘Navigation initiated. Destination: Xingjing Earth Federation Great Hall"’ He stretched his olive-hued arms – numb after many hours of induced coma – and squinted ...

Author: Robert Gilchrist “I don’t think this is the way we’re supposed to go,” said Peter. “This is the Celestial Orienteering Championships, Pete,” said Johnson as he picked the last lock on the door. “They’re not gonna make it easy on us.” Tiny plumes of dust ...

Author: Majoki “Get a job! You need to work!” “That’s all I ever do. Work.” “You sit around all day, consuming media and eating junk food. How’s that work?” “I’m dissipating heat energy. It’s vital work and my avowed purpose. It’s life’s true justification: to ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The two women stand within a wide, white circle. The ground under their feet is powdery. Stalks of bleached grass crumble at the slightest disturbance. Vicki’s unimpressed. “Is this all?” Sharon shakes her head. “This is what the ...

Author: Colin Jeffrey It’s not that I have anything against our new alien companions, especially considering the technology they’ve given us. They just give me the creeps. It’s their eyes - opaque white, motionless orbs that never blink. And their voices! Like rocks dropped ...