Author: Stephen R. Smith, Staff Writer The factory hadn't been used for anything legal since before the wars, and beyond the smell of the place, there was a feeling, one that settled deep into one's bones that made even the hardened criminal want to throw themselves through ...

Author: R. J. Erbacher It happened again. She was on vacation in Ireland, standing with a bus load of tourists on the Cliffs of Moher. The view was magnificent, gray clouds with shafts of peek-a-boo sun streaks, despite the typical weather which was not great; strong winds ...

Author: Colin Jeffrey I was looking for a tin of tomato soup when I bumped into myself. He was wearing my old leather jacket - the one I’d donated to charity because it reminded me of my ex-girlfriend. He looked as surprised as I felt. For a few seconds, we mirrored ...

Author: David C. Nutt It was a sad day for the Preston family. Della was being put down. She had been with the family for almost 12 years. Had shared the joys of promotions, birthday celebrations, and holidays. Della had seen the oldest Preston girl, Ashley, grow from lanky ...

Author: Miranda Held Lucy Goldman attained the role of right hand and impromptu partner to her close friend Captain Gabel on the mission Salacia 8, the 3rd manned exploration of the oceans of Europa. The Salacia 6 mission used a series of drones to start building a ...

Author: Majoki Walk it. That’s how I processed a murder. Walk the crime scene, walk the neighborhood, walk until my mind caught up with my legs. This case would take a lot of walking because I suspected this wasn’t an isolated killing. This looked to be related to a ...

Author: Bryan Pastor Jayce watched it trudge out of the desert. It took its good old time. Twice now Jayce went in for water. The desert air was dense with heat and blew in swirls making it impossible to hide from. Jayce added a little something to the second drink, ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The light in the sky persists well into the morning, an elongated teardrop that mars the azure of a beautiful sunny day and baffles scientists. The news channels show the 3-minute video every ten minutes or so. Viewing figures remain ...

Author: Marion Lougheed Sandy poked at the sticky substance on the living room floor. How many times was this stuff going to reappear? She looked at the ceiling, the plush couch, the walls, as if this time she'd pinpoint its origin. With a sigh, she scraped it off the ...

Author: David Berger “How much longer do you think we have?” TRX-Dan (a Tyrannosaurus Rex), perhaps the world’s leading astrophysicist, asked. “About a month,” TRI-Susan (a Triceratops), his trusted colleague said. “It’s coming on fast.” “I concur,” TRX-Dan said. “And ...

Author: Elena Tosato My visor kept flagging gaps: from timestamp T+19:43:12 onward, my sensors had gone dark. The system had filled the void using Steve and Ian's data, which were both intact. Yes, sir. The implant reconstructed my memories from backups, but my sensors ...

Author: Majoki Alice reread the last lines on the financial journalist’s blog: "The debt-pocalypse, the credit crash, is coming. Unless." Unless. It was almost too perfect. Unless. That tantalizing conjunction of possibility. But, there was no more possibility for this ...

Author: Colin Jeffrey As Janet walked the familiar path to the simulation chamber, the stainless steel walls reminded her of the morgue where she’d viewed his body. The technician at the front desk barely looked up from his crossword as she approached. “Twenty ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer Joel enters the meeting room to find everyone gathered. “Good morning. Now, I know details about yesterday’s attacks are going to take weeks to formalise, but I have a lot of powerful people with no worthwhile understanding of the ...

Author: Logan S. Ryan They landed and attacked faster than we could name them. They flattened armies like moist clay. They didn’t swarm the skies with high-tech ships or storm our streets with laser rifles. Our extermination wasn’t cinematic at all. They just rolled over ...

Author: Starlight “But its so gross down there, Dad,” complained Ziggy with an exaggerated pout on her face. “I’m sure Arcturus doesn’t mind,” I replied, my tone sounding less reassuring and more irritated than I wanted it to be. Shatter was going to be on in less than ...

Author: Aubrey Williams Mr. Huang, the wrinkled proprietor of Best Dumpling House, always told his employees that life was a scam. “Everyone pretends.” He’d said it so many times that people were surprised the words hadn’t engraved themselves on his cracked and ...

Author: Bill Cox There was a moment, in his dream, when he realised that he was no longer alone. It brought such comfort to him, this other presence, that he shed a tear, understanding, up until that moment, how truly alone he’d been in this world. The strong emotion ...