Author: Jessica Pickard Once again Sam asked himself why he was standing here, in this field, miles out of town, staring into an increasingly dusky sky. Well he was here for the money of course. God knows he could use that right now. But he was also here, if he was ...

Author: John Adinolfi Caleb lived alone, as did Cole. Caleb by circumstance, Cole by choice. Trina had entertained a variety of live-in partners, but all were short associations. She lived alone. Each of their homes was unexceptional, except for sharing an ...

Author: Hillary Lyon With a well-worn key in hand, Bonnie unlocked the massive front door of her great-uncle Duran’s house. The place sat unoccupied since his passing; it had taken forever for his will to slog through probate. She’d been his favorite family member, and he, ...

Author: Alastair Millar Mandy was pretty, vivacious, and my next door neighbour; she’d pop round evenings or at weekends while my spouse was at work to swap gossip, recipes and just chat. But Marco didn’t mind – “you’re such a cliché,” he’d say, laughing, “her gay best ...

Author: David C. Nutt I had been working on lucid dreaming off and on for about a year. I never believed the goofier ends of the equation- alternate realities, astral projection, and all that other New Age hooey. All I wanted to do was control my own dream space. Maybe have ...

Author: Majoki Juan Dalderis was the creator of LinkJuice, the uber energy drink of the Internet, the black gold, the Texas Tea of web traffic. He could make or break any web platform or presence. He had the power of a techno god, but his mortal self fell seriously ill. A ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “Walk with me.” The tall being turns away from Nohane, sweeping it’s cloak out of the way with a graceful, flowing move. Nohane sighs. These trivial, effortless competences are what betray the elder of elders no matter how they try to ...

Author: Daniel Rogers "Victor, make coffee and display the weather." I sank into my kitchen chair, scratching my messed-up mop of hair, wishing I'd gone to bed earlier. "You failed to obtain the recommended eight hours of sleep. It would be beneficial to have a cup of ...

Author: Julie Zack “Starlight, Starbright, First star I see tonight, Wish I may, Wish I might, Have this wish, I wish tonight.” Enid loved when her older sister, Tracy, spoke the words at bedtime. “Do you remember the stars?” Enid asked. “I do,” Tracy said, ...

Author: Colin Jeffrey Sara was sure she had looked away for only a moment. That was all it took. Sam had vanished from the playground. Clouds gathered heavily in the sky as panic gripped her throat. She yelled his name, over and again, her cries buffered by the ...

Author: Jo Gatenby Lara hauled on her dust demon’s reins, desperate to keep the stupid creature on the coaster track and in the race. Desari’s wyrm, Dynamo, surged past them, scalding her with desert sand that slipped under her face mask, choking her. With kicks and ...

Author: Melissa Kobrin “Annie, it looks like Santa brought you one more present!” Annie looked up eagerly from her nest of torn wrapping paper and new toys. The Christmas tree twinkled behind her, and outside the window the sun was barely beginning to peak over the ...

Author: Majoki She crouched in the foliage at the river’s edge and watched the young man. He was not aware of her presence and she found that comforting. It was unusual for her to feel comforted or otherwise. She had only recently become sentient, and it had been an ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer There’s a smoking hole where my Rembrandt used to be. Not sure if it was blown in or out – I was too busy flying through the air to notice the finer points of the opening part of this assault. Dustin glances toward where I’m ...

Author: Gary Duehr 02.17.2055/13:46: Ahead I can see a strip of poplars like a zipper between two fields of corn stubble, the frozen stalks shorn off; I sense the need to descend and I do, I dip my nose downward: the wind shears under my wing-flaps, the missile strapped to ...

Author: R. J. Erbacher I was going catching with my Grampie. He weren’t really my Grampie but that’s how I’d always referred to him. He was old, had a bushy white moustache, a scratchy beard and a big belly. And he was good to me, not like my Pa which tanned me all the ...

Author: Jo Peace We always learn things too late. I remember the pine smell, the urgent fear as I hurried to assemble the close-in defense unit before the drones reached our position. A young voice snaps me back to the present. "Dad, why do you live alone in the ...

Author: Soramimi Hanarejima On my way home, I stop by the drugstore for a quick errand. But in the nootropics aisle, I’m thwarted by vacant shelf space. When I ask a clerk what happened to all the memorysyn, he tells me there’s been a recall. Some production issue has made ...