Author: Jean-Philippe Martin The traveler came to our house the day before harvest, detective. I did not notice anything amiss. He said the had nothing but was willing to work, so we housed him and showed him the next day how to pack, haul, and stack the boxes of fruit. He ...

Author: Stephen Dougherty The wind picked up the dust with brutal force. It ripped up the scorched land and tossed it into the never-ending night. Through the dark maelstrom, he could see what he hoped was Beacon Five through the scuffed glass of Beacon Two, its amber light ...

Author: Hillary Lyon “You have three minutes,” Harmon said, sticking the end of an unlit cigar in his mouth.“Go.” “Okay,” Jepson nervously began. “Picture this: an unlikely romance between a peppy vacuum cleaner and a stoic lawn mower.” Harmon struck a match and lit ...

Author: Mark Renney Each time Rod pushed his way through the portal, his initial response was disappointment. Although he hadn’t been aware of it the first time, he was actually stepping into the future. He realised this was an immense and astounding feat but it was just ...

Author: Majoki To dream is the dream. Anyone thinking that we need to sleep to live is missing the real payoff. We should be living to sleep. Snow White had it right for the wrong reasons. She didn’t bite a poisoned apple, she micro-dosed from the forbidden fruit of the ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “DAY-NA!” The roar of anger is so loud it stops everyone. Dayna, presumably the being we’ve managed to corner after a three-hour citywide chase, was dubbed ‘Jaqueline the Ripper’ by the newsfeeds. Surrounded by rings of armoured vehicles ...

Author: Don Nigroni I met Nancy in college, and we got married shortly after she received her PhD. While I'm smarter than the average bear, Nancy is brilliant. I work for a stock brokerage firm, and she worked for the Department of Energy until three years ago when she ...

Author: David C. Nutt I took a swig straight out of the bottle of the rare, vintage wine- didn’t even let the damn thing breathe. It cost me only $8,420.00 USD, on sale from $10,000.00. As a relatively new multi-billionaire I didn’t even feel the cost. The wine sucked. ...

Author: Clare Strahan Pat had to turn the drone over, to get to the metal hatch door and unscrew the screws that fixed it to the body. What did the drone think of, when Pat wasn’t there? Did it remember the battlefield, the shrapnel and wounding, the fall into the ocean, ...

Author: Trinity J. Choi “W-who are you?” Those were the three most painful words I’d heard my entire life. “Someone who loves you dearly.” I responded, unable to control the slight crack in my voice. I could see my face shining back at me through her empty eyes. The ...

Author: Majoki On Splinx, you have to follow the rules if you wanna break the law. Rule 1: Phasespace is your friend. Rule 2: In phasespace you have no friends. Seems simple enough until you try to skirt the laws of thermodynamics and attempt the biggest heist in ...

Author: Don Nigroni From my source, I knew there was a lot of debate concerning whether we should blow up that spacecraft before it got near Earth. It had suddenly and inexplicably appeared between Mars and Earth last night. It was obviously from another planet and might ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer My principal settles comfortably and waves us off, indicating we should exit and close the door. We’re just by that door when all our proximity alerts shriek. As one, we spin about and rush to protect him. After all, if he dies, we don’t ...

Author: Jeremy Nathan Marks The wind was wet. It blew down from unseen heights and spread a damp veil across the plain. The soil, not accustomed to dampness, clotted. The surge in moisture caused large, segmented creatures with prolific legs to fall from the trees and ...

Author: Jeremy Nathan Marks At the console, the technician remembered a few Latin words from school: Deux ex machina. He couldn’t remember what they meant, but he heard his teacher saying them. He felt sweat on his temples, and hoped his supervisor would excuse it. At a ...

Author: Robin Cassini “Please, have a seat.” A bare lightbulb flickered overhead. I settled onto a folding char. The steel dug relentlessly into my spine. It was not meant to be comfortable. With a creak, the officer positioned himself across the small table. He ...

Author: Travis Connor Sapp 5 days before present day… 10:38 AM, the sun is out, and Juan rests cozily on a rickety mattress. The normal person is up and doing work, endlessly living their boring 9 to 5, but this big fella starts his day around 11 AM. Juan ...

Author: Bryant Benson Dear Henry, Sometimes I wish I never met you. When you found me washed up on the beach in my final hour I was something different that could have stung or bitten, but you took me into your home and gave me a safe place to die. I truly wish it wasn’t ...