Author: Matt Poll “Don’t point at the bird, Larry honey,” Jared hissed, half-slapping his daughter’s finger out of the horizontal. She flashed him a comical tilt-headed glare of hurt, which he responded to with a comical arched-eyebrow glare of fatherly ...

Author: Rick Tobin Aaron’s dark green Volvo continued in the interstate fast lane, at the legal speed limit, when suddenly a bright red SUV swerved around him, honking, almost striking the front of his car. He smiled as the aggressive driver sped ahead, then veered suddenly ...

Author: Adam Fout “All of it.” The creature’s look is quizzical. My helmet inhibits no sounds; I feel that my words are quite clear. My hands shake. My gloved fist smashes the surface of his table. “I need all of it. Not some. Not a bit. Not most. All. Is this a ...

Author:  Julian Miles, Staff Writer I land with a crunch that tells me the remaining organic ribs in my left side need replacing. “I bet that hurt, Shields.” Fast footsteps betray his next move. I brace, left arm tight. Sure enough, Manny lands a running kick that ...

Author : J.D. Rice The worn grandfather clock stood idly in the corner, looking out of place against the stale, concrete wall. Its slow and steady ticking echoed quietly around the room, breaking up the silence between the room's two occupants. Sitting behind a white-washed ...

Author : Michael Holt "This gives a whole new meaning to the term peep show don't you think?” said, Trayden. "Mr. Rice while we enjoy your humor you really must get your rest, we have some more tests for you tomorrow." said the intercom above the doorway. "I really ...

Author : Kent Rosenberger “It’s happening,” announced Saul Quick from two minutes ago. “Is everybody ready? We’re only going to get one pass at this.” “Who cares?” sniped Saul Quick from sixty-six years ago, his grungy concert shirt in terrible need of a wash. “What does ...

Author : Russell Bert Waters Let me be clear: there is reality, even when there is not. What I am writing here exists. It is both linear and classical. It is on paper, and it is not. It’s on paper if you print it. But you cannot, with certainty, proclaim that ...

Author : Matthew J. Beckman The Deputy stood in front of the patched screen door, staring down at Danny Willis. Moths flickered around the porch light. “Were you up there three nights back? In the canyon?” Danny licked his chapped lips. A moth landed on the side of the ...

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer “So why’d you join the off-world diplomacy exchange?” buzzed Zazzy through his translator. His mandibles glistened and his iridescent bright-purple eyestalks waved back and forth like windshield wipers in a light rain, scanning my face. ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Jolla looks toward the setting sun: “A million light years from home and we still instinctively count ‘one’, ‘two’, ‘three’, ‘four, ‘lots’. Our territories are virtually limitless, yet our minds still consider a horizon as the end of the ...

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Kanárek walked a few paces ahead of the squad, weapon in the low ready position. He talked back to Caufield, the squad leader, as they advanced, glancing back only occasionally to see if she was paying attention. "It's bad enough they ...

Author : R.D. Harris Do you want to get away, but don't have the money? Look no further than your friends at TeleGo! Our state-of-the-art teleporters are cancer-free and stress-free. No muss, no fuss. Choose any of our models for you trip. We offer the TeleGo 86, 87, and ...

Author : Christina Dalcher You have to bid right in these things. Too low, you wake early; too high, your money is lost. No refunds, no exchanges, all sales are final. The first decisions are made on the outside, when the surgeon wears white and not green, when talk is of ...

Author : Kate Runnels The monkey tattoo stared at Zim. Forever frozen as it climbed a tiny branch. All it did was stare at him. No, that wasn’t quite right. It had started something else. It questioned him. -Why am I here?- Zim had gotten the tattoo long ago. Too ...

Author : Olivia Black, Staff Writer The entrance to the tunnel was much less circumspect than we expected. Had to have walked past it at least three times before we found it. I wasn’t sure how Birdie even knew about this place, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. It was miles ...

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer "So when's your kill frenzy?" asked the giant, barbed Tark beside me. His name was Jant. We were both assigned to navigation in the starship. It was our first day. He had hundreds of holes in the back of his uniform to accommodate his ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Getting used to sleeping while your body moves is the hardest thing about exoskeletal operations. Right now, I’m tail-end Charlie in a forty-man column accompanying a trio of Big Dogs lugging the payloads for tonight’s test. Above us, a ...