Author : Thomas Desrochers Michael lit a hand-rolled cigarette, hands shaking. “What fucking century are you from?” Jack opened his flask and took a long drink. Michael exhaled smoke. “What millennia are you from?” “The one where everything sucks.” Jack spat on the ...

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer Once they were gathered on the elementary school playground, teams needed to be selected for a game of Grobnars and Subjugates. Dinklebarg, a grobnar, was today’s selector. Greg, a human, raised his hand and asked, “When we play ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer From orbit, this island must look like charred toast floating in a soup of boiled seafood. They’ve rained fire upon us for hours. Not sure what we did, but, as Lailoken always said “It isn’t about what you’ve done, it’s what they think ...

Author : Philip Berry Stan looks right through the innocent, who stand in pools of studio-bright light where the afternoon sun reflects from countless mirrored towers. Turn up the power and they'd boil on the spot. It is the last natural warmth he feels. Carrying ...

Author : Beck Dacus Running down the hall to Solo’s dressing room, I could hear the security guards behind me. It didn’t matter; I only needed a second with Solo, and then I would be a legend in my neighborhood. I scanned the names on all the doors until I found his, then ...

Author : Russell Bert Waters Brushing his teeth, Josh heard a chime from the other room. It wasn't the familiar chime associated with email or social networks, it sounded more like a “system” alert. Curious, he spat into the sink and walked to the living room. On ...

Author : Thomas Desrochers The crowds below were packed shoulder to shoulder, bathed in neon and the ceaseless murmur of advertisements. Ed watched, chewing his lip thoughtfully. “Doesn’t it feel like it should be louder?” “Does it?” “Yeah. I mean think about it, they ...

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer "Transmutation, or more absurdly 'transmogrification', that's the crux of the biscuit, isn't it?" The speaker stood in the middle of the room, behind massive horizontal length of stone cantilevered on top of a single metallic spire which ...

Author : Lynette Aspey My grandfather was a stone disciple. I only began to understand what that meant when he stopped speaking and began to stiffen. Yet, even then, when the cost to him was clear, our neighbors still brought their sick and their wounded for him to ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer I’m standing a little too close for his bodyguard’s liking, but it’s crowded in here and I have to be sure. I stumble a little and Ileo himself reaches a hand to help. I take his arm and smile. He doesn’t recognise me. “Thank ...

Author : David Henson One morning I have a horrible pain in my right side. I go see Dr. Ivan, my organ manager. She concludes my body is rejecting my liver and quickly puts in another. Less than a week later, I can barely get out of bed. “We’ll have to put in a ...

Author : Charles Paul Wallace I thought I'd got lucky. She was my type, you know? Late '20s, not-too-pretty-not-too-plain, intelligent...and, apparently, interested. I was in one of those black-light bars by the Thames, near to the corporate headquarters of my employers, ...

Author : Edward Turner III This isn’t really about the divorce now. Nor is it about the cheating, I am coming to terms with the fact that he truly wants me to die. He is still speaking, running his mouth, pretending to be the good guy. He is smiling a big toothy grin as ...

Author : Adam Byers Case File: C7-40415 Description of event: At 8:42 am on September 27, 1988, Kenneth James Walker was struck and killed by a bus. The Deviation occurred at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Rutherford Road, District C, Sector 7. Mr. Walker was 28 ...

Author : Ken Carlson Parallel universes can be tricky. They create confusion, fear, and a false sense of hope. So when I informed Nelson, my best friend from our original lives in Manhattan that I intended to destroy the portal between our universe and the other, as well ...

Author : Thomas Desrochers Grant watched as steam curled up from his mug and disappeared into the foliage above, weak spears of early morning light dancing through the leaves. He smiled – it was rare to have a moment of peace. The girl’s mattress creaked in the next room. ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer “Two.” A long time ago, there was a war. A really big, planet-smashing war. Sometime during that conflict, they had a knock-down, drag-out battle nearby. It spanned a couple of systems and went on for many years. When they stopped ...

Author : Beck Dacus “How’s it coming along?” I asked Dowmir, the spindly little ambassador to the Clathalnra species. He was sitting at a computer, constructed in the old-fashioned, desktop way so that he could use it better. He didn’t like holograms. Or tablets. While ...