Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Even before everything came apart, I hated hills. And, back then, I had gears. This old clunker only has one cog at each end. So there’s nothing for it but to push down on one side while hooking the other side under the pedal to pull up. If that ...

Author : K.L. Kelso I first noticed the owl while I was out chopping wood. Slowly, it circled overhead. It's movements seemed odd. Not quite natural. I continued working and watched the strange creature from the corner of my eye. I could not let on what I suspected. Eventually, the ...

Author : Suzanne Borchers Jem stood at attention along with the other retiring service veterans. Within her crisp uniform, she was already contemplating a civilian future. First, she would strip off the war and its memories to wear the newest natural fabric covered with huge colorful ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer There’s a spade stuck in a pile of earth, and Harry would want it so. We’ll not disturb it, letting wild plants grow and moss run riot. He loved digging. Said it made a man of him when he first did it in the trenches, and lamented the fact that ...

Author : Bob Newbell The machine walked into the office and bowed politely to the man behind the desk. The man did not invite his mechanical guest to take a seat. "Senator Collins, I want to thank you for seeing me. I'm aware that you don't have a very high opinion of my kind and your ...

Author : Kate Runnels Emi always looked them in the eyes - the poets knew them as the gateways to the soul - even though she plugged in and dove their mind. Dove their cybernetic link and into the electronic pathways. She always looked them in the eyes. There were green eyes with ...

Author : Sharon Molloy “That’s the surprise, Daddy?” A family of four stood in the restaurant lobby, watching unfamiliar shapes moving in a huge tank. They’re staring at me!” “No, they’re not. They don’t have eyelids.” “They have too many legs.” “Those aren’t legs, and they ...

Author : Bob Newbell I'm going to die here, thought Or'Vykl to himself. Or'Vykl stared out through the visor in his helmet at what had been a residential suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. The area showed little evidence of the orbital bombardment that had fallen upon more strategically ...

Author : Julian Miles, Staff Writer Sarraled stared through the viewport as the lander spiralled down through the thin atmosphere. “Looks like this place was inhabited.” The pilot nodded: “They died out just before we established the base. Sad, really.” “That good?” “Yes. ...

Author : Edward D. Thompson (edacious) Erica poured her first cup of the morning, missing the friendly hum of greeting the coffee pot used to make. The day had begun with such a homey feel then. The crackle of the toaster, the busy hum and whine of the microwave, the steady, reliable ...