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 ...

Author: Majoki Click. Split. The metal gleams. That was all. Decades of research. Years of development. For this. Click. Split. The metal gleams. Hiroshi was toast. His head to be delivered not on a silver platter, but on a silicon wafer to Project Director. He was ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “Did you see that, Pete?” I nod. “Just another rocket from Abaella.” Said on the news it’s going to be in range of Earth for another month. “It’s bigger than that, Pete.” Amanda sounds unhappy. I wander out onto the porch in time to ...

Author: Rick Tobin Jason continued to turn a small half-fried reptile in a solar often. Cooking took longer on this world with its distant red sun. Bursts of drifting dust blew over him and his two companion portal flyers. Emily was rinsing her hair delicately with precious ...

Author: Palmer Caine Between gates things get weird. Perception splinters to span myriad levels, too many to navigate, too many to understand. Like of Galaxy of mirrors, everything reflected infinitesimally. Or so it seems. Maybe a fly with its many segmented eyes could ...

Author: R. J. Erbacher The road ahead was dark and going darker as it banked down into the shadows of the towering mountains, blocking the angled light that was parching the land. Pausing there at the summit he wondered if there was anything in the valley below that waited ...

Author: Joann Evan One morning, I received a suspicious email. The subject line said “King Crimson.” The sender was “No One,” and when I rolled over the name it showed only random letters and numbers. I knew I shouldn’t open it. It was probably a scam. I clicked delete. I ...

Author: Hillary Lyon Wilson drifted from guest to guest serving hors d'oeuvres, taking drink orders. Most party goers hardly regarded him, too engrossed in their conversations. Save for Brenna. Young, idealistic, she possessed a heart big enough for all creatures—as she ...