Author: Steve Smith, Staff Writer Sven had been driven out of Newport City and into the stars with a warning. "If you ever plan on landing Earthside again, you'd better bring enough money to clear your debt in full, with interest, or you'll be flayed and spread along the ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The valley is smoking, trees nothing but scorched gravestones for the life they once sheltered. The farmland around here used to be really scenic, but the only tourists today are the subject of my little excursion. “Good morning, ...

Author: Riley Meachem “You eat before you got here? Because, not to be gross, but this is a fuckin mess.” “I’ve seen worse.” Catalonia whistfully gave the cul-de-sac a once over. “He staged the killing in the middle of his own private amphitheatre. A downtown cul de sac, ...

Author: David Barber In 1969 the Canaveral Timeport was brand-new. The future had come to meet us and everything was possible. This is the Chronos Tavern, with its much-polished wooden bar, a dozen booths, subdued lighting, and no hint of clocks, hourglasses or ...

Author: Steven Zeldin My grandfather hated the Buffalo Bills. In 2019, when Harrison Phillips tore his ACL for the second time, I remember him partying. Friends drove in from across Philly—all toting bags of beer and food, all in full Eagles regalia. That was the first ...

Author: Timothy Goss He was sitting in a wet towel when the phone bleeped. It was late, too late for good news. Poullis’ voice cracked as she spoke, “They’re asking for you.” she said and fell silent. His calender was cleared. His diary emptied. A damp towel lay on the ...

Author: Uchechukwu Nwaka “What makes you think they’ll take my case here, Mama?” Aki’s fingers are clutched tightly over the blanket that wraps his shriveled legs. I take his hands in mine and squeeze. The air-conditioning is a few degrees too warm and I don’t want Aki ...

Author: Andrew Schoen I careen through empty space—somersaulting past the stars. The background of darkness, luminously pinpricked by distant suns, suddenly becomes still. A white flash of light fills my field of vision, jolting me out of this existence. I wake up to the ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “Here goes nothing.” I always thought being stuck in a time loop would be fun. It’s what started me on the scientific path that led to my current state: Professor Emeritus Epa Shadel, prodigy and teen superstar turned hardworking genius ...

Author: Mary-Wren Ritchie My gut alerts me with a plague of insects in my head and a whirlpool cascading waves through my phalanges. But I’m already on the spacepod and I feel the shape of Gemini projected onto my scales. I meet the constellation arrangement of the ...

Author: Ruby Zehnder "So, Irvin says to me, Martha, you know there's still a few bites of chocolate cake with the cool whip frosting you love in the fridge." "Are you sure it was Irvin speaking to you?" the doc asked. "Of course it was. Who else would be speaking to me in ...

Author: Riley Meachem 1. A bloodstained crib. While ambiguity is one of the strengths of this portrait, the small, doll-like leg with a protrusion of bone removes all chance of a misunderstanding, or some sizable coincidence. The child is dead. Vaguely humanoid shadows play ...

Author: Alzo David-West The Polygonz, a mineral-based sentience out around Rigel, were conducting an observation. Their deep probes had detected a planet, distant and liquid, with a peculiar life form composed of electricity and plasma, though the Polygonz could not discern ...

Author: Emma Edling Müller We are a few lightyears beyond Mars when I first hear the rumble. It’s a subtle thing, the faintest of thunders, more an absence of silence than any particular sound. The kind of noise that’s hardly there, but once you notice it, it’s all you can ...

Author: John Chadwick Jeisen rolled out of his bunk and stumbled to the viewscreen where the rest of his crew was gathered. From orbit, it looked like a white marble with some blue swirled in it. They tracked the fabled energy source to its origin on a small city-planet, ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer The streetlights have been off for an hour. The rain has been constant for three. Through the sodden darkness comes a stranger, clad in earthy hues and righteousness. I listen to him coming in. A mind is usually a noisy place, except in ...

Author: Ruby Zehnder "Eight…Nine…Ten... Ready or not, here I come," Elaina called out. The five-year-old started her search and destroy mission in the bedroom. She explored the closet. She looked under the bed. She even emptied the sock drawer. I held my breath as she ...

Author: Glenn Leung Nylar saw it at the river, staring up from under the water. Warped by ripples, it looked confused and ugly. At least that’s what Nylar thought. Having lived in darkness all her life, she wasn’t sure how to connect the dots between appearance and concept. ...