Author: Joey Ball “Are you good?” I heard Max ask as I stepped up the last few stairs to the massive abandoned nuclear power plant. “Yeah man, I’m ready,” I said, although nothing could be further from the truth. The place gave me a horrible feeling, a feeling like an ...

Author: A Allan Chibi Improvement Pending “Good morning, Dave,” the coffeemaker called out brightly. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you brew coffee this morning.” Dave was not expecting this on a Wednesday. “What?” He stopped dead in his tracks. He hasn’t even dressed ...

Author: Alzo David-West Below, there are little beads of amber light. She arrives with a silver suitcase. I cannot stop looking at her round face. Our bodies speak. It is not subtle. I am not subtle. A standing mirror reflects her back. Air flows in the room. There are ...

Author: Majoki “It can’t be moved.” “Anything can be moved.” “You ever heard of the Sword in the Stone?” “It took the right person. The right person moved it.” “You ain’t no Arthur.” “You ain’t no Guinevere.” “I’m not even a woman.” “You’re not even ...

Author: Alzo David-West The uncharted world was tidally locked with one side in icy shade and the other in burning heat. Between the black and red was a belt of shining green. Our spacecraft neared the exosphere. We detected the remnants of extinct oceans and ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer I’m just thinking this lot might be further behind the curve than the last flight when - “I got it! I got it!” I kick my bird inverted while replying. “Quebec Ten. Romeo!” There’s the twit, coming up hard - a decent Romeo response: ...

Author: Frank Sikora September 11, 2001 • World Trade Center • New York • 9:40 a.m. A wall of flame stalks the historian, 2000 degrees, capable of melting steel and glass. Black smoke billows throughout the building and into the air, desecrating a stark blue sky. The ...

Author: Frank Sikora “Her name will be Eleanor,” says the clerk. “She will be your wife. Your best friend. The mother of your three, maybe four children, depending on the probability wave functions at the time of insertion, and in the end, on your deathbed, she will betray ...

Author: Susmita Ramani In Laura’s dreams, she and Herb were as they had been in their twenties: racing their brown horses around hillsides, their laughter ringing out, eating apples near the river, swimming, and arguing about philosophy and religion -- which Laura had been ...

Author: R. J. Erbacher She walked across the plywood subfloor in her bare feet, leaving damp impressions of her soles on the fresh wood. At the window she leaned her shoulder into the sheetrock wall, looking sideways through the pane which still had the factory installed ...

Author: Mark Renney The Elders insist that all descendants of the survivors still reside under a dome. But how can they be so sure when we haven’t yet ventured outside? The Elders insist that if any of the others had abandoned their dome, and were managing to exist out ...

Author: Majoki "They had a splendid wedding…after the beheading." "She went birdwatching…after the beheading." "In Disneyland, the child held Snow White’s hand…after the beheading." "The pastor bought a red convertible…after the beheading." "It was a dark and ...

Author: Julian Miles, Staff Writer “I tell you it’s a hologram! Once our people get past it they’ll see conventional forces, without a doubt.” General Bel Charles is known for being a bit of a throwback. A real blood, guts, and the occasional atrocity soldier. Calmly ...

Author: Frank Sikora My friend Stanislav bends forward and coughs, not once, not twice, but five times. Even in the mill’s dim light, I see the bloody bile on his hands. “I’m dying, friend Wojtek,” he says. “A most unpleasant experience.” I cannot disagree. I take a ...

Author: Harold Loomis I dream of fire. Not the warm fire thawing out your fingertips on a cold morning but the all-consuming fire of the Rock. That is what everyone called the meteor that hit the earth. Just, the Rock. Sounds simple, I know. Like something you would chuck ...

Author: Hillary Lyon Kavon stood outside on the front porch watching swirls of red dust dancing down the empty highway in front of his store. “You stay out much longer you’re gonna get windburned,” His wife, Mozie, called from inside. Kavon ignored her, shifting his gaze ...

Author: Jaslynn Middleton “Madison, I have a dentist appointment tomorrow. I need you to take me.” OF COURSE. NO PROBLEM. Fragile wings the color of the poppies in her neighbor’s yard. Edges defined by kohl black, a color she wouldn’t discover until she was an ...

Author: Eva Hays “Thank you for calling Teletravel helpline. All our operators are busy right now, but we’ll be with you shortly. You are now first in the queue.” I pull the phone away from my ear. The screen blinks at me. Call time: 67 minutes. Beneath my thighs, I can ...