Category Archives: Fiction

The first and last time I fell in love was an accident, and illegal for a few reasons. She was thirteen years older than me. I was seventeen. At the time, I didn’t see any issue with it. She was … Continue reading →

The elevator felt cozy and warm, like home, with so many memories. For a moment, time had stood still and he was a social worker once again. He rode this elevator at least five times a day, five days a … Continue reading →

Frank was a real Renaissance man. He was a writer, an artist and musician. He adored nature and animals more than people. Don’t get me wrong—Frank was a sociable guy. But like many tortured artistic souls, he was happiest in … Continue reading →

The sound of the lawn mower caught Ethel’s attention as she was having her morning coffee. She looked out the front bay window, squinting her eyes to try and make out the fellow cutting her grass. He couldn’t be her … Continue reading →

“How many basic runes are there in British typography?” Anna asked Mike of a sudden, in an odd circuitous manner that put Mike on guard. “Runes? What do you mean, ‘runes’? They’re named… something other than that,” answered Mike, “but … Continue reading →

Read Previous Chapters “Forgotten ancients?” Mira muttered. “What did she mean forgotten ancients?” “I don’t right know,” Healer admitted. The go’thial priest hadn’t spared a single detail explaining what Estoria had relayed to him. Unfortunately, the goddess also hadn’t given … Continue reading →

Ted Malone had wanted to work at his company’s lithium mine on Titan since landing a job as a safety engineer following college graduation six years before. Not only did it pay better than the jobs at the company’s lunar, … Continue reading →

He was one of our regular neighborhood walkers, unusual for his doglessness and for his stoic commitment to his own company. I never knew his name, but came to think of him as Mr. Walker. He was, I suppose, of … Continue reading →

Edmund looked out across a sea of faces whose expressions ranged from admiration to adoration, the soft murmur of anticipation keen in the air, the spotlight hot on his bare head. He had nothing. He never did, and it never … Continue reading →

Can’t you smell it? The very essence of truth. You can’t make that up. C’mon, really inhale. Smells don’t lie. I’ll tell you how it got there, then you’ll understand what you’re up against. I’m not sure how it started, … Continue reading →

May 23rd, 2025 At 8 AM sharp, Neville arrived at the supply depot, where a man asked for his ID. “John Neville,” the man called out to a woman across the room. She gestured for Neville to approach. With a … Continue reading →

The sound of fatty hands clapping roused Akram Baba from his dozy pondering. He tidied his Kaftan, adjusted his headcloth, and hastened to the inner chamber where his superior, the wealthy merchant Mustafa Deeb, impatiently reposed. Akram scurried around a … Continue reading →

Young Charlie’s lip was bulging. He’d gotten his hands on a can of his father’s chewing tobacco. He spit, wiping the dribble with the back of his hand. Tonight was a night to be rebellious. He turned his gaze back … Continue reading →

Thierry thought I was pulling their leg. “A trick you pull on gullible off-worlders,” they laughed. “Zephyr’s just shy with new people,” I explained. “Put out your hand.” They gave me a look halfway between skeptical and suspicious. When I … Continue reading →

I followed the locator on my IQ-Pad to Mr. Chirps, known familiarly as just Chirps. He showed up as a blip below navigation near the engine room of our ship, the space cruiser Star Breeze. There he sat on the … Continue reading →

Marbury picked up the hitchhiker in the high desert of northern New Mexico, more from a sense of duty—it was over a hundred degrees—than any desire for company. With a face as hollowed out as the mesas and prospecting hands … Continue reading →

Heather Van Vale glanced at her watch, grabbed her purse, phone, and laptop and headed out. Fridays were always killers, especially at the end of the month when her sales reps were struggling to make quota. She could count on … Continue reading →

I count the candles on my cake, knowing that there are more years forgotten than remembered, and I snuff out all thirty in a single breath. It’s a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting, baked in bundt form. My sister, … Continue reading →

I finally seize an opening in my ex’s gloomy monologue on the ruined state of the country. “Suze, I’d better get going.” “Of course.” She grimaces. Polite resignation. What did I expect, coming here? She’s erected a fortress around her … Continue reading →

After driving five hours back from the wedding of Louis Ferran and Anita Estevez in Miami, where I’d ineptly played the role of best man, the fan belt in my twenty-year-old Volkswagen broke in the worst possible place—Devil’s Hammock in … Continue reading →

The first thing that Alex saw when she opened her eyes was an older woman looking down at her. She had a concerned look on her face and was pressing a damp cloth against Alex’s forehead. “Oh, good. You’re awake. … Continue reading →

Retreating into his apartment, David thought: She looked at me like I was Jack the Ripper with knife raised. He did not know when she had moved into the building, the girl with that delightful mane of red ringlets. Or … Continue reading →

Mother Lara rummaged through the death masks, disheartened only a few would fit in her basket. The horde was rapidly approaching, and dozens of masks were kept in the shrine; how could anyone choose under such constraints? She drew a … Continue reading →

The woman-like thing was translucent, shimmering in the sunlight like a diaphanous sheet of water. No one around me could see her, but I could. I developed very keen observational skills staring through microscopes in Dr. Drost’s lab, identifying different … Continue reading →

There was no telling what such a town would have in store for him. He was sitting on his horse, frowning deeply and raising his hat to get a better view. Seeing the town better, he rechecked his guns and … Continue reading →

Cousin James gave Frances very specific directions for how to reach him. After the train went underground, she would get off at the first stop. A place called “Metro Exit 2/North.” She watched the passengers blowing in and out of … Continue reading →

Why settle for thousands of dollars when millions more could be had? This thought tormented me as I lay awake on the rocky ground, staring up at the starlit sky. Aside from a few sentries, my hundred fighters slumbered around … Continue reading →

On a still, humid night in July 1858, two eminent surgeons from Tallahassee, Dr. Manvers and Dr. Treadwell, were summoned to the Verdura Plantation, whose owners, the Buxtorf family, were among the wealthiest cotton planters in Leon County. They were … Continue reading →

July 16, 1918, 7 a.m.  At 7 a.m. sharp, a nun from a nearby convent approaches a two-story building on Ascension Hill. Despite the unusually cold and rainy summer, the trees around the mansion are in full bloom, and smiley-faced … Continue reading →

Birger woke to a gentle shaking. He sat up quickly and looked at the Jul fire. It was ash and embers. The boy jumped to his feet and began adding the last of the kindling and logs to the fire, … Continue reading →

I’m now able to touch a light switch and make it turn on and off. I’m now able to write these words, and read them clearly. I could tell you about travelling, having sex, and flying, but I think you … Continue reading →

The laughing blonde kid tread in the deeper water. I looked away to scan the lake, distracted first by boats pushing against the wind, then by the dirty dollar bill green of the tree line hugging the shore. When I … Continue reading →

“I can’t tell you how good it is to see you again, Paul,” she said, her starved gaze rarely straying from his face.              “It’s the same for me, Danni,” he replied, trying not to stare at her unhealthy thinness. … Continue reading →

Phase Three: Salutogenesis My main job on the crew was to make sure that the Habitat and all its systems were in good working order. If we don’t have air, we die. If we don’t have heat, we die. If … Continue reading →