Matryoshka by Gareth Jones | 1,625 words “Tell us about the aliens, Grandad! What did you do when they came?” I sighed as two pairs of bright eyes peered up at me from their pillows. The youngest g...

Krieger by Michael Hodges | 4,379 words The woman opened her mouth to a degree human mouths shouldn’t open. Her eyeballs bulged, no longer containing the aura of a living human being. Rin watched t...

Jury of Peers By Hunter Liguore | 2,299 words i. The court stood a hundred feet tall and just as wide, at the center of the village. It was surrounded by simple homes and purple gardens with swing ...

LifeCycle by Jess Hyslop | 3,431 words In the smouldering rubble, MM#2893 began putting itself back together. Its head was still attached to its left shoulder-plate, arm, and hand—which was lucky, ...

Fame by Michaele Jordan | 6,007 words David Atchinson scanned the test scores. His own grade, he barely noticed, was a 97. He did, however, observe that his classmates’ grades ranged from 58 to 96....

Out With the Crowd by Michael Haynes Alex Choo, pitcher of the Des Moines Sting, consulted his neural boost as Jordan Smith walked to the plate in the top of the seventh inning of game seven of the...

One Thousand Feet and Climing by Megan Engelhardt | 3,537 words "Easy now, Jenny. Steady does it." Roger glanced back at the girl with the aviator goggles and bobbed red hair. "I wish you'd stop ta...

The Phantom Frigate by Eric Del Carlo | 2,346 words A giant carrot walked into the bar. No, this isn't the start of some joke. It glanced around, spotted me and Hitchcock drinking beers, and headed...

The Devil's Hat by Gary B. Phillips “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” - Albert Einstein — — — Orelli weaved throug...

Stupid Manuscripts by Antha Ann Adkins | 2,238 words Hugh needed to ace this interview with the mysterious SM, Inc. He had looked for work for over a year, and soon he'd have to drop some of his jo...

Unfinished Projects by Darren Goossens | 3,658 words Simon put the phone down on the kitchen bench. Liza's voice continued, now murmuring into the laminex. He stared across the messy kitchen at the...

The Plan by Jamie Ashworth | 3,558 words You can see all of Crayport from Caron’s Hill. There’s Main Street, all brick and cobblestone. Just past it is Bright Beach with swarms of tourists on its s...

Union by O. L. Wilson | 2,871 words The ghostly husk of the Cherokee shrank with every second until it was no more than a pin-prick in the surrounding blue sky. Anneke turned her head toward the ga...

Alms Race by Deborah Walker | 2,873 words “Spare some change, miss?” Erin felt in her pocket and pulled out a ten-euro coin. She tossed it into the newman’s plate, which was already primed with a c...

Humanity’s Echo by Gavin Wilson It was waiting for him. Only a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye and his reactions saved him from a blow that could’ve ended him. As the creature skidde...

Homestead by Matthew Spence The old man’s house was much the same as King remembered it. The front porch extended out over the artificial seed, where the old man sat on a rocking chair printed from...

Frisson by Nicholas P. Oakley Serge peeled the dust-caked suit off, wriggling his feet free of the skin-tight membrane. He flung it carelessly into the locker, thumbing a button to begin the cleani...

Solo by Nathaniel Katz | 2,945 words “You are going to meet the gods?” one of the Urosili asked. “We are going to ask the Above for assistance, yes,” I answered for the amba...

The Rogue by Jennifer R. Povey | 2,389 words Shayna finished pulling on her outer suit. As it synced with the nanomachines in her blood and nervous system, she felt the suit become a part of hersel...

Tread Lightly by Alex Hernandez | 3,996 words Isabella Cavalo watched as the wokchoi burst out of the shrubbery and raced toward the archeological team studying the Crystalline Temple; their poundi...

Unspoken Words by Brian R. McDowell “A lie?” she spoke in a breaking whisper. Henry looked down upon the kneeling female figure before him and into the vacant blue eyes staring back. He nodded slow...

Arlena's House by Barton Paul Levenson Arlena danced in the observation bay. She twirled slowly in place. She leaped and came down on one toe; knelt, her skirts sweeping slowly through the a...

A Better Tomorrow by Alex Shvartsman The spaceship was losing water fast. A Better Tomorrow spewed half a dozen thin plumes of vapor from its side into vacuum, like a wounded animal leaving a trai...

The Sgovari Stratagem by Alex Shvartsman | 4,082 words Jenkins watched through the small porthole in his cabin as yet another spaceship detached itself from the station and accelerated toward the s...

Heir of Mercy by John Frochio | 3,434 words Marshall Bruner crossed the fire field in bounding strides, the little girl clutched to his chest like a prized possession. The clear protective sheath t...

Situation Vacant, Apply Within by AJ Fitzwater | 4,162 words Audra Eka emptied her ale with thick, neat gulps. "Captain Audra Eka of the Topaz Requiem I presume, tck tck tck?" The stranger clicked ...

Planet Texas by Lance J. Mushung | 2,363 words I sat in the center of the spherical view screen in Austin's cockpit with my pilot, Candace Weiss. With only the dim blue glow of our console marring ...

Bento's Paradox by Patrick Lundrigan | 3,627 words Sandoz pulled his hood to block the glare as Neuve crept over the waterfront rooftops, adding another wave of heat to the scorched streets. He fel...