Fictional Worlds

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer Lieutenant Bensen’s neck snapped in my strong hands with a crack and a gurgle. Her surprised eyes goggled up at me as her body went limp. Corporal Mancie…

Author : Ryan Swiers From the sand she raised herself. The desert wind had coursed over her exposed flesh and the gritty pain of its wake made the effort slow. Sleek tendrils of sand rolled from he…

Author : Sam Clough, Staff Writer I work on Opingtu. Two-and-a-bit AUs from civilisation, on a good day. Lee thrust the crowbar into my hands, and set off down the corridor at a run. I swore, and r…

Author : Victoria Benstead-Hume We made it to twenty-eight weeks before my neighbour reported me. Twenty-nine and the doctor classed it tainted. As if that mattered. Lace curtains lend a sheen of r…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer The laboratory is filled with the sound of slow drops landing. The smell alone is enough to drive three officers back. Seeing the mess does for the next five. Offic…

Author : David Blatcher Jason threw the low fat yogurt drink at the smartFridge and it splattered pale pink against the door. He had told the fridge to order milkshakes, the kind he always had afte…

Author : Bryan Pastor “Absolutely ridiculous. The music of this era su….” “Hold that thought, what’s the make and model of the car we’re looking for?” “Blue Nissan…” “Like that one?” “Crap! Quick t…

Author : Duncan Shields, Staff Writer “So when’s your kill frenzy?” asked the giant, barbed Tark beside me. His name was Jant. We were both assigned to navigation in the starship.…

Author : Olivia Black, Staff Writer The entrance to the tunnel was much less circumspect than we expected. Had to have walked past it at least three times before we found it. I wasn’t sure how Bird…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer Getting used to sleeping while your body moves is the hardest thing about exoskeletal operations. Right now, I’m tail-end Charlie in a forty-man column accompanying…

Author : Kate Runnels “There,” said the doctor. “Try it now, agent Sasaki. The neural connection should be hooked in.” Lia stared down at her cybernetic left arm, recently attached after a case wen…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer Chandra Fourteen is an archaeological mystery. Not regarding its lost civilisation, nor the history of that civilisation. What everyone who encounters it becomes de…

Author : Chis Sharkey The sign read: P.B. FARNSWORTH’S TRAVELLING CIRCUS PRESENTS: THE MYSTERIOUS HOVER-CAT WITNESS THIS MYSTICAL CREATURE OF GRAVITY-DEFYING MAJESTY THREE NIGHTS ONLY OCT. 5T…

Author : David Henson I notice the message in the sky as I’m going into Eat-A-Lot mart — COMING SOON. I figure it’s a vapor-trail promo, but when I come out, the words are still t…

Author : Russell Bert Waters …fireworks exploding, the smell of sulphur… …sliding off the road on a slushy day… …first kiss, soft, lights of the city in the distance… …fight…

Author : Robert Niescier “Why do you keep writing in there?” He looked up and into her eyes, through steam shaded orange from the bonfire’s glow, and smiled. “It’s so people, future peopl…

Author : Michelle Keeley Frank stared impassively as the Floridian dawn crept silently across his bedroom, the line of accolades on his antique dresser cast long, foreboding shadows onto the elegan…

Author: Dan Fuhr Years spent as a shuttle engineer and now I’m facing the unemployment line for another week. Of course, after this week, someone will be calling me up. A bachelors and masters in E…

Author : Michael Iverson He was still seizing when the light hit his eyes. His head was pounding as he squeezed them shut, but it still tore into him, bright as the sun. His body was convulsing and…

Author : Kate Runnels The monkey tattoo stared at Zim. Forever frozen as it climbed a tiny branch. All it did was stare at him. No, that wasn’t quite right. It had started something else. It questi…

Author : Adam Fout Her hut is digitized light. They are coming for her. Her prayers to the netGODS continue. But there will be no deliverance. She has heard the whispers. She has seen the dissentio…

Author : Olivia Black, Staff Writer The clinic is smaller than Joan expected. The surgical lighting and immaculate white surfaces make the space feel less claustrophobic, but it doesn’t do much to …

Author : Philip Berry I am not formally sentient, but I do feel. In the beginning each encounter added to my knowledge of people. My dark hours were spent arranging those observations and filtering…

Author : Dez Thomas Instinctively I closed my eyes: I didn’t want to record my death. My heart pounded in my chest. I landed with a thud on the surface, expecting the scorching heat of the ba…

Author : Kelly Sauvage Angel “So, how was transport?” Betta asked as I settled into her chair. “Speed of light, really.” I gathered and lifted my hair in a messy bundle so she could snap the nylon …

Author : Rollin T. Gentry At the end of the world, he reaches down a callused hand and grips the cold, steel leg of his cot, a small chill that takes him back to the days before the world was scorc…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer Swerve left and dive over a fence, roll once and spring through a gap in a wall, landing in what used to be a lounge, my face inches from a dead someone’s dia…

Author : Desmond Hussey, Staff Writer I’s down at Calhoon’s Saloon washin’ the day’s grit outta my mouth with belts of sour mash. Was hotter’n a cat-house on nickel night with nothin’ to jaw on but…

Author : George R. Shirer The alien wore a red flower in her hair. It was vibrant against her pale hair. “What do you think of her?” asked Jon. “I don’t know.” Jon gave me an incredulous look. “Wha…

Author : Matthew Banks Dr. Menkal gently removed Miller’s bandages. When the last strip peeled away from his eyes, he looked around, not fixating on anything. His irises were blue and cloudy …