Fictional Worlds

Author: Rollin T. Gentry Despite what Detective Bouchard still believes, I did not kill Cassandra Gibbons. I didn’t kill her two years ago, and I sure as hell didn’t kill her again this morning. via Pocket

Pillars of flame smothered the Trac’s windows as it descended swiftly through outer atmosphere. The craft’s accommodations were quite decadent: cushioned seats, masseuses, and gleaming trays of food and liquor crowded to the edges of the heat-blaste…

The silence in my ears woke me. I lay there, ocean rocking the docked boat, and mentally rewind to the beginning of the album. I couldn’t think of anything else to listen to. via Pocket

Deuteronomy 28:41 Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. Just a toe. That’s all. Just her pointed phalanx appears. No more, at first. She plays me like a fly cast trout. She can’t be rea…

I needed a big brother, so I disguised myself and went back in time to become him. I’d lived all this before, as my kid self, so it was pretty easy. I just had to remember the details along the way. First was a mustache like the Village People. Then…

Major Tom Valence knew it was a one-way trip yet he felt at peace, euphoric even. Soon he would be with them again – Liv and Susie. He sent a quick prayer of thanks to the Tetrad. The agony of the absence of his wife and daughter had left him hollow…

He gently places a finger on her hand. “Now try. Over there. No, don’t look back, you won’t see him. Look in the window. He’s just to the left of Mrs. Bakker, kissing her shoulder.” Krista stares around the room, at Connor, then at the window. via P…

Semi-Finals Status Update: Seven-in-Absentia vs The Last Dragon. One hour remaining! The text crawls across Danny’s white suburban bedroom ceiling–bright and blood red–and descends behind the armoire on the far wall. He ignores it and continues his …

Clank. Clank. Clank. The little silver pyramid hovered to the kitchen sink. Two metal arms emerged and started doing the dishes. via Pocket

The point of this exercise is observation but I’m distracted, observing that Dwyer’s return will cause some surprise. The house he has chosen sits at the top of a steep slope, between two snowy hills. via Pocket

The Cosmic Patriot | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2ljMkRy

Yellow | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2ljUlGk

Apples | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2HXAJRf

I Noticed the Roads Were Empty | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2HUqIUT

Easy Pickings | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2HS2P0b

Allen Etter was stranded in deep space. The propulsors of his small hypercraft had exploded, and he was thrown off course. via Pocket

Author: Rick Tobin “May I speak frankly?” Preston Daniels stood before Secretariat Chrisom, ruler straight, staring at the Marscape beyond his superior’s office windows. “With care, Preston. via Pocket

‘Ndrea pressed herself into the blood-soaked ground and swore under her breath. She had never had a peace-brokering mission go this badly wrong before. via Pocket

Monstrous | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2uWmk2V

Author : Roi R. Czechvala, Staff Writer They watched him through a one way mirror. He sat in a corner of the room in a pool of his own excrement, legs pulled up to his chest, arms tightly wrapped around his knees. via Pocket

We captured her javelin just short of a light year out from Earth. Javelins are small ships, roughly 30 meters long and about 10 cm in diameter at the widest point. Eighteen javelins were launched from a rail gun on the moon six years ago. via Pocket

No one saw the meteor coming. It was faster than any meteor yet recorded. It didn’t so much as break the speed of light as it did beat its face in, set it on fire and sleep with its girlfriend. via Pocket

You get coffee. You glance around. A dozen people sip beverages or talk or stare into their computers. You sit. Then you spot him. He’s at the counter. He looks at the menu board. You watch him order, watch him pay. “Thank you,” he says with a smile…

A three-year-old boy stumbles along the streets, long after bedtime, holding his mother’s hand. They are skirting barricades, guns, uniforms. via Pocket

“But the work is complete! Your living room, your entire downstairs, your upstairs, your backyard, even — all are redressed in sync with 1976 and ready for transport. With just the push of a button, you will be reliving your childhood memories once …

Riley signed for the package and came back inside the house. ‘What was the delivery?’ asked his wife Barbara looking up from her tablet? He looked at the label. ‘Actually, it’s from Estella. via Pocket

We are drafting this letter in response to the riots that took place outside of our headquarters, in the hopes of putting toxic rumors about our organization to rest. If your protest taught us anything, it is that it takes a lot more than bullets, b…

She placed the order online, as she had done before. No credit checks anymore, no profiling questions, just pick a time and a place, and the service guaranteed her date would be on-time and appropriate. via Pocket

I’ve travelled distances that make oceans seem like ponds. I’ve dealt with solar flares and meteor storms, flown half-blind and bleeding from situations that would make a sane man scream for his mother. via Pocket

SWF seeking SM, 40-50, human or android. Looks not important. The blinking type flooded John’s inbox. Delete, delete, del—he paused on the last: Android adoption today, new shipment, Middleton Square. via Pocket