Thirty breaths, and then my world will be over. I know I will die from the moment I know anything at all, an understanding so innate, so instantaneous and thorough that it seems to precede me, which makes sense, as it was coded into my mind before y…

Sure, he’s not exactly the same. There are small differences. Some easy tidbits that I picked up on. Like, he’s right-handed. Ian was left. And this morning he asked if I wanted to take a week off. Save up for a get-away. via Pocket

I see her shoulders tense, then one hand releases as the other arm swings out and round. Ashes form a plume on the wind. “He’s gone, Darion. Free at last.” Essa blinks back tears as she smiles at me. There’s a release in her eyes, a relief and a par…

Get Your Man | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2ALGy5E

The Kiev Metaphor | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2vD78rO

The pink young woman was followed by a green man. A deafening explosion and hundreds of sparkly green dots illuminated the night sky. His features could be properly distinguished against the darkness. A middle-aged frowning man; he wore glasses and …

Fallowbound | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2vks7Ay

The Children of the Lonely Moon charged, screaming their bloodlust. The Crimson Champions hewed them down, blades flashing, muscles bulging, armor gleaming. Adam Firedrake banged his sword pommel on his shield, taunting a troll, while Lyra darted in…

Opening my eyes, I’m still standing. There’s a bleeding body at my feet that hadn’t been there when I closed my eyes. He rolls over. He looks up, tears streaming back into his hair. via Pocket

“Thanks. Here’s–” The short alien that looks vaguely like an anthropomorphic armadillo shuffles away before I can offer him a tip. At no time while serving me does he make eye contact. That was out of respect. And fear. I’m nobody important. Just a …

Tight bindings held her fast to something upright and cold. She stood blindfolded before her captors. Sweat trickled over her eyebrows, infiltrating throbbing eyes, and then eroding mascara into rivulets over her black cheeks and paralyzed quivering…

Never Interact with theLocals | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2AeUlS1

Exodus | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2vbrJDy

A Song in the Static | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2v1Pxu9

Qantas Flight 2314 | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2LDTq1Z

The Dark Side of Mourning | 365tomorrows via Instapaper https://ift.tt/2uKwBjL

Daily Science Fiction is an on-line magazine specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and everything in between. A new story is published every weekday and sent to subscribers via e-mail, and stories appear a week later on dailysciencefiction.com.

Dax found his usual seat in the back corner of the cafeteria and unpacked his lunch. He laid out a sandwich, a can of iced coffee, and an orange on the table in front of him, then fished a lock-blade knife from his jacket pocket and set about peelin…

In this, the 25th anniversary of the founding of the lunar colony, First World (colloquially called Blacktopia by its residents), The Indianapolis Recorder, the nation’s oldest-surviving African-American newspaper, continues its series re-visiting k…

I found a way into tomorrow but when I got there it didn’t care. Though I burrowed deep through caverns cold and waited patiently for the drugs to take hold this newest of days it took no heed, no, for me this day it could care not one bit. via Pock…

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

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

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

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…

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

“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 …

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

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…

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

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