Author: Kate Runnels Tan sighed as he turned course, with the gimbaled piloting stick, following the search pattern. They needed to find a flux field. Even a flux point. That would take them somewh…

Lonely Robot on a Rocket Ship in Space By A. Merc Rustad Byron scribbled crib notes on his wrist the night before he planned to come out to his dads. He’d told all his friends he was sick so he would have an excuse to stay home Friday night. It wasn’t like he was lying. …

Author: Rebecca Field Each time I go to the morgue, I expect to find him. And then each time I leave, I wish that I could fall asleep and not wake up again. Become one of them. Lined up in death, a…

When We Fall by Kameron Hurley I don’t remember the first time I was abandoned and forgotten, but I have told the story of the second time so often that when the memory boils up it feels hot and gummy, like the air that day. Whoever cared for me – and I can’t be certain …

Author : Andrew Bale At a touch of her finger, the words on the single sheet of paper scrolled and changed, revealing the final words of the story. Angeline sighed. It had been a good book, and she…

Author : Janet Shell Anderson The sunlight’s dim, strange, blood colored. “I was framed.” He doesn’t say “That’s what they all say.” He doesn’t know enough. He doesn’t know what I am, what he is, w…

Author : Leanne A. Styles I skip down the corridor, swinging my gun in delight. Even above the wail of the alarms, Ben’s screams carry, amplified by the lofty glass walls. As I enter the stairwell,…

Author : N. Thomas Parshall “Twenty minutes to launch, Shortfall” “Roger that, Command. Shortfall ready for launch.” “Copy. Stand by.” Lt. Commander Warren Sheffield looked over at his co-pilot, Ma…

“So what you’re saying is that—” “What I’m saying is that I want you to look at me when you speak!” Christie scowled at her husband. It was an argument they’d had at least a dozen t…

Author : Jae Miles, Staff Writer The tide is full of bodies and the sky is filled with lies. Sullen waves roll corpses back and forth, trailing organic tatters in varying shades of death. Above me,…

Author : Sam Clough, Staff Writer Sacha slumped down in a doorway, gathering her heavy clothes tighter around her. As a prophylactic measure, the cloth and leather were almost useless: it was less …

Author : Damien Krsteski “One more and you’re done,” the bartender informs me. I nod, then take a large sip from the bottle. Due to the nature of their work, bartenders tend to kn…

Author : Javen J. 1:10. Three fingers of vodka were left; two in the bottle and one in a tumbler. He had never drunk so much before; and never would again. At least there would be no record breakin…

Isaac lived on the inner ring of the tower, so he didn’t have a window. He had a screen though, and despite the status of having a window, he preferred the flexibility of having a screen. A s…

Author : Lillian Cohen-Moore I died for this country. Then.. …I came back. Mock me all you want. Say, no, what I mean to say is, “I would have died for this country.” Or, “I…

Author : Steve Smith, Staff Writer Carson lay still, blood oozing from his battered mouth onto the playground, his ears ringing as they laughed. “Come on freak, get up and fight.” Quent…

Author : Gray Blix, Featured Writer [ bio ] At a Calgary hockey camp, parents and players watched a goaltending 8 year old novice stop everything shot at him. Might as well have been a brick wall. …

Author : George R. Shirer The assessor is attractive in a button-down kind of way. Blonde hair, pink jumpsuit, digital makeup set to minimal. Her face is a sculpt, something from one of the mid-lev…

Author : Duncan Shields Seven years of work here in the KT and the worst that’s happened to me is that I lost a fingertip in a time trap. It’s still there, falling to the floor in a three secon…

Author : CR Briffett Welcome to Perfect Match. Please sign in through one of your professional or social media networks. Thank you, we will now gather all of your digital data. When you are ready t…

Author: Ajith S Nair It was a Friday and in Saudi Arabia, Friday is a holiday for most people. I just got home after finishing the night shift. I am not supposed to be back for work until Monday ni…

Author : A. Munck Man claims a bad joy. He has his hand on the radar. The oil, sweat sheen on his palm reacts with chemicals on the screen and reveals ships in the darkness. Man has waited a long t…

Author: Kim Kneen Recently I have taken to sitting at portholes. I angle myself so I can see my reflection; reach out as if to clutch a hand or stroke a cheek. I choose remote locations where Gala …

Author : Roger ale Trexler The proximity claxon awoke him from a dead sleep. He jumped out of the storage container he used as a makeshift bed and yelled, “Buddy!” He ran down the corridor that led…

Author : Cesium Artichoke “Hey, Tom, uh… you got a minute?” Robin ambushed him as he came out of his office. He had a meeting with the Secretary of Energy about space-based power,…

Author: Jae Miles, Staff Writer That leaden feeling in your gut as you trudge from transport to entrance. The warmth of the lift buttons under your fingertips. Those shooting pains in your head as …

Author : Alex Skryl “Computer, report!” yelled the Captain. “Sir, all primary systems are online but the star orientations do not match anything in my database.” “What…

Author : Pete Clark In the vast, senseless void of space, a new star appeared. Darin watched from the observatory with wide eyed wonder at the glowing orb, reflecting on the War, the unknown enemy.…

Author: Jeff Mauser They peered through the small site-port of their shuttle in astonishment. Their small ship had been designed for docking purposes only, not for landing on a planet. The sky was …

Author: Kaelen I’m tired, yet I can not sleep. Of course, sleep is not something I need or can even do, but I do enjoy taking quick naps, as I call them. Getting disconnected for short periods enli…