Originally published in in (offline, ) Sam stared at the wrinkled cactus with narrow eyes, wiggling his fingers near his waist. The green plant stood there like a sad John Wayne, its spiky hands up in the sky, begging for a shot. Sam hit his palms on his pockets, picked up and imaginary revolver, spun
Originally published in in () The boy cried, and his father held his hand, and they walked on. “We’ll be okay,” his father told him. The city ruins were visible, far behind the fifth crater. They passed the crater days later. Still, the boy couldn’t stop weeping. “Where’s mommy?” “She’ll come,” the father answered, his
Originally published in in () He releases the locking mechanism on his helmet, still smiling, happy to be the first man to set foot on Mars, at least the first in millions of years, as the recent unmanned exploration missions hinted when they revealed the presence of strange artifacts, ten to twenty feet below the
Originally published in in (offline, ) The International Space Academy was a place of order, a place of perfection, effectiveness, and absolute cleanliness. A place where even donuts and bagels were square to optimize the baking tray’s space, and butter came in precut thin slices to prevent waste. The general population would often refer to
Originally published in in () Madelene glued her back to the wall, behind the open door, shaking like a leaf. The only light in the room came from a flickering lamp outside the window. As cars passed by, their shadows traversed the room, crossing over the white walls like black clouds in a hurry. Madelene’s
Originally published in in (offline, ) Loogle rose above the edge of the trench, peering in the distance with curiosity. He looked out for a few seconds and then turned back and lowered himself at the bottom, his whole body shivering. “They’re horrible,” he mumbled and swallowed a few times to clear the knot in
Originally published in in () Barphos loved to climb up his favorite oak tree after dark. Not so much climb as disappear and reappear there, since magic was still allowed on the Academy-owned land. It was Joffan that made him walk the path every time. ‘For health,’ he’d say. Barphos didn’t care about health. He
Originally published in in () That Friday morning presented itself awfully identical to every other day in that week, and all other weeks before it. Dr. Spencer woke up, dragged his feet to the bathroom and spent the next thirty minutes bringing his face to a socially presentable state. He ate his usual tuna on
Originally published in in () It was a miserable morning following a miserable tornado weekend. Ted Parker stood by his living room window, watching the streets covered in debris, papers and mud puddles. He sipped from his coffee cup, more slowly than usual, a bit disappointed that his car was still in driving condition —
Originally published in in () David had been in charge of counting since yesterday, after Juan died. He drew the shortest straw and got stuck with the damned job. The assignments were final, so, as the dawn lumbered over the city ruins, he began counting. “Do they have to spread everywhere?” he whispered, walking around
Originally published in in () Arisa grazed the moist grass with her palms and pulled her crimson hair in a high ponytail. She closed the last button on her green tunic, picked the last two arrows off the ground and slid them inside the leather quiver. A brisk wind swept through the trees and whispered
Originally published in in () Elliott sneaked another chocolate candy in his mouth and chewed it quickly. He loved the crowded state fair— people swarming, loud music, cotton candy, and deadly reptiles in cages. If only his mother would agree. It took Elliott a week to convince her to visit the fair, and her stiff
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