By Nicholas Woods I’ve often wondered, why me? Why do we exist when we do? Our time on this one Earth, chosen at random. Why me? Why now, at the end? Footsteps crashed through leaves, and her desperate hand grasped nearby bark so roughly she was sure she’d stripped skin free. A sound crackled like…
Read moreThe Legend of Zapam-Zucum
by Shailendra Ahangama I have been lost in the desert once. It happened many years ago, when I was a child of nine. As the years progressed, I consigned that dreadful experience to the back of my mind, for it was both an unremarkable and unpleasant memory. Even so, there was one element in that experience…
Read moreUnauthorized Carry-on
By Grant Gordon I am a bomb. They tell me I’m not, but I am. I believe the note because I know it’s true. I can feel it deep within me. I know there is a small device resting in the sloshing, organ-rich cavern of my middle meridian and that device is powerful enough to…
Read moreGynoid Angels of the Convergence
by Douglas Kolacki Sam Fitzsimmons shifted uneasily on his feet and sized up the uniformed customs official on the other side of the glass. The Frau’s chiseled face and aquiline nose reminded him of Mussolini—not a good sign—and contrasted with the WILLKOMMEN IN BERLIN banner with its black, red, and gold stripes spanning the hallway…
Read moreWay of the Wolf
By Leland Hames Leonard sat around the fire in a semi-circle with the others, each sipping cups of hot coffee to fight off the chill, their cups leaving wispy trails of steam in their journeys from laps to lips. The group sat on lawn chairs, stools, and crates. A few were on short pieces of…
Read moreThe Replacement Wife
by Barry Fields In the middle of Group Five boarding, Lawrence’s wife said she forgot something to read and ran off to the bookstore. Lawrence boarded the plane without her, taking his window seat and keeping his eye out for her as passengers filed by, eyes trained on the row numbers. Lawrence Purnell, the thirty-five…
Read moreHappybot
By Caridad Cole I watch myself sleep all night. At least, what I understand sleep to be. It is when the body becomes dormant and the mind is shut off from the outside world. If this qualifies as sleeping, all of us are participating. The figure next to me is as still and unblinking as…
Read moreBoat Ride
By Henry S. Reimert Photo provided by Patrick Shaffer Kari’s bicycle tires crackle and pop as they roll over the crushed oyster shells of the parking lot. She lets the bike coast to a stop and performs a practiced dismount. She lands with a little puff of white dust that spurts out from beneath her…
Read morePROTOCOL THREE TWO SEVEN
By Paul Stansbury “Captain McKennon, why don’t we land in the canyon?” Colvig asked. He looked at the science tech, Palmer, hoping to get her support. She shrugged, remaining silent. “Sure would save Palmer and me a lot of time and effort. I don’t look forward to lowering the equipment down the cliff walls.” Captain…
Read moreThe Way of the Chapels
By Ken Foxe Once, they used to race bicycles up the hill. Sinewy men and women, engorged calves and thighs, on near weightless machines resolutely climbing at what must have seemed like superhuman speeds. They called the race La Flèche, the Arrow, a coincidental harbinger of what the ascent has since become. The hill itself…
Read more