The One Who Saves You
Hughie Brown stared at the rat; the rat stared back at him. Each occupied a far corner of the same dumpster. Hughie thought rats were supposed to…
Rules of Engagement, Part 1
Kurt had seen a black and chipped statue among the debris of a bombed house in some godforsaken Balkan village on one his peacekeeping tours of duty.…
The Malign Effect
Malign /məˈlʌɪn/ Adjective evil in nature. The smell caught Brendan Drummey off guard the moment the vocations director’s assistant showed him in.…
Spat Out by a She-Wolf
I was spat out by a She-Wolf. I sit in this dilapidated manor, the Lupercal. Vines curl their way up Corinthian columns. Sweet palms sway on the…
So Much for the Tolerant Left
Once upon a time, there was a Midwestern town in America like many other Midwestern towns. A special kind of “bigotry” was brewing in this town. No,…
Testimony of the Sole Survivor of the 2032 Lunar Pyre Festival
There were 50 of us in the first wave. Those of us who’d shelled out for the “VIP experience” were welcomed a few hours before the general admission…
Pablo Caparra’s Arretures
Pablo Caparra is a poor man who, in hot weather, goes to the banks of the Arlanzón River as it passes through the Paseo de Las Fuentecillas, in…
Why I Don’t Run Away Anymore, Part 1
The first time I was five years old. It was right after my sister was born and I guess I was feeling sorry for myself, what with the attention my…
Breathtaking!
“Breathtaking!” the strange man said. Then he fell to the asphalt, gasping, unable to breathe. He was the first she encountered. He died. She walked…
Outlaws of the Calamadrin
Calamadrin 1A, June 1st, 2040 Deep in the vast, unexplored reaches of the new West, untold dangers lurked. A largely unexplored planet cluster, the…
