The Deep Down By Anna Zumbro We’re so far out in the country that we can see the Milky Way, a smoky band of red and silver across a star-cluttered sky. Just like last night, I worry that the pool won’t be there, but it is, about fifteen feet from the edge of the service…
HYPOXIA IN THREE-QUARTER TIME by Robert Minto As the dropship plunged through a storm of lasered missiles toward a swirl of grey-green planet, Jander kept his eyes forward, drinking in the juddering silhouette of his squad leader. She was his crush, unspoken: Tabitha. There was no one with whom he’d rather plunge into…
THE DEFINITIONS OF PROFESSIONAL ATTIRE by Evergreen Lee Detective Umbria picked up the ISC dress code manual left open on her workstation and read the highlighted section: “Employees are only allowed to display two eyes each, and they should be in the traditional locations (see diagram, left).” The picture showed a human face, with human…
Monochromatic Mandate by Milo James Fowler Black or white. No other option. You either agree or disagree. Black for YES, white for NO. No wiggle room for cognitive dissonance or seeing potential with both sides of an issue. No gray areas allowed. Binary is best, all things considered. Less confusing, at any rate….
DOORS By Jenny Rae Rappaport There are four doors in front of you. There are always four doors because four is the number of times you have told yourself that there is nothing wrong with you. Not that you believe that—yet. The first door leads to the unicorn kingdom, full of fluff and sass and…
FIVE CANDLES FOR THE APOCALYPSE by Michelle Muenzler The first candle is the biggest—it’s from when we met, don’t you remember? Everything was still Christmas and pumpkin spice despite the news, and we found ourselves reaching for the last unscented candle on the shelf…and when our hands bumped, we both apologized at the same…
In just a few days I’ll be attending SpikeCon, this year’s NASFiC, out in Utah. As I push to get this issue ready before attending, I received my schedule of panels. One of which is the topic of Flash Fiction. I continue to try to push more panels on the topic of this great form…
Remember, Remember by Kat Otis Elizabeth, exiled Queen of Bohemia, leaned over the edge of the wherry to trail her fingers through the cold waters of the subterranean river. Part of her still couldn’t believe that she was there, that the river was real. Already she could hear the distant crashing of the waterfall. If…
Power Juice! by Andrey Pissantchev “Power juice!” I yell, getting the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. I tip the last precious drops in my mouth, then scrunch up the can into a ball. I feel the power juice work its way down my stomach and into my veins. Power juice! I put my hands…
Recommended By All Good Mortgage Lenders by Helen French Mr. and Mrs. Roberts stared up at the house they yearned to buy. It had taken fifteen long years to save up for a deposit, and even that wasn’t quite enough until an old aunt died and coughed up a further thirty grand in inheritance. The…
