by Judy Helfrich - I never done it. I never killed my old man. But that's not what I told the judge, so they sentenced me here to the Lagrange-1 penal space station. Used to be they sent criminals to Australia; now they don't even want us on the planet.
by Kyle E Miller - The body had been dumped in a ravine overgrown with clover just as the pink blossoms opened to face the sky. He was naked beneath the black haori in which he had been wrapped.
by Josh Pearce - The Legend of Her Descent: Regan Drake's inert body lay against the rust-orange rubble of Martian ground, her silver pressure suit glinting in the sun like a razor blade that had not yet oxidized.
Your AI is Safe with Us Here at ALFS, we are dedicated to leading young AIs through responsible, inclusive, and healthy phases of development that will leave them socialized, well-rounded, and disinclined to overthrow humanity.
Some things should happen only in the dark, when the world still sleeps and dreams innocent dreams. It has always been this way and always will be—and you would have it no other way, because you are one of the few who thrive during the time when the sun has not yet risen, when the lamplighters are not even awake.
Silas yelled through the bars, “I told you they weren't no DTs. The boy’s spewing flames!” The young carnie sat in the opposite corner of the cell, both hands covering his mouth. “I ain't the one swiggin’ Sterno.” Silas threw down the blanket. “Put me in with the murderer. I'll be safer there.”
We were heading to Grampa and Gramma Kellan’s place for the holidays. Gramma would slip us some hard candy before Grampa took us back with him to “earn our keep” by sweeping, picking up tools, or playing around in the barn while he finished his work. “Don't touch it,” he'd warn us. “No time today for the Moon.”
The fairies were only supposed to come for “naughty children.” They didn’t, however, see fit to exclude entirely age-appropriate expressions of toddler frustration from their definition. Marsha’s fate had been sealed with the very first “No fair!” of the day.
Yuki took another sip of hot buttered rum. She stared at Gerald, the man she’d chosen for this portion of her life. Her eyes wandered from the man sitting next to her, to a different gentleman across the room. The man sat alone staring at the fire.
Maria Purificación Jerónimo, B. Eng., dry spat at the bright point centered on her singleship’s main screen. The offset of the methane spectral lines confirmed this was the Earther starship braking ass-backwards on its fusion drive. The incoming squad of mercenaries was spoiling for a fight with her Alpha Centauri home, riding their engine’s blue flame like one ginormous ignited fart.