Sea-Soaked Goldenrod
They think I did it. My brain like a fractal array of stars; police coercion can fill any blackness between to make their own constellations. I call it false…
The Ruined Chapel
Leave the House by the back door of the Conservatory. Take the path that stands between the Dark Wood and the Tarn. You must go alone. Walk three miles and you…
Good Girls Go to Heaven, Jenny Goes Everywhere
“Doc,” Jenny said, gesturing at the missile that hung frozen inches away, “we don’t got time.” “What was your name again?” Gates asked. “Jenny. Jenny…
The Man Out of Time Meets The Girl From Everywhere
Jenny laughed. “You guys are all the same.” “Trust me love,” Gates replied, sporting the infamous grin that had made knickers drop from here to the Medusa…
Regrets? I've Had a Few...
Gates watched helplessly as death pirouetted down the hall, trailing smoke and flame. Aware that he’d never get a shot off before the incoming missile put an…
Breaking Up is Hard (But Rocket Launchers Make it Easier)
Gates turned the corner in full sprint, and skidded to a stop. “Bollocks!” he shouted. Another hallway. Another dead-end. Gates could pilot a Time!Skiff from…
Still Awake After All These Years (A Tribute to Jack LaLanne)
It’s 2am. Jack LaLanne is on TV, still selling that damn juicer. Dude’s got to be over 90. Funny; he doesn’t look a day over 75. Now, he’s juicing a potato…
End Like Flint
The Town was a simple place, full of simple people, with a simple way of doing things: Barman Ted poured the drinks. The drinks kept the folk who found…
The American Doctor
I got in early, set up my clinic in the motel room, put my instruments out in neat rows, and waited. My nurse staggered in later, stinking of booze. “Would it…
When the Clock Stopped
Walters picked up the clock by its base and turned it over in his hands. There was a coating of brown dust on it; the face was smashed. The hands read 10:45…
The Gift
James’ hand slipped into his pocket once more as he walked briskly through the dusk. Smiling to himself, he fingered the brown-paper package, gently poking at…
To Spite Her Face
Her boobs were perfect, perky C-cups. Her ass was taut and round. Her hips made that coveted hourglass shape. Her feet were petite, and so were her hands. Her…
Change of Heart
The year 1024 simmered with heartbreak and hope. Indeed, before it was over, a hungry man would be eternally full, an Empress would lose weight and a Dynasty…
An Important Purchase
The final slave market before snowfall was the only one of the year held after dark; therefore it was the only one Signore Umbrae could attend himself, and…
Life Lines
A week’s journey farther down the coast brought me to the city of Coir. Each citizen’s house sits on its own free-floating island. The dwellings are bound…
Dawn and Dusk
Auroro knew that to leave the Sky Palace was to leave immortality, but Clay Woman on the Worlds Below beckoned until he could no longer resist her call. His…
Gravity
A little extra this morning, but just a little; that stuff’s not free. It doesn’t cost much, but we don’t have much. Well, today’s the day to make it count…
Kyrie eleison
I expected oblivion, as many of us did, but we do not always get what we expect. An ineffable calm transcends all in the grave, even the slow decomposition of…
Survival
Robert watched the family walk down the hall and out of sight. They had dodged another bullet; his supervisor would be pleased. He closed the door and sat in…
The Street Sweepers
Nobody sees this side of the city but us: The donut-shop owners starting their machines. The street walkers who didn’t catch the right eye. The lonely taxi…