Foreign Land
1000 words
How do you carry on the fight for a homeland that nobody else remembers?
Between the Ground and the Sky
2892 words
In a dieselpunk alternate early 20th Century, aboard a massive luxury liner zeppelin, a blind historian and a stowaway with a phobia of setting foot on the ground must prevent government agents from igniting another world war.
Preservation
999 words
A modern-day taxidermy historian’s admiration for a taxidermist from a century ago grows into love and perhaps obsession.
A Right Proper Place
2463 words
When a disabled vet takes a job at a luxury resort, she learns that the VIPs who stay there prioritize etiquette with vicious consequences.
Broken Dragonfly
999 words
A girl in a nation ravaged by a proxy war struggles to understand the forces at work, relieve her own guilt, and maybe make a friend.
Never Meet Your Heroes
2351 words
An aspiring but frustrated writer has a terrifying brush with greatness when she meets her favorite author, but suspects that her plagiarism has been found out.
Effective Altruism
969 words
Aboard a decadent space balloon, the Philanthropy Awards allow the absurdly wealthy to convince themselves they are helping the world while mainly stroking each other’s egos.
Being Handled
2438 words
Controlling an unstable thrill-seeking agent through the wrong motivations can have unexpected consequences.
Returned
130 words
After a gruelling day, a laborer returns home.
Emotional Surgery
406 words
A mysterious doctor uses a questionable technique to motivate a patient.
Entropy
2362 words
A small crew of humans struggles with the futility of revenge in the face of extinction.
Endangered
607 words
The last of his kind fights to escape the preserve where he is “protected.”
A Visit with her Husband
1000 words
A widow visits her late husband’s tomb and discovers what was truly special about their love.
Second Transfer
1000 words
In a two-part story, the loser of a love triangle gets a second chance at companionship.
Invisible
2681 words
A pair of activists search for a way to take down a terrible leader who seems to be immune to even the worst scandals.
Ignoble Savage
1000 words
A dedicated witch is “rescued” before undergoing a brutal ritual, but chafes against the disrespect shown for her obliterated culture.
Da Rough Ride O’ Ricky Da Roach
1669 words
Ricky Da Roach flees the mob while pursuing his true love, a greasy hunk of meat.
Our Last Day
999 words
A young human is forced to compete, along with his family, in a brutal alien arena he cannot comprehend.
My Uniform
1000 words
On a prosperous space station, a young protestor finds themself in the middle of a tragedy involving the refugees they’re trying to help.
The Very First Voyage of the Glorious Battleship Vasa
1797 words
In the early 17th Century, as the Swedish Empire expands, an apprentice sculptor works to make the King’s new battleship a work of art to honor his heroic brother.
Arabesque
1000 words
A struggling dance student must overcome a much worse threat than her overwhelming studies.
My Favorite Place
891 words
A boy, too young to understand, encounters troubling adults.
Couple on Morning Subway
408 words
A woman’s admiration of an attractive couple goes too far.
The Very Next One
201 words
An indigenous villager is slowly destroyed by the constant photos of tourists, but prepares to do something about it.
Mother’s Rage
249 words
Motivated by her mother’s haunting a woman devises a better revenge against those who killed her.
Medusa’s Melancholy
250 words
We’ve been unfair to Medusa. There is more to her tragic story than the myths suggest.
Ever Rest
1060 words
Multiple generations try to solve a death on Mount Everest based only on what the melting ice reveals.
Travelling Companion
257 words
A late night subway rider gains a new perspective after a run-in with a young man.
Peacetime
981 words
A war hero struggles to relate to his daughter and find meaning in his life after his village is no longer in danger.
En Passant En Hell
1000 words
A tough biker must find a way by hook or by crook to do well in Satan’s chess school to return to the mortal world for revenge on the woman who killed her and stole her man. But she’s never been the studious type.
Snow Angels Aren’t Just for Children
244 words
A prison inmate finds a creative way to make incarceration bearable.
Inspired by lines from “Selective Service” by Caroline Fourchette