by S Jade Path Ren stood on the gore-slicked dancefloor, blood sluicing down her armour. Dancing holograms still gyrating in the wet smears, and the pounding music seemingly quiet in the absence of screams. Staring, smiling, at what remained of the Syndicate Children—the Cool Kids. They had made me, saved me, she sneered at […]
by Joel R. Hunt Garzo grabbed my shoulder. “Quick, check the prime stream.” I tuned in. The newscast flickered over my vision, showing our movement’s spokesperson, Sister No1, smiling. “Glorious day!” she said. “Our struggle against Pleasure Inc is finally over!” I frowned. Didn’t the megacorp still control our water supply and the air […]
by Charlotte Langtree The woman walked alone. “She’ll have food tokens,” Jenna said. Five men nodded. Jenna fingered the trigger of the holo-knife she’d stolen from a rival; it fooled scans and would leave a pretty hole. They cornered the woman at a junction, weapons raised. Golden eyes flickered. Jenna’s gut clenched. It was […]
by Simon Clarke Gerry was asleep. His left eyeball pulsed and popped itself out of its socket and slithered onto the floor, heading for the door. It slithered along the hallway and out through the cat flap. Cybertronic Systems organs had state of the art neuro-connect functionality hence the searing pain in Gerry’s head, […]
by Bernardo Villela All aboard were awestruck. Creating the dimensional rift was simple, but from it came a spacecraft identical to ours. The mission commander’s words echoed in my mind: Conducting geopolitical and scientific experiments over there shields us from consequence. “Full speed ahead!” I said. Our comms buzzed. “This is the Nautilus.” From […]
by Victor Nandi Blood spattered as bullets tore through soft flesh. Olivia and her followers fell. Their bodies lay still for a moment. Then, electric sparks sizzled from their artificial limbs that yanked them to their feet. Olivia rose, stabbed her metallic hand into a guard’s chest, and walked into the control room. Teary-eyed, […]
by Constantine E. Kiousis David cowered in a dark corner of his bedroom, eyes wet behind fractured glasses, body shaking, arms clasped around folded legs. He could hear it walking down the hallway, heavy footsteps thudding towards the locked door. He’d spent his whole life searching for them, dedicated every waking moment on deciphering […]
by Chris Bannor I did everything by the book, followed every rule and regulation. None of that matters now. I can see inside the window and nothing changes the judgement they passed. I want to scream that I did what I had to so we could survive. The ship gets further away as they […]
by Kaitlyn Arnett It’s supposed to be a joke, marking the boundaries of space with a kraken next to the compass, or dragons curled alongside the edges of the page. But the creature in front of them is real, solid, and there. It’s every monster they tell stories about, all dagger-like fangs and sharp […]
by Trevor Jess I toss another green log into the struggling fire. It sputters in protest. I’m only prolonging the inevitable. The cold permeates my suit, licking away the little remnants of heat. I stare at the frozen lake. It should be teeming with laughter, bodies splashing joyfully. But it’s barren. Almost. Beside me, […]