by Miriam H. Harrison They had warned us of giants, and so we watched for the swaying of trees, the sudden flight of birds. Yet all around us were silent forests and barren hills. From the highest of these summits we could see even more of this land, unclaimed and quiet. “Have you ever […]
by Chris Bannor They towered above us, blocking out the sun in their magnificence. We tried to fight, but how do you stop a creature so massive it engulfs your house with a single footstep? The government made mechanical monstrosities to combat the invaders, but the damage grew worse. The aliens came to subjugate, […]
V.A. Vazquez: My husband loves to speculate about the day-to-day lives of henchmen in action films. Like when they go home for dinner at night, do they have to explain to their spouses that Mr. Big Baddie spent a billion dollars on a laser gun instead of making a larger contribution to their 401(k)s? When it’s Career Day at school, how do they explain their profession to a group of fidgety four-year-olds? Do we see so many British henchmen because they don’t need private medical insurance through their employers? So when I was asked to write a story for 13 Victims, I decided I wanted to write about two low-level drones who get caught up in trouble that’s way above their pay grade.
by Bernardo Villela It was a marvellous night to sleep under the stars. Soon, I awoke. The moonlight seemed wrong somehow. Rubbing sleep from my eyes, I saw massive branches asway. Not branches but antennae, leading to a gargantuan ovoid shadow blotting out the moon. I couldn’t be seeing what I thought I was […]
by N.E. Rule Khiiki strokes the silky hair through the cage bars, pleading, “Dad, I can’t choose.” “Darling, we can’t get both. They’re cute, but when they mature, they won’t like this handling.” Tsts nods at his spawn tickling the female’s belly. “This male will grow hair everywhere, it needs constant grooming.” What Tsts […]
by Joe Buckley So hard to hide at this size. Even harder to protest innocence. The littles never want to talk. They never give up the chase. They swarm and bite and buzz. He cannot hear a word, but he knows the sound of hate. So easy to run at this size. Leaping bounds […]
by Steven Holding Panting, we reached the summit of the hill. My guide gestured towards the horizon. The stunning mountain range snatched my breath away even further. “They call that ridge ‘The Sleeping Giants’,” I could see why. Trapped within its topography were familiar looking shapes: monstrous, slumbering creatures. “Legend say it’s the Nephilim… […]
My grandmother regaled me with stories of William Faulkner, who lived on her street when she was a little girl. She also knew Eudora Welty from college and told me about the measures Eudora would go to just for some peace of mind or solitude in which to write. It’s enough to make me realise how good I have it when I want to slip into my office, and that I really have no excuses for slacking.
by Mendel Mire “You see now why we need your help, Father?” Jack asked. The priest wiped the vomit from his lips, surveying the carnage in the town square. Some buildings had been tossed across the street. Others obliterated entirely. The bodies of townsfolk were smeared across the rubble, like a bloody lacquer of […]
by Evan Baughfman Dr Moranis grinned as his growth ray morphed a meagre fig into a monster atop the auditorium stage. His demonstration complete, Moranis stepped beside the fruit, now the size of a Volkswagen Bug. “Imagine,” he said, “an entire village fed for days on a single piece of locally-grown food.” His investors […]