Sci-Fi + Fantasy

“I know what you’re thinking,” says Jake softly in my ear, his voice tentative and hopeful. We’re pushed close together in the lively crowd that lines the lower wharf, and I know if I turn he’ll give me an eyebrow lift or a conspiratorial wink to show we’re on the same page. Jake very much […]

He’s pumped. Forty press-ups, right before the camera rolls. Body-shirt and bulging arms, slicked-back hair, unblinking eyes — but out of shot, he’s quivering with nerves, pacing, smoking, trying out his lines a dozen different ways. And that swagger he puts up on screen? It’s not even skin deep. “I’m Kurt Carter. I’m here to […]

I told my love to meet me inside of a pearl Chevy, backseat amputated from the body of a 1955 Bel Air. A bench and lunch table sit in place of the front half. Lights line walls slick with fry grease as thick as sinking. ** In between town and nowhere, this super-niche restaurant with […]

When my date smiles at me from across the table, I find myself looking into the face of a ghost. Her blonde hair isn’t quite a match, but her cheeks dimple in just the right places, and her blue eyes sparkle like precious gems. Like missed opportunities. It’s been a nice evening. For someone who […]

Once upon a time, when I was mortal, I tattooed the names of my loved ones on my body. Their names were lettered in tiny script, connected by faint dotted lines—constellations to navigate the passing of time and the orientation of my heart.  It had begun with my sister, Frances, on a drunken road trip […]

Read Part 1 MB 2397/8/10/s “THE BATTLE OF WOLVES” Screaming. Plunging into this memory takes us from silence to chaos. Concussive explosions ricochet through the amber atmosphere of the mining camp. The bombs split open on our repulsion shield, residual energy from the blast sizzling across the dome as it’s absorbed back into the structure, […]

Once upon a time, when I was mortal, I tattooed the names of my loved ones on my body. Their names were lettered in tiny script, connected by faint dotted lines—constellations to navigate the passing of time and the orientation of my heart.  It had begun with my sister, Frances, on a drunken road trip […]

Gab gripped her right wrist with her left hand at the small of her back. “Are we ready to order?” she asked. The couple set their menus down on the brushed steel tabletop. It wobbled slightly. The man asked, “What’s on the cheese board?” “The SEASONAL CHEESEBOARD is a selection of the best the Delaware […]

I opened my eyes and beheld a face I knew from long ago. Like a dream, I’d mostly forgotten. It was dark outside. In contrast, the lantern’s light was painful to look at. So were his eyes, illuminated brightly against his pallid skin. He was more worn than I remembered; ashen, faded, lined. He’d been […]

He always fantasized about the girl at the little cafe. She smiled when she gave him that same pale styrofoam cup of black joe, just the same as he always ordered it, every morning before work, and every evening after. She was always there, waiting for him, but only in that instance, in that transaction […]

Spen spied the haze of sand and dust in the distance before she saw the banners. Then she smelled the beasts. Shaggy camels, long-faced tarpans, giant-lizard guanas, and steppe mammoths with their enormous tusks. The caravan stretched as far back as she could see. Her eyes gleamed with excitement as the caravan passed. Elfin adventurers […]

Chapter One: Nadia Under the cover of darkness, Nadia often snuck outside the walls of Tide Manor. She’d been doing it for years without a hitch, though sometimes her father’s eyes narrowed at her the next morning, suggesting he might be aware of her deceit. Maybe she was paranoid. Her father had a knack for […]