“That’s not quite what it looked like,” Ivan growled. The delicate dragon rattle at his exclamation. The dozen pieces of wood and string that formed its body swung forward and back, their circuit constrained by the knotted twine that secured them to the ceiling. “If I made it look real, it would terrify the baby,” […]
The tour guide spoke like this was the first time she’d ever uttered the words, “The soil coverings provided the crew with additional radiation protection. The domes, erected six months later…” Parnell was sick of hearing about the two-hundredth anniversary of First Landing, but work brought him through the preserved, historical, centre of town. Behind […]
The wall of bottles rattles as the train roars by outside. I jerk into consciousness, instantly regretting it. My head is hammering. I can’t remember what I did this morning. One of the bottles looks new, still has some liquid lingering in the bottom. I crawl to the edge of the mattress and lever myself […]
The sun crouched on the horizon casting red light on sparse clouds. A small fishing boat rocked, its hull gently brushed by the current flowing past. On deck, an older man ran a hand through his thick beard, then over his bald, sunburned head. Beside him, a boy tied a rope off on a cleat. […]
Mark stared across the mirror smooth lake. He drew back his arm and launched a small stone at the pristine water. It pierced the surface, concentric ripples spreading outward until they reached the shore, only to reflect back on themselves, disrupting the simple order that had existed moments before. So many complications and consequences from […]
“Pay Here,” the sign insisted, and Gillian knew it to be an irresistible truth. Everyone who approached this brutalist monolith would pay, one way or another. For her, the call had come before sunrise. A hammering on the door, a blank faced man holding an envelope. She was called for an audience and refusal would […]
The painting was exquisite. As Hella applied the final strokes with her brush, she knew this wasn’t precisely what she had imagined when she began, but she simply hadn’t known this was what the painting was meant to be.
The last enemy vessel detonated, washing the Alliance forces in hard radiation. Fragments of metal pinged off the hull of the corvette Athena. “Incoming transmission, Captain. It’s the Admiral,” the communications officer reported. Captain Sardis nodded, and the an image of the Admiral appeared before him, standing by the rail over the control pit. “Well […]
Here’s a thought I had in response to the Daily Prompt. Today, it was ‘Filthy’. I started there and went in a different direction.
via Daily Prompt: Tree I thought I’d give the daily prompt a try today, and it sure worked out. I have already written a scene in the short story this is apparently becoming, so this little excerpt just kind of came naturally. Get some fantasy space trees.
Burial at C 