The Butcher, also known as Emperor Ubuluff of the Gamma Lyrae star system, had finished his work for the day. He felt productive, having ordered 16 beheadings and 427 lashings. Only one prisoner was set free – a female, beautiful but retiring, accused of the murder of a palace guard. The evidence was flimsy and…
The first time Howard saw Alice, he thought he was losing his mind. He’d spent 126 days alone. 126 days since the machines came and took everyone and he woke up inside a dark closet in the basement of the hospital, eight steps from the morgue. He still couldn’t believe the gurney fit so neatly…
There was a crash in the kitchen, like the sound of a bowl breaking. The syringe was just millimeters from Penelope’s arm, just moments from sweet relief, when the sound caused her to jump, sending the serum flying across the room. It rolled under the radiator. “Dammit,” she hissed. She’d put Danny to bed three…
He only lets me out when it’s dark. My day begins with the sound of a key turning the lock in the front door. I listen attentively. I can guess the weather by the sounds he makes after he drops his keys in the glass bowl on the hall table – a coat shook off…
There were no buglers on Mars. Frank was deeply disappointed by this, and he let everyone know how he felt the first morning after they touched down. “If you’re going to install a military base on the surface of another god damn planet,” he said, “it should have all the trimmings. Including a real live…
As a species, we’d forgotten about the notion of going someplace quiet. Screens were everywhere – in your home, in your car, in the street. Even in the bathroom. And somebody had to create all that content. That person was Murray. To be fair, he was really a small cog in a giant machine. Since…
“It’s just a little dirt, Jerry! What’s the big deal?” “The big deal is that I spent good money planting grass and shrubs and your idiot kid comes along like he owns the place – ” “Don’t talk about my kid that way or you’ll get what’s coming to you!” “Oh yeah? What’s coming to…
Joseph knew deep down in his heart that Uncle Lou was dying. No one had actually told him, and it took him a while to figure it out for himself. In fact, it was the lack of information that first caused Joseph to think harder about things. Every other time Uncle Lou had come to…
It was Thanksgiving at the Heron’s Nest, and everyone was coming home. James was back from Iraq and was miraculously not shot or blown up even a little bit, so he was eager to resume his role as quarterback of the Blacks, which was the name of one of the teams that played in the…
“Auntie! Please let me down!” In the hours Aunt Beatrice left her there, one of the tethers that held Carolyn to the floor had come loose. Well, to be honest, she’d loosened it. At the time, she thought if she could just get free of the tethers, the magic would be broken and she’d float…