Olivier Brossard had been hanging men for the best part of a decade, and he'd never seen the rope break. It wasn't uncommon for folk to try, usually magicians spitting fire and brimstone as they ... [+]
Olivier Brossard had been hanging men for the best part of a decade, and he'd never seen the rope break. It wasn't uncommon for folk to try, usually magicians spitting fire and brimstone as they ... [+]
Tonight, like most nights, James Shelby woke in the small hours and listened to the silence.
He pulled on his robe, went to the kitchen, and made tea.
Moving quietly so as to not disturb the
...
[+]
We brought them with us accidentally, or maybe they were secret smuggled pets for someone who worried they might get lonely. They'd've been right to worry: it's really lonely on the moon. Howeve ... [+]
Joseph
it can't be
"Will you sacrifice?"
This isn't real. I'd never let it happen.
I sit cross-legged in a meadow of four colors and all around me blue. Grass grows from my thighs and
...
[+]
I couldn't believe it. "10,000 Kroners! That's outrageous!" I was deep in the Troms region of Norway on the Nordost Road. I had been for a while. At the moment, I was trying to cross the ... [+]
Me and Petey didn't mean to break the world. Honest. We were just bored and looking to have a bit of fun. And you know, high school dropouts like us don't know anything about physics. Hell, we ... [+]
I was just a kid when Dad bought the Four Pines Motel. He called it a "diamond in the rough," but I couldn't see much promise in the shabby building with the mint green paint peeling off the siding ... [+]
My uncle Gerry Karlsson was a storyteller—a great one. My cousins and I loved his stories and even loved the fact that they changed a bit—sometimes a lot—with each retelling. We'd all listen closely ... [+]
My hands shake, indenting the lip of the ceramic cup I'm molding. I swivel and look at the other android artisans on the factory floor, robotic hands ablur ensuring each cup is perfect—and they ... [+]
I placed the shiny red shape in the exact center of the table. Martín looked at it dubiously. "That's the strangest cherry I've ever seen. Whoever made it needs to get their printer calibrated ... [+]
The DeliverBot drops the box at my feet and wheezes out a metallic "Happy Birthday" before flying away. At first, I think it's a mistake, because it isn't my birthday. At least, I don't think it is ... [+]
The Mine was due to rise in thirty minutes, and Regge wanted to grab a bowl of ramen planetside before his shift started. He biked through the smoke and stirring bodies and boss-bots buzzing around ... [+]
"Oh, Geoffrey! Good. You're finally home. Just put it all on the kitchen table. Were you able to get everything I wanted for the party?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"It's just that it's so late, did you run
...
[+]
The master alchemist's voice rang clearly from the stone walls. Anyone hearing it knew immediately that he was Important."The vials are identical," he explained, as if lecturing particularly favored ... [+]
The wind outside was a constant howl, but the sun would be up in a few hours. Days were calmer, typically. He'd have to climb out of the train tunnel and replace the antenna again if the weather got ... [+]
Some Bright Spark tells Crazy James the dog will make his fortune. Says the mutt can smell buried treasure like a pig snuffling out truffles. Of course, James doesn't know the first thing about ... [+]
I watched one of those old movies the other day—you know, from when nobody wore masks. It was a little disturbing to see all those naked mouths, and sometimes it was tricky to tell what was going on ... [+]