The sweat stung my eyes, and I shut them for a moment. Praying silently in the dirt I didn't expect anyone was listening. I could feel my age creeping up on me, time aches. Years ago it had crawled up my back and found home between my ribs. I couldn't catch my breath. When I opened my eyes we were still in hell. The Mexican sun still beat ( Read more... )

"I reminded her of a person she tried to forget," he said, talking half to himself, "a person that never even existed to begin with." A girl stood waiting at the door, watching him as he tied his shoe-laces. Supervising. "We're going to be late." Apathetic. She had no idea how to handle his moods. Twisting up so easily. Runs around the tree and ( Read more... )

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We are possessed. Each and every one of us. A spectre, haunting the very aspect of humanity itself. It is like a stubborn gene, passed on from mother to child, generation after generation. A ghost, she seeps into the skin, and coils herself around the bones. There she remains, eyes shut tight, lapsing back and forth between harsh wakefulness and ( Read more... )

An "unknown pathogen" they called it, "something in the water". It was the best guess all their years of wasted research could conjure. In the end none of it is going to matter anyways. Once we're all gone, it won't make a bit of difference to the world whether or not we were able to identify the thing that... "took" us. Still, even us simple folk ( Read more... )

In the days following an end, people were scattered and lost. There weren't many left. There wasn't much of anything left. A desert crept out over the earth, claiming land from the dying terrain. Scavenging and hoarding became commonplace and the newly endangered species neared extinction. Survival became the only concern, and it remained that way ( Read more... )

It was a blue morning for us out there in our alien era, partly because we were both still in shock over the news. Visiting us the night before, over the crackled voice of our private transceiver, I don't think either of us expected it that soon. We had been living there for almost a year, perched miles above the earth in our bubble-dome home. ( Read more... )

My name is Jonathan Michael Dorian. I'm a janitor at the local, industrial pre-school. I love my job here, the kids are great and I have many friends among them. I've always considered myself one of them, all that separates us is my age and my uniform of light blue medical scrubs I wear to work each day. The only adult friend I've ever had ( Read more... )

In the deep breath of darkness, a world is partially lit by the dim gloss of a tired old street lamp. For a second darkness clears, as the brightness of daylight arrives on the grill of a black street car. It speeds by and turns a corner, allowing night to return... but not for long. The first car is followed by a pack of five or six more. Mostly ( Read more... )

I'm here for business, not pleasure (although sometimes business can still be pleasurable). At the beach, the blue water is lapping against the white sand. The sun makes an appearance, too. A pleasant warmth, a blanket which covers but does not suffocate. I'm here as a journalist with an article to research. No doubt for some niche, sub-culture ( Read more... )