The beat pulsed through Joy’s soul, vibrated her atoms. She lost herself in the music, and she didn’t find herself when the song ended. The cat raced around the room, chasing things humans couldn’t see. He captured his prey and laid it at their feet. They weren’t impressed. The […]
Jamie
Jim whistled as he walked to work. It was a beautiful Sunday morning, and it was his birthday. He’d been on the station for almost a year. He was going to work a short shift, and then Ronnie, her parents, and his mom were going to throw him a surprise […]
Martian Adventures: Jim’s Birthday
The antique store smelled like old leather and furniture polish. Dahlia wandered between the chairs and desks to the back wall, where knickknacks rested on dusty shelves. She picked up a duck carved out of dark blue stone. The duck was cool and heavy, and it made her fingers tingle. […]
Magical Duck
The Apollo slipped into the room through the cracks in the blinds. He traced his daughter’s cheek. The machines beeped. He felt powerless. The boat followed dolphins to an island where a silver ship was crashed into a palm tree. The alien stood and extended its hand. The […]
Twitter Stories
Ronnie curled up in the hideout and pulled out one of the chocolate bars that Jim’s grandma had sent with him. They didn’t get much chocolate on Mars, and Ronnie usually savored it. She devoured the bar in four bites. Her mom was driving her crazy. She thought that she […]
Martian Adventures: Moms
The woodsman stared at the red velvet heart that rested in his tin palm. He hadn’t thought of himself as Nick Chopper for a long time. He wondered if he really wanted that name back–if he even wanted the life he’d been working to win back for so long. But […]
A Heart to Love With
The shopkeep stuffed a pigeon into a parakeet cage. Coos changed into sweet chirps. "Never let it out of its cage," he warned his customers. Ed wondered why he never saw baby pigeons. He found a rocky seashore, where round stones glowed in the moonlight. He never saw the sunrise. […]
Twitter Stories
Jim zoned out a little during the speeches. He listened while Ronnie’s dad got up and talked for a while about the purpose of the colony–about exploration and the indomitable human spirit. It was the same sort of thing that Ronnie’s dad always went on about. Jim’s lips twitched. He […]
Martian Adventures: The Naming Ceremony Part 3
Pigeons crowded the sill outside of Sally’s window. They cooed and pecked at the glass until Sally couldn’t ignore them any longer. She flung the window open, and the bird scattered. They regrouped and swooped into Sally’s office. "What do you want?" she asked. They just stared at her with […]
Art Critics
Molly watched as the sun grew small behind them. She was never going to feel its heat again. She missed it more than she missed her family. The AI woke Seth. It said it needed his help, and it kept him busy with little projects for years. When he died, […]