For Dylan, Kiefer and Lleyton I spun in a fast, uncontrolled circle, my mouth guard half-out, my visor cracked, and my own blood floating in front of me in a spray of perfectly round orbs. Gloved hands pulled the heavy, black rubber ball out of […]
free fiction
For Daksha and Eesha Maya clutched her father’s hand as he wandered through the fair. New sights, sounds, and smells bombarded her. The scents of fried dough, powdered sugar, hot sausage, and cotton candy warred with manure, sweat, and machine oil. All around, people barked […]
Everyone’s a Winner
Talia picked her way through the shattered revolving door. Singed bills fluttered in the pre-storm breeze as she ducked beneath police tape and took in the scene. The bomb had taken out the vault door and blown half the back wall away. It was impressive work. […]
Out in the Rain
Sosondowah stood by the entrance to the Goddess of Dawn’s lodge and kept watch. He watched the stars wheel overhead. He watched the owls fly silently through the night air. He watched for foes that he knew would never come. The only thing he truly guarded was Dawn’s […]
To the Dawn Star
For the Stefko Family Delilah snaked her arm into the station’s broken support thruster. If she could just get the stabilizer loose, she might be able to get it fixed. If not, they were going to have to order a new one from Earth. No one […]
A Diamond in the Sky
Gail flopped down onto the new grass, peeled off her shoes, and dangled her feet into the frigid rushing water. She closed her eyes. Warm sunlight spread across her cheeks, and the brook’s burble joined with the singing birds and buzzing bees in a lovely springtime symphony. […]
May Flowers
For Marilla Cathair piled wood on his lonely Beltane fire. At home, everyone would be drinking and dancing, celebrating the spring. His heart ached. Fial was dead, and Cathair was exiled, but time moved on without them. The accusation of fratricide, falling from Neasa’s lips, had wounded […]
A Beltane Dance
Jim wriggled through the air vents, tugging Ronnie along with him. The vents groaned under their weight, and Jim could hear his heart pounding in his ears even over Ronnie’s ragged breathing. Sweat trickled down his nose. He’d never been more terrified. He was pretty sure that Ronnie’s arm was […]
Martian Adventures: Ronnie’s Birthday Part 6
Ronnie heard Jim’s voice, and it made her feel safe. Of course he’d come for her. He’d make everything better. He always did. Her whole life was better than it’d ever been before he came. She’d read about friends before, watched people in vids, daydreamed about what having someone her […]
Martian Adventures: Ronnie’s Birthday Part 5
Jim’s communicator went silent again, and he spat one of Mr. Barrie’s curses. "Where’s the observation post?" Ronnie’s dad raked his hands through his thinning hair. "It’s in an old part of the station. It’s sealed off. There shouldn’t be any way in." "Well, she’s in a ventilation shaft. One […]