The doctor screamed when she cut off his hands. His fingers were much longer than the ones he’d given her. Now she could be a piano prodigy. His body was trying to kill him. His wife tied his limbs, but they forgot his hair. He screamed as it encircled […]
Jamie Lackey
Ronnie loved running, and the forbidden greenhouse was her favorite place to do it. She dodged between trees and glanced back. Jim was following her, and they’d already lost Dr. Eric. Joy gave her feet wings. She didn’t slow down till she got to her hideout. When Jim finally caught […]
Martian Adventures: The Hideout
Jack squeezed his mother-in-law’s parrot with both hands. Its tiny heart beat like mad, and its wings strained against his fingers. "Set me free!" the parrot squawked. "Please?" Its beady black eyes pleaded with him. "Sorry, buddy," Jack said. "My wife would kill me if I lost her mom’s […]
Pet Sitting
Ignacio examined the fortifications, seeing strengths, flaws, and faint future ghosts with his gift. He smiled. He’d stop the French here. A dead dolphin drifted past, and Tom’s strength was fading. He was drowning. He wished that he’d never wished for an ocean of tequila. Tim’s margarita was a pretty […]
Twitter Stories
James–no, Jim, he had to start thinking of himself as Jim–couldn’t believe his luck. The only other kid on Mars was a cute girl. A cute, nice girl who was obviously excited about the idea of being his friend. No one had ever been excited to be his […]
Martian Adventures: Into the Greenhouse
The Earth still looked beautiful from the moon. Kari stood on the lunar surface and stared up at it. She started to run, accelerating in long bounding jumps. It wasn’t hard in the low gravity, even at her age. When she was going as fast and jumping as high as […]
Homesick
Sam’s alien boss laughed when he asked for his birthday off. It told him to stop tracking time by Earth’s sun and took his calendar away. The once-pauper was ready to return to his life, but a servant gave him a crown wrapped in rags. The note said "Happy Birthday, […]
Twitter Stories
Ronnie waited outside the new boy’s cryosleep pod, barely keeping herself from bouncing up and down. She wasn’t supposed to be here–Mom had told her to let the new settlers get settled before she started pestering them. But she couldn’t wait. She wanted to meet James P. Morgan. She traced […]
Martian Adventures: New Friends
Cynthia positioned the pink party hat between Harold’s furry ears and carefully placed the elastic band under his muzzle. "Don’t know why we’re bothering," he muttered. "It’s her birthday!" Cynthia said. Harold shrugged his massive shoulders and sat back on his haunches. "She’s just going to roll her eyes and […]
The Birthday Bear
The tulip’s petals glowed in the sunlight that warmed the fairy in its embrace. As the sky darkened, it closed to protect her from the rain. The bees were dying. It was time to adapt. The queen laid her eggs in human ears so her daughters could merge with their […]