Sci Fi
A GIRL UNPOISONED
The concrete tapped rhythmically under my feet with each purposeful stride. Cigarette fumes swirled around me and I pretended not to be offended by their pungent infiltration. I caught myself habitually straightening my jacket and smoothing my hair back. As I walked past a spindly side-walk tree I brush my fingers through its dancing lime-green leaves, appreciating it's bright juxtaposition against the grey backdrop. In front of me, four strangers did the recognizable street-cross that indicated danger. I crossed with them, looking over my shoulder to see a mid-thirties man, wearing a crusty, yellow-stained tracksuit, he was yelling incomprehensibly at a uniformed safety officer. On his neck, a thick locked collar flashed a bright red light indicating the man was in crisis. It appeared crisis presented as rage, agitation and aggression, as he lunged at the safety officer with a dinner knife, halted by the officer’s swift application of a taser. The man fell twitching to the ground as the officer spoke into a black box, calling for a pick-up. I frowned at the familiarity of it. As I rounded the corner towards the café, I passed several more people wearing the collars, eyeing them carefully for the flashing red light. Down a dim alley I turned the key in a grimy doorknob and entered the cafe. I plonked my bag on the stainless-steel bench and tied my apron around my waist. I cleaved open the heavy aluminium roller door and turned on the coffee machine. I took orders and frantically whizzed milk, making a few at a time to keep up with the demand. Diurnal Variation; A term used to describe the natural shifts in energy and mood every 24 hour cycle, usually signposted by morning depression. I sold a cup of temporary relief, and the money came flowing in. The only people making money in this city were those selling a short dose of mitigation from the all-consuming black.
By Ellen Brady5 years ago in Fiction
Love, the Aliens
For everyone left on earth.... Only adults who were wearing heart shaped jewelry, tattoos or clothing with hearts and kids under two years old, were spared. My husband survived because he was wearing his lucky hearts boxers at his weekly poker game. He watched his poker buddies crumble into piles of ash. Talk about stakes being high. I guess, none of them were holding any hearts. So they got “dusted”. Instant incineration. Dusted, sounds nicer than incinerated. But same result.
By Dayna Clark5 years ago in Fiction
The Infinity Café
“... of this before…?” Bernard trailed off, looking confused. Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the dimly lit café as one of the waitresses dropped a handful of plates. She knelt down and began to scrape up the shards in a panic, exposing a silver chain necklace which hung around her neck. There was a moment of silence as the crash resonated around the room before the conversational mumble gradually resumed.
By J. R. Lowe5 years ago in Fiction
The Mechanical Lover
I didn't know much about Sasha before she decided that I was good enough to take home. Her facial structure and symmetry was text book definition of attractive. I assumed perhaps her choosing me, as opposed to a human for mate, was solely companionship.
By Julia Fjeldstad5 years ago in Fiction
Join the Space Force they said….it will be fun they said….
Join the Space Force they said….it will be fun they said…. the training is unparalleled and the opportunities are never ending they said. Lies…. all lies is what Sal was thinking as he piloted the Emergency Escape Vehicle from the exploding ship. “stupid freaking officers…. they should have listened to me, but noooo they knew better.” He mumbled under his breath. “O MY GOD the ship is about to blow up! Hurry Sal! Why re you not flying faster!” yelled First Officer Roger, who used to be the second in command of the Space Force Ship Exploration. You see, the First Officer and Captain should have listened to Sal…they never would have been in this situation. If only they raised their shields.
By Brian Pehrson5 years ago in Fiction
With a Pop and a Click
There it was again. A pop and then click, soft and subtle, but absolutely a man-made noise. Where was it coming from? What was making the noise? Liv inched around the burnt-out shell of the iconic blue Wal-Mart building in her small hometown of Waterloo, Illinois. A place that used to be the only box store for miles around was now just an open wound reminding everyone around of what they had lost. An empty bright, blue carcass of the American dream left torn and shattered, amongst the landscape of the corn and soybean fields. What was once a quintessential small Midwestern town, born from German settlers migrating out of big cities, was now just another mar on the map of this new world.
By Stephanie Lewis5 years ago in Fiction
Humans Only
“Sorry ma’am, I’m afraid your pet is going to have to wait in your ship,” An armoured security officer said as Sheila and Robert, an old anthropomorphic tiger, approached the gates to a human only compound. One that had a reputation for anthropocentric and specist ideals. The pair had been enlisted by a nearby community of anthropomorphs. Loved ones had been going missing, including a young deer named Waashkeshi. His parents had given Sheila a photo of him, a simple heart-shaped locket hanging around his neck.
By Kelsey Reich5 years ago in Fiction
Save Your Last Breath
"Breathe. I need to breathe." Listen, and use your imagination. The oxygen levels were depleting fast. Pollution made way for every manner of sickness—but the government leaders never expected the very earth to turn against them. Plants and trees withered away to nothing, and the soil was parched in every corner of the globe. Even the rain forests, the last sanctuaries, became deserts over time.
By Jillian Spiridon5 years ago in Fiction
