Trust
[Lurius Star System, on the far edge of explored space, population 4,832] Trey sat at his command desk, looking out the plasticized sapphire windows of his office. His modest station sprawled before him, suspended in the vast nothingness of space. Light from the nearby sun glinted off the flat surfaces of the refueling bays. Robots […]
Best Laid Plans
Tonight was Sam Carson’s night. In this abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town, at two in the morning, his terrifying serial killing spree would begin. Sam put on his chosen mask, which was the scariest one he could find at the thrift store. There was no one to see him in it yet, but […]
The King’s Best Rat Catcher
I am the king’s finest rat catcher—five years running, though no herald ever breathes my name. Not a coin earned. Not a line in the ledgers. Only the evidence of my labor: grain sacks unchewed, larders left whole, and the hush of night unbroken by the scutter of small, gnawing mouths. Invisible. Essential. Forgotten. Yesterday, […]
Answers
My last lead, but likely my best. If I don’t start getting answers here this case is dead. Grayson stared at the elevator doors as he descended in it. The “B2- Archive” button was illuminated on the panel. The machinery squealed, betraying its age. This building was seventy years old, and everything in it confirmed […]
Witham Investigations
It was on days like this that the doubt crept into Grayson’s heart. Festering, clinging to the walls like grime. Grayson sat in a folding chair pulled up next to the window of his second-floor office. He’d positioned himself sideways so that his arm dangled out the window, preventing most of the smoke from the […]
The Lois Conspiracy
Twenty-five women named Lois were in attendance at the quarterly meeting of the Lois Club of Southeastern Wisconsin. Not many people know about the worldwide club devoted exclusively to women named Lois. I didn’t, not until my Aunt Lois signed me up and dragged me to a meeting. At the time, I expected to be […]
You Love Like a Mosquito Bite
You love like a mosquito bite. Small at first, barely noticeable. A whisper of need against my neck when you think I’m sleeping. Then the itch begins. The tavern reeks of soured wine and desperation. Pine Mire always smells like endings—empires crumbling into their own shadows, magic bleeding out through cracks in reality. You sit […]
One Last Chance
As the thrill of inspiration subsided, a familiar melancholy returned to Josh’s heart. It vexed him, and he stared off at nothing. Josh had spent the last three weeks in the Amazon rainforest — the first week on a boat travelling up the Amazon River and the last two weeks fighting through the jungle on […]
The Tainted Pool
Kaelen pressed his palm against the arrow wound below his left collarbone. It was bleeding again despite the stitches he’d used to close it. Warmth seeped between his fingers. He had tried to remove the bolt days ago, but only managed to break the shaft, leaving the barbed tip lodged deep inside. The moonstone pool […]
Case Closed
Mr. Miller, the prosecuting attorney, rose from his seat amidst a full courtroom. “Now, Ms. Clarkson,” he began, addressing the young woman on the witness stand. “While the defendant denies betraying his wife of fifteen years, you maintain that you and he had an affair, is that correct?” The beautiful woman sniffled performatively into her […]
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