Science Fiction
The Cloud That Refused to Rain
A single dark cloud hovered over a drought-stricken village, trembling but refusing to break. People cursed it until they learned the truth: if it rained then, the cracked earth would shatter. So they softened the soil, and only then did the cloud let go. Sometimes restraint is the purest form of care.
By GoldenSpeech2 months ago in Chapters
Who's the real Monster?
Ignoring my instincts entirely I went down to the sub-basement. All the while repeating my granddad's saying, "Every enemy has a weakness." Creeping out of the vents it was easy to stay hidden here. The hall was barely lit. Up ahead it split into two corridors. Moving to the right there was a window at waist height that almost reached the ceiling. Carefully taking a peek I saw a ring of lights keeping something big inside of it. Whatever was inside looked to be an animal made of shadows that didn't have a true shape that appeared to be resting. My blood ran cold once the realization hit me. No fucking way. That's It, that's the Thing that attacked me. Unable to look away I watched as It rose from the floor to look right at me. Those red piercing eyes. Just like mine now.
By Lucy Torralba2 months ago in Chapters
Brass Ring Chapter 3: When The Clarion Call Goes Out
[Link to Chapter 2] After a wild mix of bumpy dirt roads and horrible karaoke, Oliver and Cass eventually returned home. The entire afternoon had had the feel of the last few hours of summer vacation; they had packed his van even before they had left for the pond. Each touch, each kiss was bittersweet; even the teasing lacked its usual "oomph!" Oliver had already made sure that the internet wouldn't drop as often just so that the two could talk face-to-face, even during the worst rainstorm and
By Jamais Jochim2 months ago in Chapters
Tattoos & Rail Guns Chapter 2: Fear The Chipmunk Killers!
The checklist wasn't just to make sure that she was ready. Sure, it helped make sure that she had everything she would need, that everything she packed was cleaned, and gave her peace of mind, but that wasn't all. It put her in the right frame of mind, a ritual of sorts to shift her from barracks mode to field mode. She inspected all of her gear, looking for cracks and holes. Finding none made her happy; she even smiled as she realized all of those trips to the armorer had its dividends.
By Jamais Jochim2 months ago in Chapters
Demon In The Woods
She crouched down, hiding behind the crumbled wall. She heard the crunching of feet passing next to her as she held her breath, hoping it didn't hear the hammering of her heart or smell her perspiration. She heard it pause and turn; her body dove and she twisted just soon enough to see it smash the wall into dust.
By Jamais Jochim2 months ago in Chapters
Tattoos & Rail Guns Chapter 4: The Coming of the Tattooed Voyager
Lieutenant Sawyer ran into the hallway just behind the rest of her team. The dretch easily dwarfed the soldiers, being twice as tall as a man and was built like a wrestler. Naked save for its ragged loincloth, its size made it look almost like a gigantic baby. Well, except for the nasty roar and a maw of sharp teeth.
By Jamais Jochim2 months ago in Chapters
The Night the Stars Fell Silent. AI-Generated.
Mira had always believed that the universe spoke in light — in pulses, in echoes, in subtle vibrations that only telescopes and sensitive minds could understand. From childhood, she had felt connected to the night sky in a way that no one around her ever understood. While others saw stars, she saw patterns. While others saw darkness, she felt presence.
By shakir hamid2 months ago in Chapters
Brass Ring Chapter 4: Time to Get Going
Don Pelegrine looked over the resumes of those he had chosen to participate in the heist. Tran “Pinball Wizard” Kung would be providing all of the technical expertise; he and the tools inside his spheroid battle-suit should be able to handle the security software and associated technology. He should enable the team to get into the vault and then exit it under full cover. He had also been the first to arrive; he had fortunately been leading a symposium just a few cities away.
By Jamais Jochim2 months ago in Chapters
Tattoos & Rail Guns Chapter 3: A World Recreated
Lieutenant Sawyer couldn't help but superimpose the past onto the future as they walked to the dretch's home. Even a few years ago the area they were walking through would have been a bustling small town, with people crowding the sidewalks and hovercars swarming the road. The sun would be gleaming off the buildings. Rapid City, South Dakota, had become a metropolis by 2098, on the cutting edges of cybernetics and material technology, as well as near the largest herds of bison.
By Jamais Jochim2 months ago in Chapters
Inversion - 14. AI-Generated.
Chapter 14 By autumn, there were twenty-three. Laurel couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it happened. The original five had been joined by others in ones and twos – a dropout from seminary school in Oregon, a retired librarian from Phoenix, a pair of grad students who’d abandoned their dissertations to follow rumors of a man who had transcended death. Word spread through networks he didn’t understand: online forums, intentional communities, the loose confederation of seekers who moved between ashrams and retreat centers like migrant workers heading to wherever seasonal crops of enlightenment could be ready to be harvested.
By The Myth of Sysiphus2 months ago in Chapters
