Sci Fi
Scrapper
Jules landed on her feet, hauling her bag behind her as she exited the shoot. Keeping her mask in place, she beelined for the nearest decontamination station. She entered her identification code on the provided tablet and waited while her information was processed. Swiping quickly through the verification process, she huffed out a breath when the doors in front of her finally opened. She entered the first station and shifted from foot to foot repeatedly as she was blasted with the initial cleansing mist, watching as it coalesced and drained through the floor. “You would think they would have fixed the timing on these older models by now...didn’t the newest rep say they were going to be upgrading the stations at this port until new models could be installed? Eh, whatever.” Jules shrugged and shook her head, following the automated instructions to proceed to the next stage. When she was through the final stage, she snorted out a laugh as she waved at the appraiser on the other side of the wall. “Heya, Clay, didn’t know you were working Sector 7’s port this week. How’s the family?”
By Katherine Hanson5 years ago in Fiction
The Mercy of Angels
PROLOGUE THE gravity alarm sounded suddenly. Wrenched from sleep I unclipped my retaining strap and cascaded from my bunk, my hands clawing for the handholds on the roof of my quarters. As the 60 second countdown struck 12, my feet jammed against the floor and my white knuckles gripped the handholds in anticipation. My roommate, Bella, was not there. This explained the lack of a wake-up shove. She was probably bunking with Jeremy again, ugh!
By Lesley Knight5 years ago in Fiction
A Conversation At The End Of The World
It’s quiet atop the hill except for a wind rustling through autumn-painted trees. In the distance there are sounds, so many of them. Sirens, soaring above the rising swell of countless vehicle alarms and muffled announcements echoing urgently across the cityscape. Columns of smoke, more and more of them, spiral into the clear skies, black banners waving for attention. A lone skyscraper, pointing frantically at something unseen above, disintegrates with a confused groan, collapsing down into a silvery cloud that shoots high into the air, a towering ghost composed of sparkling glass dust and metal particulate.
By Pee Eye Bee5 years ago in Fiction
Jolt
The sign in front of the high school was so weathered she could no longer make out the words. Pipevine had reached up to cover it further. There was a large cougar in mid-jump emblazoned on one side, looking as if it were trying to escape the vine’s stranglehold. She looked up into the cougar’s enraged eyes as she crept past. Whatever this place had been called before, no one would remember it now.
By Conquering Valhalla5 years ago in Fiction
Beat
Earth had become a legend of a legend, a consumption of time forgotten to the dementia of Humanity. On the last day of light, the Human Race left the Milky Way and with the crumble of its Galaxy, gave hope and chance into the abyssal void. The apocalypse of the Universe was silent, the Degenerate Era, the death of starlight. Refuge was not so easily offered by Mother Nature, only the strong survived what came, the uprising of the singularities took tribute from the old and young, trading passage and respite for those that did what needed to be done.
By Will Parsons5 years ago in Fiction
A Graduation Gift
Dearest Candidate-Computer-Engineer (56732.3602138): I pray this gift and message reaches you peacefully. This necklace is yours now, take care, because it wouldn’t be mine to share without purpose. Metals for this locket and chain were mined by people long ago. It might have been part of a Mayan idol or maybe the calf that Moses condemned. Perhaps it was part of the knife that stabbed Jesus or Caesar. It doesn’t matter because it cannot be any of those things anymore. They took it from Bert when we were arrested. I gave her a heart shaped locket because Grandma had one where she kept a picture of Grandpa trapped inside. Grandma used to fumble with his portrait as it dangled against her chest, and she blabbed about the fires that burned down the planet and her cabin; about the plagues that killed everyone but us. All of that was back in the ‘20’s or ‘30’s, before we left Earth. This little locket is from Earth, just like Grandma and Grandpa, and all the moms and dads, just like you. They are me and I am you, so pay attention to our story - because it is your story.
By Cean Mills5 years ago in Fiction
DRONERS
THE DRONERS Kate and Martin weren’t your quintessential brother and sister. They were like twins, two parts of a whole, both strong individually but, together they were a pair to be reckoned with! Connected in mind and heart, from birth. This was a great thing in many ways, however, it was a tumultuous relationship at the best of times. Perhaps that’s why they took different paths. They lived in separate countries for many years, Marty stayed in New Zealand and Kate moved to Australia. When they could see each other they always picked up as if they had never been apart.
By Wendy - Empathic Tigress5 years ago in Fiction
Erased
“If anyone finds this…there’s nothing left here.” A grimy finger paused the old school tape recorder. Hands, once well-manicured and soft, reached up to a gaunt face and tucked greasy hair behind an ear. The Woman, who in the Before was successful and well-composed, was now filthy and tired.
By Skyland K. Thompson 5 years ago in Fiction
Doomsday Diary
Merrick County Nebraska was never a very large town, but after the virus, there was rarely a soul in sight as Gretta James peaked from the tiny attic window daily. She reluctantly geared up in her one-piece long-sleeve pants jumpsuit, quickly threw her wavy light brown hair into a messy ponytail and put on her gas mask. “This is not how I imagined my 30’s going, but fuck it! Here goes nothing!”, she said. It was time to leave the attic or her childhood home and face the new world, ravaged and complicated by the Myoloma-44 Virus which took the world by storm on October 20th, 2021. Over 20 million died in the past 6 months, including her husband as the airborne virus spread like wildfire throughout the modern world. Although apprehensive, Gretta knew that her survival depended on her finding food and supplies.
By Larita Hebert5 years ago in Fiction
Th Hunter and Her Grandfather
She strides through the ashen field, her midnight fur undulating as she slides into a stop, casting monochromatic dust into the air. There is a disturbance in front of her, she scents the sky in response. Starting from the top set of eyes, she blinks the first pair, then the second follows suit, the third gleaming pair concludes the motion as she exhales hard through her snout. There is a rumble in her throat, an ancient calling to moon, known to her D.N.A. for centuries, even if mutation set upon her lineage for a few centuries more. She lets it out: A howl, long with grim intention, coming back to a snarl. There is something moving ahead in the stripped undergrowth, its intention clear as well, as it lays still in wait, a tactic very familiar to the wolf.
By Neil Celis5 years ago in Fiction
