Sadie took a deep breath, praying she didn’t make a complete fool of herself. She had searched out Cassandra Rosenthol through the coffee shop windows before entering so she wouldn’t stand in the middle of the shop looking around like a dope. She only had one chance to make a…
“You’re lying.” “No, I’m not.” “There’s no such place!” “Yes, there is.” “No way. You’re a liar. Liar! Liar!” Julia sighed. The second graders had only just started their lunches and she already needed to quiet them down. “Brock, Aiden, inside voices, please.” “Miss Hulbert,” Brock whined (she was pretty…
Once a year they brought the Sorrow from her hermitage in the hills so that she could speak to them and remind them of the world that had once been, to speak from the affliction that science had cured. They gathered in the stadium by the tens of thousands, talking…
“Hudson, school’s been cancelled.” Hudson walked out of his room with his Pokemon shirt half on and no pants. “Why?” “There’s fog today.” “That’s dumb,” he said, putting his arm through the sleeve. “Chase and me were going to be captains at kickball today. “At least you have an extra…
“All purchases are nonrefundable,” John recited as he processed the timeshadow application. “If you wish to proceed, sign your name on the pad.” The young man, Quentin according to his application, did so. “Follow me.” John led Quentin down the hallway to Prep Room 5. Quentin was 19; John had…
Henry knocked and entered at Alice’s voice. She was usually a neat young woman, but today the bed sheets were in disarray, the drawers of her dresser hung open, and the contents of the bookshelf were spread across every surface. “Don’t you say anything,” she said sharply as he shut…
On County Road 7, about three miles south of Clearwater, on the right side of the road just past 1000 East, there is a barn. To be accurate, it is no longer quite a barn. The roof collapsed long ago. Two of the walls have fallen in. Mostly it is…
The crystal blade waited for him. Andros did not know if this were dream or reality. He climbed the steps of the platform. The sword emitted a faint glow, the only light in the cavern except for a gray haze as if the moon looked in through a window far,…
They came not in ships but in beams of light. Creatures of many eyes, their forms wavered insubstantial before us. They did not speak but when one of their eyes, a film of colored photons, a mere hologram projected across the expanse of space, touched us, we saw–landscapes and constellations,…
“Does everyone have an axe?” It was not a question Tony had expected to hear when he agreed to visit his fiancee’s aunt and uncle over the weekend. Last time he had held an axe was at a Renaissance Festival. “I think I have another in the garage,” said Joy’s…
It’s been a busy couple weeks. I’ve spent most of a week at a youth conference, being on, and when I returned, I had a week of meetings and catch-up and generally busy family life. I needed some extra sleep, some space, some downtime. But there is something more I needed….
Jordon inserted the key into the lock. “This is kinda disappointing, actually,” he said, opening the door for his girlfriend. “The fingerprint scanner won’t be changed over to my until next week.” It was dark inside, and all the windows were tinted. “Aleya,” he said, “turn on the lights.” The…