“Emily!” Sophie screams in the dark. I scramble off the floor as vertigo races through me, feeling my way back onto the couch. “I’m here.” Holding her shaking form, the world stops spinning. She sniffles. “What is going on?” “I have no idea.” I gulp around a wave of nausea. The whir of an engine ...

Uncle Jeb had a far-off look in his eyes, as if gathering his thoughts on where to start with his missing hand story. Throughout my childhood, my mom and aunt recounted the tale of him driving down one of the dirt roads one day with his arm dangled out the window. His truck got too ...

“It can’t be,” Sophie whispers for the seventh time, eyes glued to the computer screen on the desk in front of us. “Y’all are seeing this, right?” Nathan runs a hand down his face. “It’s not just me?” Xander blows out a breath, his broad shoulders connecting with the back of his chair with an ...

Peris and Alfie sat facing each other on Nor’s ribs, their feet dangling. They continued to orbit the yellow star while Nor lapped at its energy, half-asleep. On a normal day, they’d be underway as soon as they woke up, but on this occasion, they let her doze.  “It feels wrong to exercise control over ...

On Friday morning, the story about the flamingos finally broke in L.A. County. Miss Martha’s house was shown on television swarmed with reporters, wildlife control, police officers, and animal rights protestors. Trained handlers led the flamingoes to the Los Angeles Zoo. Press and protestors called Miss Martha terrible names like abuser, crazy flamingo lady, etc. ...

“She’s gotta be at least five hundred years old.” Nathan rechecks the sample of organic material on his desk for the fifth time. Sophie digs her palms into her eye sockets. “That’s impossible.” “I know.” Nathan huffs. I stare at the three-dimensional image on our photogrammetry software. The jagged remains of an immense vessel lay ...

Two days passed as I remained at home, eagerly anticipating the publication of the article at the week’s end. In my free time, I threw Louis’ gifts away and watched television. On Thursday, to my surprise, Louis called. The urge to confront him about the incident at the nail salon and Bouncing Boba grew. With ...

The morning passed peacefully after Ken left for work. I showered and dressed before I drove out to the house to do more research. I texted Ralph. Considering his character, it was likely he had already headed to the golf course to play a round before enjoying the rest of his day at the country ...

“Can you zoom in right here?” Nathan points to a shadow on the computer screen. Sophie clicks to make it larger, the image morphing into thick towers of coral reaching towards the sky. “Damn! Just another coral shelf.” Nathan rubs a palm down his face. He leans back in his chair and rolls his shoulders. ...

Peris couldn’t remember feeling more relieved than she did when Nor disengaged from the rusty hatch and they put the whole dirty-minded, overheated space station behind them. Let’s get away from here! She transmitted, but she barely bothered to stay engaged after they cleared the arms of the flimsy metal snowflake.   Nor glided blithely ...