SF Drabble #223 “Fell in Love With A Girl”

She came back with me from Rostov IX. It wasn’t hard getting her through customs: she took suitcase form, and I put all my things inside and checked her. She rode the shuttle down in the cargo compartment.

Now that we’re here, I just tell people we met on holiday, fell in love, and married before coming back. They’re so happy for me. The hard part was getting her to choose one form and face to use with the people I — we — know. I mean, I can’t keep showing up to parties with a different girl. Nobody would buy that.

SF Drabble #222 “Loop”

Ramsey runs down the corridor, towards the engine room. I’m right behind her. We know what’s about to happen; we knew it the first time.

We both turn on a dime to sprint through the open engine room door, and we both immediately trip over Dr. Englund’s body. Ramsey is immediately back up, lunging for the the Reemer-Englund Drive control panel, but I am frozen, staring at the horror of Englund’s face contorted in death.

Ramsey won’t make it. She never does. She’ll get to the console just as the Drive activates, and then we’ll do it all over again.

Zombie Drabble #239 “Diet”

I hired a company, Weston Survival Inc., to build and stock my civil defense shelter. Very reputable firm, did all the digging themselves. I remember sitting in a lawn chair with an iced tea and watching the delivery men carry in bottle after bottle of distilled water, numbered crate after numbered crate of canned food.

If I’d only thought to ask.

When the zombies chased me in here, I felt smug, proud of myself. It was halfway through my second meal that I realized all the crates contained the same thing: canned beans. For every meal, canned beans. Possibly forever.

Zombie Drabble #238 “Where The Heart Is”

The heads on stakes by the side of the road were the first indication that we were approaching a settlement. Some of them had clearly been there for years; they were little more than skulls.

We sent Ricks on ahead, as we always do. He’s about as threatening as a possum. When he came back, he had their terms for entry: give up any guns and ammo, pool all food supplies. The usual.

We won’t oblige, of course. We’ve been to towns like this before. If they don’t like you, they kick you out with nothing. Better to keep looking.

Fantasy Drabble #161 “On The Half Shell”

The sea was like glass, and the sails hung slack and empty. Prosperia sat like a toy boat in a long-forgotten bath.

Mr. RIchmond climbed up to the wheel. “Captain, I’ve made my count, sir; we lost two more last night.”

“Damned singing was louder.”

“Yes, sir. What do we do?”

The Captain pulled at his beard nervously. “Tonight, if we still haven’t caught the damned breeze, we chain the men to the guns. The officers will sleep in the wardroom, all together, to watch each other.”

“I’ll see to it.”

“Damned Sirens are taking their dinner piecemeal.”

“Aye, sir.”

SF Drabble #221 “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?”

Rane eased the Chariot to a stop. “I’m at the base of the lander. He’s right behind me, maybe ten meters. Ran the whole way. What now?”

“Not sure. Stand by.”

“Sure, fine, I’ll just hang around out here with the alien in the giant alien mecha-suit.”

“Has he made any threatening moves? Anything at all?”

“No. Perfect gentleman. My mother would have approved.”

“Okay, Control signaled: they want better video. Cooley is coming out with the camera.”

“The High-Def camera?”

“Yes, Rane.”

“…that looks like a pistol?”

There was a pause before the response came. “I see your point.”

Zombie Drabble #237 “kthxbye”

…so she tweets ‘eaten by zombies’, and I’m all like, ‘not funny, my brother was eaten by a zombie in our front yard this morning and we’re all really upset here’. But then she tweets, ‘OMG, zombies really here, help’. But I’m still mad at her and I don’t believe her so I’m like, ‘STFU bitch I hope you do get eaten.’ Then she calls and I don’t pick up. But she leaves a message, which I listen to, and it’s all screaming and then smacking and eating sounds.

So now I’m not sure whether to believe her or not.

Zombie Drabble #236 “Go You Huskies”

There had to have been about three hundred of them. I can run pretty fast, so it’s no problem for me avoiding zombies, but they were starting to annoy me.

So I speed-walked through the horde, just slow enough to get them all following me; led them right into the school gym. I went out the other side and chained the back doors behind me. Then ran around and chained the front ones.

I feel bad, it being the school and all, but I should probably torch it. Coach Rossi would understand if he weren’t already one of the zombies.

Fantasy Drabble #160 “Gowee”

Gowee has tried. Gowee has tried ever so many times. When the males go into season, she finds the strongest and smartest one and couples with him before devouring him; but still she goes barren.

Gowee quiets the ache another way. Baby is human, born to a human mother. Baby’s parents didn’t want to let it go, but Gowee killed them. They should have just let her take Baby, then made another for themselves. They could have done it anytime; humans are always in season.

Gowee is happy. All she must do now is resist the urge to eat Baby.

SF Drabble #220 “Dealer”

“And here is the crown jewel: the PR-72X.” He held it out in front of him like a knight offering his sword. “Weighs less than three kilos, only seventy-eight centimeters long. Capable of firing a hundred and twenty times automatic, and a full sixty seconds in beam mode.”

“Not bad.”

“The best part is, in either mode, it’ll drill through Grung armor in less than three seconds.”

The general snorted. “I’ve heard that claimed before. I suppose you know what happens to my boys if it’s not true?”

“Sure.”

“Good. Because I’ll make sure it happens to you as well.”

Fantasy Drabble #159 “Clean Slate”

His sword was in his hand, and he didn’t know why. He remembered being angry, excited; he could still feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

“You were saying?” she asked, sounding amused.

“I was… sorceress, have you bewitched me? As you did the others? Is my will turned to your own?”

“Lets just say I’ve given you a chance to get to know me; to decide for yourself if I am the evil temptress they say I am.”

“Who? Oh, the town. Why did they send me?”

“Oh, some blood libel. It doesn’t matter. Come, sit with me, talk.”

SF Drabble #219 “Deep Black”

I’ve never liked being outside. The others can’t seem to wait to get out here, but not me.

I trust my suit: it’s the best money can buy and I do my checklist without fail. It’s not like I’m in any danger out here, there’s nothing to hurt me. There’s nothing at all.

Maybe that’s the problem. Inside, within the confines of the station, with the others, I feel like I’m somewhere. But outside…

There’s no place to it, outside. There’s just nothingness. I can’t stand it. I wish they wouldn’t send me out here. Anybody can do this maintenance.