They’ve turned me into pure, primal rage. In this sweltering pitch-black holding cell, I only have my memories, and even those are starting to fade.

I remember a fragmented moment of me standing amongst the crops, not yet time for harvest. The buzzing of pests out in the acres beyond. A cloudless sky where mage-engineered cargo ships flew large crates of produce and products.

Then I looked down ...

A query for you

When you say, “the end of the universe,”

Do you mean an all-encompassing apocalypse

Or a place where a sea of stars hits a wall

Of cement and impenetrability?

Which end do you see fit for me?

Where did you hope I’d end up?

Luckily, for you, I’ve found both

I outran an apocalypse

Of shrapnel and crashing crafts

Then another

Of microcosms and mutated air

And another

Of hunger so p...

He’s listening, but he’s not listening. He’s looking through me, not at me.

His silver name tag says “Scott, Cellular Expert,” but his unironed uniform gives him away. A polo shirt dyed the royal purple synonymous with CellUStar’s branding sits too tight on his frame. His fabric looks as uncomfortable as I feel.

He strokes his well-manicured beard, his ratty eyes scanning the floor, searching ...

The coffee was particularly good that morning at the diner. The rich aroma hit Terry's nose as he sipped the hot drink before he took a bite of boysenberry pie. He read the sports section to see the Sox lost again.

It was a typical Saturday morning as his wife Donna volunteered at the senior center. This kids were off at school, studying to change the world in their own ways. All while he ate pi...

It happened too fast to focus on the details. Alex found himself running through a pine wood, chest hot and heaving. He gasped for breath as he sprinted through a shallow stream. The fierce cry of the Mogalacryn always right behind him — a blend of a buzzard’s shriek, the hissing of a viper and the scream of countless miserable people.

Alex was just a boy when the Mogalacryn found him and began ...

Amongst the whining motor of the skiff and the rolling seawater, they barely looked at each other, let alone try to speak. The heat was unforgiving and no clouds gave mercy. Elena watched as Santa del Luna’s main island shrank into the distance, the resort’s crystalline towers shimmering.

“We shouldn’t have come out today,” Elena said. “It’s too hot.”

“What?” Shane said.

“I said it’s too hot to b...