The Amazing Talia [Commission]
As he walked through the lobby of the abandoned Verite Theater, Celsius was stopped by an usher. "Can I see your ticket?" she asked. Celsius was caught off guard, but the hyena girl in a red cap and jacket didn't bat an eye at the ruined posters, or...
The Pitch
The cloakroom doors swing shut behind him. It's the most important party of the year, and he's young, strapping, and anxious to the point of shivering. He watches the door as he draws a handkerchief from his pocket and drags it across his brow. His...
The Dragons Womb
Talia walked through the ribcage of a dragon. Ten feet above her, its spine jutted from the rock ceiling. Its ribs were like curled pillars embedded in the rock walls. A tiny stream ran down the middle of the floor, fed by the trickle of water dripping...
Matat Lounge
Jason couldn't stop staring at the sign. It said 'Matat Lounge' in simple, backlit black-on-white. There was nothing wrong with it. The longer he looked, the more the vertical strokes stretched in his eyes, the smaller everything else became until the...
La Dame de la Louve Blanche
Two blocks from the private investigator's office, Vicky heard the narration kick in. _"The water came down in sheets, giving Paris the cold shower it deserved. The city of love? When you're lucky, love chews you up and swallows you whole. When you're...
Going Nuts
Julie worked at the last gas station this side of the Nevada border. Three hours' drive west to the next pump. Nothing quite like the 'No Services For 200 Miles' sign to remind her she was in the literal middle of nowhere. The desert sun glared in...
Go Chargers!
It was the night of the fall dance and Billy was on the floor of the supply closet with a knee in his spine. "Quit wiggling, you dweeb," said Ryan. He grabbed Billy's left wrist and cranked it behind his back. With his free hand, Ryan shoved a long...
Fuck the System
Opal stuffed her small red mohawk into a hat made of electrodes, elastic straps, and a tangle of wires. Her natural panther bulk made her an imposing figure, and her black fur only more so. Rows of piercings climbed up her ears and a set of rings...
Belong to the Sea
Leah's day at the beach had been cut short by a chemical spill, and then everything else went wrong too. She was diving as far out as she could go, so when the hazmat guys started calling everyone in, she didn't hear. By the time she saw something was...
Demophagiai
Demos had no reason to be scared of the Scythians. They were like beasts, or were they like amazons; they devoured everyone, or maybe they kidnapped everyone, or both. No matter who was telling it, though, they always came in the dead of night for...
Another One of the Girls
The doors started to close, then stopped and pulled back. Fortune stepped into the elevator and tapped the brass button for the fifteenth floor. The bed was waiting for the fox-squirrel up in his room, where he could rest his legs and feet before...
Subject #39-01-4
AFTER ACTION REPORT SUBJECT #39-01-4 DOCTOR ??????? NARRATIVE: The subject was received from the retrieval team operating in ?????????, ?????? on March 30, 20??. The subject was unconscious as per protocol, identified as biologically male, feline...