All Stories

Dr. H. Ashford

The rain had been falling since Hexham, and by the time Mr. Gerald Poole arrived at the gates of Varden House, it had achieved a quality less like weather than …

Luc Devereaux

The envelope sticks to his fingers. Not sweat—something thicker. He peels it off, leaves a pale smear on his palm. Merde. The paper’s damp at the corners, the g…

Marcus Veil

1. 04:12 ZULU. The humidity in the hydroponics bay had breached 94 percent. Elias wiped his goggles with a synthetic chamois, but the condensation reformed in s…

Yuki Kazehara

By nine ten on Tuesday morning, the third permit had made Kuroda Mina stop turning pages. She sat at the long counter in Municipal Records with her finger resti…

Elara Nightwood

The shoe had been nailed into the corner behind the stool where Ilyssa counted evening receipts, which meant someone had entered while she was helping the last …

Sofia Verlanti

As she stepped into the kitchen, the paper-wrapped cake still cool against her wrist, she was greeted by the unfamiliar sight of two extra places set at the nar…

Marcus Veil

1. 02:44 ZULU. The monitor wall in the Station 4 acute ward hummed with a low-frequency oscillation that rattled the glass vials in the cabinet. Sarah adjusted …

Yuki Kazehara

At three seventeen, with rain fretting at the archive windows like a patient creditor, Shiba Itsuki opened the harbor office ledger and felt paper where there s…

Luc Devereaux

The sugar tin is still warm when he slides it back. Not from the espresso machine—from the envelope tucked behind it, flap folded like a sleeping eyelid. Still …

Elara Nightwood

The bells had begun ringing at dusk, which meant Osric would climb the tower with a question he did not yet know how to ask. They rang once each, starting with …

Dr. H. Ashford

The telegram arrived at half past two on a Thursday afternoon, which meant that Dr. Ashford had already committed the sin of removing his boots and settling int…

Sofia Verlanti

As she stepped into the apartment, the humid evening air clung to her like a damp shroud, heavy with the scent of blooming flowers and something else - the smel…