Category: Short Stories

Aria Vega wrestled with the recalcitrant solar array panel, her slender frame agile against the vast, luminescent backdrop of Nova Station. Sparks spat from the junction box as she tightened a bolt, her scarred hand sure and swift. Then, the hum died. A silence, absolute and unnatural, swallowed the station’s rhythmic thrum. Every light flickered… Read more

Rain lashed against Evelyn’s face as she hurried along the cobblestone street, black umbrella bucking in the wind. Elmsworth. Even the name felt heavy with memory. She adjusted her grip on the worn leather journal clutched in her hand, its pages dampening at the edges. The church spire loomed ahead, a stark finger against the… Read more

Emily Hartman navigated the Mistport docks, her slender frame weaving through stacks of crates. Coffee, her usual fuel, pulsed through her veins as she sketched the shadowy warehouses, seeking the perfect angle to capture the eerie stillness. A figure, cloaked and shadowy, slammed into her, a jarring impact in the pre-dawn gloom. Emily stumbled, sketchpad… Read more

The raven’s harsh cry echoed through the fog-choked clearing as Evelyn Harper watched the casket lowered. She wasn’t here to mourn Silas Blackwood; she was here because something felt wrong. The air hung heavy, not just with grief, but with a prickling unease. A glint of metal caught her eye – not polished coffin hardware,… Read more

Alex Harper pushed through the dense fog, her slender frame agile as she navigated the gnarled trees of Mistwood. Sunlight struggled to pierce the oppressive grey, casting long, distorted shadows that danced with every gust of wind. She consulted the worn map clutched in her hand, her piercing eyes scanning the landmarks. A low, guttural… Read more

Alex Mercer wrestled the data chip from the server port, the metallic tang of ozone stinging his nostrils. Alarms blared, painting the narrow corridor in strobing red. He sprinted, agile form a blur against the steel walls, the chip clutched tight in his scarred hand. Mechanical insects, whirring drones no bigger than his palm, buzzed… Read more

Evelyn Hart watched the casket lowered, her sharp eyes scanning the faces of the mourners. Fog, thick and cloying, clung to Ravenwood’s old cobblestone streets, mirroring the chill in her bones. A raven cawed from a skeletal oak, the sound swallowed by the heavy air. Suddenly, a tremor ran through the ground, low and guttural,… Read more

Alex moved with the shadowed agility of a rat through the server room, fingers flying across the archaic terminal. Lines of code blurred, a desperate dance to bypass New Babel’s surveillance. Inquisitive eyes, the city’s only vibrant feature in a gaunt face, scanned the cascading data. Suddenly, the screen fractured. Not with an error, but… Read more

Amelia Stone arrived in Ravenwood as the coffin was lowered. Rain threatened, mirroring the gloom clinging to the village. A gust of wind, sharp and sudden, ripped the black cloth from the coffin, revealing not the polished wood beneath, but raw, splintered oak. Gasps rippled through the mourners. Amelia, ever inquisitive, felt a prickle of… Read more

Elena Blackwood knelt, placing a crimson rose on the freshly turned earth. The Ravenwood cemetery, shrouded in thick fog, pressed in around her, each mist-laden tree a silent mourner. A sharp CRACK echoed, not thunder, but wood splintering nearby. Elena spun, heart hammering. A raven, perched on a leaning headstone, tilted its glossy head. Clutched… Read more