By Daniel Malone

(Editor's note: The following was submitted in September 2023 as part of the Writers' Playground Short Story Competition) I arrived in the Berkshires unaware I was to come face to face with a creature not of this world. Had I known as much, I might have come armed with more than just a notepad andContinue reading "The Beast of the Berkshires"

(Editor's note: The following was submitted in August 2023 as part of the NYC Midnight 500-Word Fiction Challenge) When I found Bobby Crampert, he was slumped in a leather club chair, his sun-beaten face drooping from behind a pane of glass. For five hours I’d waited outside the clubhouse. Pace was always slow at seniorContinue reading "Twelve Feet, Eight Inches"

By all credible accounts, the history of Amaryllian influence upon the planet once called Earth is without dispute. Any expert will tell you this. They will cite statistics on deaths by hippopotamus maiming, and so forth. This being so, it is also without dispute that the long relationship between the Amaryllians and the planet onceContinue reading "The History Of Amaryllian Influence Upon The Planet Once Called Earth"

"Why on Earth would I want to eat this disgusting slop again?" Commander Bennett punctuated the question by slamming the frozen meal tray down onto the flight deck, just narrowly missing a bank of important input screens. He settled into the worn co-pilot chair and crossed his arms in a dramatic, low-blood-sugar kind of way.Continue reading "Food Relief"

The planet Cerebesh had never seen such celebrity. Nor, for that matter, had the sheltered world ever seen an alien. When the day finally came for first contact, new and fantastic heights were reached in both regards. And Cerebesh celebrated in joyous fashion. Slu Eru, Princess of the Cere and daughter to Emperor San-Besh II,Continue reading "Benbu Says Hello"

“Love, I think the record’s ended. Want to pick something else out?” The sound of his wife’s voice wafting in from the other room rouses Walter out of a sleepy daze. He’s lounged comfortably into the old leather club chair, nearly succumbing to a Sunday afternoon nap. It’s not a rare occurrence when he’s upContinue reading "Do You Remember Walter?"