Stretch your brain
Jules stood alone in the Proteus desert on Empyrean. He'd never been first before, not in any of the trillions of light cones. Good. He was at the front then, making a real change. He wouldn't be alone for long. But as the seconds dragged on he didn't know what to do with himself. Always… Continue reading Something to Fight For
The air was stale, but the fact that there was air at all was something of a miracle. Demetri was the first person to walk the halls of Elatus in a thousand years. He shut his visor. Breathable as the air might be, it was damp and there were thick carpets of mold overhead, as… Continue reading The Heart of Elatus
It had been happening for a while. Well, technically it had been happening since the dawn of time—it was the Big Bang that got it started. It was nice that they figured out how it started. Would have been better if they'd figured out how to stop it. Way too late for that now. All… Continue reading The Day Without a Yesterday
Kara sat up in bed and clutched her chest. There was a familiar pounding at her front door. She threw a robe around her toned frame and went to answer it without bothering to check the time—at some point the hour no longer mattered and it was just late. Without flipping on the porch light… Continue reading Guest Room
Swirling pixels in Ian's periphery indicated an incoming call. He begrudgingly answered, letting the feed overlay his vision with minimal opacity. He didn't want to lose a finger. "Hello, Jenna," he said, knowing how much she hated it. Sure enough, she frowned. The expression fit her wrinkles precisely. "That's no way to address your mother."… Continue reading Long Distance Call
"That's the dumbest shit I've ever seen." Kai had envisioned a more enthusiastic response. "Just wait," he said, "you'll have one too by month's end; I guarantee it." He slurred his words around the snorkel-like mouthpiece. It would take some getting used to, he admitted to himself. Maddox plopped down onto the old worn armchair,… Continue reading Smoker
A fog rolled in between the sheer face of the cliff and the jagged limestone columns that towered over the valley, riding a sulfur breeze that tickled the nose. She hadn't understood what all the fuss was about, but now that she was here, Elise was spooked. She wiped her sweaty palms on her pants,… Continue reading Ghosts of the First Era
Augustus stood at the edge of the scaffolding stretching out from the landing pad atop the headquarters of Cormorant Communications. High above the pointillism of the city lights in the late evening, the wind tugged at his scarf and jacket and made his knees weak. His stomach felt like it was on tumble dry. "Augustus!"… Continue reading Fall Guy
"Sit down." The badge on his shoulder armor said POLICE, but he was on the wrong side of the law—the way it's written, anyway. The smoky black visor of his helmet had a spiderweb crack on one side and fresh beads of splatter on the other. He spun his pistol in quick circles on the red… Continue reading Down to Business
Warmup Pages 