Category: Fiction

GO: An Unfortunate Engagement

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“Are you okay?” Dex lowered his weapon slightly.

“I. . . ” a strange tilt of the head – “I think so.” – or was he just stretching?

“What are you doing here?” Dex recalled scattered reports – “everyone evacuated right before the robos rolled through.” – of robos staying behind, disguised as people. Was this “civilian” one of them?

“I was hiding.”

Weird. “You’re lucky they didn’t find you.” The robos were adept at finding people.

Suspicious, Dex reached for his radio. Better call for backup, just in case. The guy’s eyes blazed laser red; without thinking, Dex fired. The back of the man’s head exploded, not with sparks but bloody gore.

Had he been mistaken, the eyes a trick of the light? He was human after all.

Go. Just go. You have others to worry about.

He coughed twice, his throat dry; suddenly he didn’t feel so well. He took off, leaving the body behind.

This flash fiction in 150 words was crafted for the M3 blog’s Flash in the Pan

Who’s Busy Now #FridayFictioneers

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At first, I built the effigy as an artistic statement; the bees were dying off for some reason. It was “colony collapse disorder”, and I thought it was larger than life.

They asked to display my work, and I agreed when they told me I would get free publicity: a write-up in the local paper. I didn’t realize how dire the situation was –

that for every big discovery, there’s something bigger; pollenating robots came along just in time to alleviate the extinction of honeybees, but will we always be so fortunate?

Here I am, waiting for the next big thing.

This post was prompted by Friday Fictioneers.

COME: The End of the World as We Know It

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“Come on,” she pleaded. “The ship leaves soon.”

“Do you think we’ll ever come back? Our people, I mean.” He was stalling – searching in the mess of their evacuation.

“Probably not. This place will be uninhabitable.”

He picked up a book, considered it a moment, then tossed it aside.

He saw it. “Here!” He dislodged the artifact from a pile and displayed it.

“That.”

“To help us remember where we came from.”

She checked the time. “We’ll never make it now!”

“Sure we will. I know a shortcut.” he said, taking her by the hand. “Come on.”

This flash fiction in 97 words was crafted for The M3 blog’s Flash in the Pan.

It was inspired by this article.