Survival Stories

A dim blue light manifested over the valley. The crisp breeze squeezed even the rumor of moisture from the air.

A spot of water, too meager to be named a drop, formed on the needle of a cactus. It clung near the edge, threatening to plummet into the abyss.

Gravity pulled, the breeze tugged, but the droplet's tensile strength held firm, and rather than fall, it rolled the length of the spine, reaching the porous membrane at the cactus's heart.

The water seeped inside. The cactus sprang to life at the sudden nourishment, enough sustenance to endure another few weeks.

The Brubaker Spectacular

The Brubaker Spectacular trundled down Main Street, festooned with ribbons and fur, exploding confetti at every corner.

The children trailed after the wagons, quivering in epileptic fits of joy. The Brubaker Spectacular had arrived.

Elephants trumpeted at the sky. Acrobats danced from the rooftops. Giants wrestled lions, while swinging from trapezes suspended over fiery pits.

The Brubaker Spectacular promised two weeks of bewitching sensation, exceeding even the most remarkable dreams of splendor.

Shops closed their doors. The school master tossed aside his exams. Reverends and ministers forgave a fortnight worth of transgressions.

Nobody ever said no to the Brubaker Spectacular.

Working For A Living

"Time to go to work."

Oliver crawled out of bed. He crawled out of his room, and out of the house, and down the hill. He crawled along the dirt path.

Oliver paused for a few moments to crawl in circles. He then continued to crawl along the dirt path.

Oliver found a giant bread crumb. He joyously crawled over it and under it and around it. This would feed his family for a few hours.

Oliver crawled back to the hill. He did not forget to crawl in circles a few times along the way.

Oliver loved his life.

The Book Of Lost Worlds

Robert shifted through the pile of old books. He quietly shone his light from title to title, but had begun to have doubts.

The book had been stolen from him, many years ago. He still remembered the evening he first opened it, and found himself magically transported to the other world.

Here it was! The same blue cover, the same tattered corner worn away by his own fingers.

"You found it," his wife exclaimed when he brought it home.

Robert slipped it onto a corner of his book shelf.

"Aren't you going to open it?" she asked.

"Only when necessary."

A Stitch In Time

Revere eyed the man to his right with a growing sense of animosity.

"I don't know why I set foot in that infernal time machine of yours, Franklin," he complained.

"Would you rather be back in 1783, listening to Hancock's monotonous anecdotes?"

Franklin took the silence as a No. With a smile, he adjusted his bifocals and revved up his chainsaw.

"See you on the ground."

Franklin leapt from the jet. He glided onto the back of the saber-toothed tiger, and with the skill of a man not new to battling prehistoric animals, beheaded the monster with one swipe.

"Tax this!"

The Spy Who Couldn't Spell

Agent Baker scribbled fervently on his notepad. Dr. Kupfernickel would return any minute.

The footsteps warned him. He folded his note into the perfect paper airplane and launched it through the window just as the door swung open. Baker turned confidently to face his adversary.

The paper airplane glided across the square and into the waiting arms of Agent Donnelly, who quickly read the missive.

"Is this message encoded?" asked Donnelly's puzzled partner.

"Baker is dyslexic. He can't spell. He said to wait here until he gives explicit orders. So we wait here."

They found Baker's body two weeks later.

Ghost Story

Jackson stumbled into the bathroom and flicked on the light. He jumped with a start. Samantha, his dead wife, was staring at him in the mirror.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I've decided to haunt you."

"Whatever you say." Jackson went back to bed.

Samantha started following Jackson wherever he went. People often caught him talking to himself, and decided he was crazy.

It was not long before Jackson's boss fired him. "You're behavior lately has been unacceptable."

"But my dead wife is haunting me."

"Why didn't you say so? You get used to it after a while."

Thanks For The Snack

Coyote watched the newcomers cross the open expanse, wondering why they carried so much chattel. "It must be an important treasure to go through so much trouble," she thought to herself.

Curious, Coyote followed their passage. But even under the cover of darkness, when she approached their wagons, they used long, hollow noisemakers to drive her away.

One night, a large thunderstorm descended upon the valley. Coyote used the distraction to slip past the sentries unnoticed.

She jumped inside a wagon, and smiled at what she found. "How nice of them to carry all this food for me to eat."

Earth 2.0

Curtis looked at the new cityscape in amazement. He had never been outdoors, but he imagined this was what it would be like. The path, it really was a path, meandering and uneven, wound its way through ponds and lawns. Trees towered overhead.

Curtis had been in virtual environments that mimicked Earth's various bioshperes, but they paled in comparison. He used his scanner to measure the nearest tree's composition. Real DNA!

"What are you doing?" a sentinel demanded angrily.

"I'm conducting analysis tests." Curtis displayed his credentials.

"No humans are allowed inside the biosphere. Your biorhythms disrupt the natural order."

The Long Forgotten Adventures Of Blake Worthington, Archeologist

We stumbled upon the entrance buried beneath the sand. It figured, with 14 miles of desert in every direction, the door had to be buried. Thank God for the stolen map.

The tunnel was cool, a welcome respite. We had run out of water hours ago.

"You know, if the Midnight Sun is not here, we are going to die," Semele whispered.

"It's here, trust me."

We lit torches, and descended into the catacombs. The passageway opened into a cavernous chamber. The walls, the ceiling, the dais, everything was stripped clean.

"It appears Dr. Jones beat us to the prize again."