Fire Elemental

The craft eased through the continuum corridor, leaving old worlds behind.

Lick wondered what the new universe would be like. Elders had assured explorers that it would sustain life. Lick wondered if it could.

There was a concussion which buffeted Lick’s form; and the craft disintegrated around him.

He landed naked in a tangle of what he assumed was the plant life which had been incorporated into his exploration briefing. Some huge and hairy bipedal form was brandishing two rocks.

He was suddenly very frightened and terribly hungry. He began to consume the dried grass and twigs.

The primate flinched.

From Guest Contributor Perry McDaid

Crumble Life

After the day’s hard work I returned to my hut. In the corner slept my 9-year-old daughter, abused recently by rich boys. My fisherman husband had strayed far into the sea. Hungry I walked to the corner of the hut. There was a tomato and two slices of stale bread. I made a soup. The bread, I broke it down to crumbs. Counting one for one suffered sorrow, I drowned it in the soup. I and my girl sipped it as long as possible, in silence, wishing all the sorrows would drown the same way in this crumb of life.

From Guest Contributor Thriveni C. Mysore

Cable

I received a cancellation letter in the mail last week. My cable subscription had been halted. I found myself spending the entire afternoon staring at a black screen.

That evening, while out shopping, I discovered that all my credit cards had been stopped. I wasn't hungry anyway, but I was beginning to spot a disturbing trend.

One by one, every relevant account, identification, and social network deleted me from their databases. I was suddenly cast adrift, avatarless in a digital world.

It soon became clear that I had died. I didn't mind. What was the point of life without cable.