Where the Silk Cotton Tree Grows
They say the old silk cotton tree in Crabwood Creek can swallow souls. That its roots drink more than water. That sometimes, late at night, you can hear drumming from its trunk—low, deep, and filled…
Missing in Action
“Mom?!” Pounding on the steps grows louder. “Dad?!” Thumbing, banging, even stuffed under all the blankets and pillows, he can hear doors slam and closets shut. “Mom! Dad?” It was just like the boy to…
Venture
Cade steadied his horse with a squeeze of both knees, keeping her dancing legs in check and protecting the dusty mounds below from wayward hooves. The four lines of raised dirt sheltered the still-warm bodies…
I Left the Baby in Dimension X
There's a baby in the back of the glider, but it's not mine. Sure, she looks like my baby, but my baby never cries when we're cruising through the Kuiper belt. Quite the opposite. Cruising…
The Last Soldier
This story contains sensitive content CW: Mental health, violence, war The soldiers file into the mess hall, squeezing onto benches and finding open places away from the canvas walls to sit. Outside, the wind shrieks,…