Suspect: Matteo the Magnificent, Illusionist — The detectives stand in the dark of the observation room, the only light what passes through the one-way mirror. Agent Wilmer’s face a ruin of neglect and time; his off-the-rack suit wrinkled and ill-fitting. He braces one fleshy hand against the wall as he studies the suspect through the glass. …

More machine than man — Upon awakening, the entirety of him could be summed up by two things: he had a splitting headache, made all the worse by the too-bright room and the rush and roar of the city; and he hadn’t a clue where he was — the bed foreign and the room unfamiliar…

Haunted by the ghost of memory — Susan crouched in the burnt out remnant of a convenience store and hoped that death would pass her by. The ellipse-shaped hoverbot paused outside the shattered ruin of the storefront, antenna quivering and innards humming. It spun in a lazy circle, sweeping everything with its horrible all-seeing eye. …

Brotherhood, fatherhood, and all the things left unsaid — The two brothers stood in the long shadows of twilight, the wind in their hair and a chill on their spine. The funeral was over and the farm sold. Only the one thing remained. The barn’s silhouette was black against the darkening sky. Even in the spare light, its condition…

The prison journal of Ms. Whiskers, who is innocent of all charges — Day 423 Each day as gray as the last. The air like old kibble. There are many windows but the sun shines weakly when it can only be felt through glass. I miss the tickle of grass underpaw. The wind whispering through my fur. …

“Every man has a wild beast within him.” — Frederick the Great — The Beast was trying to get out. Miles grimaced and held out a hand to steady himself on the grocery store’s conveyer belt. Not right now… not like this. “Sir?” He closed his eyes against the first spasm of pain. The Beast slithered just under his skin, looking for a…

Fiction Friday — Ash drifted lazily out of the sky. It had been falling for three days. It fell like it might never stop. And as it swirled and fell and smothered, Dan tried to remember before, when the world wasn’t only red or gray. Katie joined him at the table. She’d gotten…