Havok Publishing

Caleb A. Robinson

Limping Through the Apocalypse

When people warned us about the apocalypse, they never mentioned injuries. And I’m not talking about a zombie bite or breaking your legs or having a loose street sign fall and impale you while you’re trying to fish a Snickers bar out from the bottom of a drain… rest in peace, Donny.

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Man of Theseus

When I woke, I could feel each fiber of the plasticky hospital sheet covering me. But it was distant, almost like someone else was feeling it. I pulled off the sheet and stared at two human-looking legs. I dug my fingernails into my right quadricep hard enough to make it bleed but felt no pain.

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Protocol One

Yi Ming collapsed at the rosewood table, knocking over the blue and white ceramic vase resting on it. His hands moved automatically to pick it up and straighten the blossoms within. A single message hovered in his retinal display, blocking out the ever-expanding city skyline glittering just beyond the window.
It can’t be true.

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Zombie Road Trip

“We hit this gas station”—I point at a crease in the map spread out over the RV’s dining table—“grab food, toilet paper, gas—”
“And slushies,” Martin chimes in.
“—and slushies. Then we hightail it to the monument, here.”
I survey my crew. Martin, my younger brother, looks like a…

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The Trial of Draining

Hanu wiped sweat from his brow and gazed up at the looming mountains. His mentor, a local wizard, powered up the slope. Soft light escaped the man’s worn robes: the glow of an energy stone. Hanu clenched his teeth. Of course, he’s allowed to use magic.
Unconsciously, Hanu’s hand drifted towards the inner pocket…

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The Proxy

Cassandra gripped the handle on the side of the launch shuttle to keep her hand from trembling. The target ship’s silver and white panels gleamed in the ocean of darkness.
At least I could swim in the ocean. In space, Cassandra would be at the mercy of trajectory, and it was no short distance

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Unending Knowledge

Some people never come out of there,” Jabril said.
Daniel gave him a flat look. “Do you really believe that rumor?”
They stood in front of a neglected library sandwiched between a bank and a corner boutique. Cracks and water stains spread across the faded yellow facade.
Jabril secured his long black dreads

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Spell of Life

Hanu flattened the parchment on the grass and reviewed his handwritten spell for the final time. Proper exit condition for the main loop? Check. Clearly defined energy conversions? Check. Timeout in case of emergency? Of course.
“This is it,” he said.
The maple trees surrounding the clearing rustled in response. Birds above exchanged

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