Yesterday, Albert Cook offered me a ride home from school. Thanking him, I scrambled into his Pa’s wagon. We talked of that day’s ball game and spelling bee.
Finally, he asked, “Ever see a ghost around your place, Pete?”
I shook my head. “Nope. My grandfolks died there last month, but they’re lying
We’re a ragtag team, if ever I’ve seen one. Gathered around Major’s battered table in the dimly lit bunker, there’s no less than five kinds of crazy.
Jones, the intellectual, dissecting a cicada under a magnifying glass.
Flint, the muscle; he’s too big for his shirt, probably on purpose.
Qora, the gadgets girl.
The puppy won’t stop following me.
I balance on top of a dilapidated fence, eyeing my hanger-on. This creature is supposed to be my enemy. In fact, I am on my way to a meeting with General Theo, leader of the Federal Feline Military Organization.
I sit on my haunches and lean
You’d think that meeting a dog made of stars and an old friend of my parents would prepare me for anything. But I still gape when the glowing, nebulous portal appears. Auburn and purple swirl together in a maelstrom of color suspended in the air.
Major turns, hand at his wristwatch—which
Something was killing the chickens. Outside the window, in the coop, their squawks broke the silent Kentucky night beyond the homestead’s walls—chaotic bursts of fear and agony.
A boy of fifteen, Roland Chadwick sprang out of bed while his younger brother and sister gazed at him wide-eyed from the mattress the three of them shared
As Sphinx rolled over, the pain ripped at his side. He whimpered and stretched out one big, clawed Dutch Shepard foot to touch the kennel gate. What good was being in a spacious den if he couldn’t move around? Besides, there were bad guys out there to catch.
“Easy now.” The gentle nurse
Surrounded by the bustle of the Holuvian Interstellar market, I finally admit how bad of a pickle I’m in.
No, not just a pickle. This is worse. It’s a situation.
This situation has left me stranded on an unknown planet with nary a coin nor friend to my name. I grip my hat,
When Rosco opened his eyes for the first time and saw the old man smiling back at him, all operational parameters pointed to one thing: it was going to be a happy life.
His performance diodes peaked under the kindly gaze and the feedback-response loop set his chain-link tail thumping uncontrollably against
“Dad! Dad? You have to come see this. It’s like the Northern Lights but better.” Deedee ran into the bunker, snow spilling behind her as she whipped off her hat.
Cyclopes raised his head and wiggled his nose as he took in her lilac scent. The only flowers this side of the galaxy.
Read it now
The sulfurous stench of rotting vegetation stung Zach’s sinuses as he ran through the marshland of the planet Hecate. With each stride, the mud slurped around his boots.
Gonna sink if I pause for even a second.
“The powersuits were a good call, Z.” Tetsuo’s voice was calm and steady, despite the exertion.
“Now, see here!” Rex glared down at the little black dog sinking its teeth into his toe. “If anyone in this family should be devouring enemies, it’s me.”
The dog craned its neck to peer at the dragon. There was a moment of blessed silence. But then… “Woof! Woof-woof! Woo-oo-oof!”
I set down my dog, Claw, so he could run freely toward the gathered crowd. The next instant, Bryson shouted to me. “Brooke!”
The world exploded. Orange and red surrounded me, lifting my feet off the floor, and smoke enveloped me while I flew through the air.
Then, I crashed to the hard ground
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