James Pyles's Blog, page 152

Angel in the Wind

“They’ll be better off without me.” Anne McCoy kept telling herself that looking at the view from the 86th floor observatory deck of the Empire State Building. As far as the despondent woman was concerned, this would be the last thing she’d see this side of eternity. As she launched herself into thin air, she heard a […]

Cut Off

“I think we’re going to make it, Peter. Both our pods are headed toward Sanctuary.” “It seems that way, Elsa, but it’s a big planet, and we have no manual guidance control. Each of our onboard computers will handle the descent, but for all we know, we’ll land thousands of kilometers apart.” The Colony Ship […]

Below the Waves

A grandpa is someone you never outgrow your need for… –Anonymous Isaiah Covington stared death in the face, and her eyes were cold, glass buttons peering out of two tons of a nearly mindless eating machine. Sweat beaded on his face as she drew closer, her gaping mouth revealing grim rows of pointed, serrated teeth […]

The Serendipitous Time Bandit

Samuel Joseph Grant gazed down from his hotel room at the side street below in 1894 Leeds. He wouldn’t be born for a few months, but the strange device he’d found at that bombed out château near Amiens was a remarkable gift. It was immediately obvious that it was a timepiece meant to be worn on […]

Scourge of the South China Sea

Sixteen-year-old Robin Burgess approached the waves on the shore a private island off Macau, the beach more pristine than even those of the big island of Hawaii. She moved with an exaggerated swagger, rather than a sensual movement to her hips. Her lithe cocoa skin was barely attired in her cream-colored bikini, though no man or […]

Menace in the Dark

“More and more, when I single out the person who inspired me most, I go back to my grandfather.” –James Earl Jones At first, Keisha thought she was blind, but then she remembered the lights went out. She was alive, but she wasn’t sure Isaiah or Josiah were. “Hello?” “Shhh.” It was definitely Isaiah. He […]

If You Don’t Believe In Me

Darwin Oliver Starling stared down at the smoldering ruins of the Vatican from the window seat on Flight 3076 which had taken off from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport ten minutes ago. Police agencies all over Europe had been investigating for a week, but so far had no clues as to the method used to […]

From Wind to Steam

Lee Guzman had been operating his small, hot air balloon business for five years, but he always got the same question. “You sure this thing is safe?” “You bet, Craig. As easy as riding a bicycle.” The latest pair to grace his gondola were Craig and Shawn Tucker, brothers who ran a parcel delivery service […]

Submersible Disaster

“You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” –Abraham Lincoln “Ma’am, move!” Nine-year-old Josiah Covington pushed hard against Keisha’s stomach as she was trying to shield him from a barrage of bullets. Her back was to the door and she expected to be dead in the next few seconds, […]

The First Explorers to Return from the Moon

Cavor’s insane invention worked too well. In the year of our Lord 1899, genius (or mad) inventor and scientist Joseph Cavor convinced Arnold Bedford and his dear fiancée Katherine Callender, to join him in entering his spherical space vessel powered by a substance called Cavorite. Arnold and Kate did so on a lark, not believing […]