James Pyles's Blog, page 226

Misfit

Why can’t anyone hear me? Okay, get a grip, Michelle. I can hear myself, so there must be some logical explanation besides the rest of the world going deaf all at once. It all started when I was getting breakfast. Dad was pouring a cup of coffee. His back was to me when I said […]

A Boy and His Dog on Mars

Seven-year-old Timmy Robinson threw the tennis ball as hard as he could, sending it sailing over the Martian surface. Rusty, his pet terrier, scrambled after it, his paws spewing little clouds of red sand into the air behind him. “Go get it! Go get it, boy! Timmy was screaming at the top of his lungs […]

Life in Homestead

“Shouldn’t we turn back?” Shelley was more than a little anxious. This was supposed to be a winter afternoon romp in the Jeep along the back roads of the Rockies near their home in Boulder, not the first chapter in a story about them needinga search and rescue team. “We’re too low on gas. I’m […]

Invisible

When Charlie Rainier realized he could turn invisible, he was absolutely giddy. From his point of view, nothing had changed. He could still see his reflection in a mirror, he cast a shadow, he didn’t have to take his clothes off like in the old movies, and he could still see. But no one else […]

The Stalker: I’ve Been Published Again at “Theme of Absence”

Theme of Absence, an online magazine of fantasy, horror, and science fiction has posted another of my stories, The Stalker. I originally submitted that piece of flash fiction for their Halloween Contest, and while it wasn’t selected as a winner, Jason Bougger, the site owner, suggested I resubmit for regular publication. I did and this […]

The Reluctant Symbiote

“We’re not enemies. I wish you would believe that.” “How can I when I’m terrified of what you are going to do to me?” “I’m not doing anything to you. I’m doing something for you. In fact, all of us are doing a great deal with all of you.” “Just because you’ve fooled all the […]

Two Eternals

“Rafe Johnson.” At first, Rafe thought he was dreaming. He rolled over in bed, grabbed his mobile, and looked at the time: 2:31 a.m. “Rafe Johnson.” He sat bolt upright in bed. It was no dream. He looked around the darkened room in the basement of his Mom’s house and saw no one. “Who’s there?” […]

Spire

From the Flight Log of Freighter Pilot Camdon Rod “Spire destroys four small satellites from Cygnus.” Normally, I wouldn’t care about headlines like this at all. Spire is a small band (probably) of rebels and revolutionaries who not only dislike the Consortium, but actively fight against them, usually by sabotaging their holdings in the Outer […]

The One-Way Journey

Monday, September 10, 2018, U.C. San Francisco Medical Center, Oncology Ward “Am I going to have to wear the electrodes while I’m under, Dr. Manning?” Alicia Gooding was lying on the modified operating table. She was wearing only a patient’s hospital gown but Steven, one of the nurses, had placed heated blankets on her to […]

The Unlikely Alliance

“You want me to take over as the Director of the Safe Housing Project. Me.” Jake Buchanan was sitting across a table at a local diner from Bishop as she made what he considered an outrageous suggestion. What could she possibly be thinking of? “Just let it sink in a minute, Jake. You’ll see it […]