Starlight

by John Rhea

It was a routine repair. One we'd done a thousand times.

Her tether, the tether I secured, came loose while she fixed the solar panel. One errant move, a slip, the smallest of fumbles and she floated beyond my reach, beyond the length of my arm and out toward a fiery grave in the star we had studied half our life.

I could've saved her. But I hesitated and she was lost.

The engines flare. My heart yearns for her. Our ship, our home, flies like a moth toward the flame. Our love shall end where it began, in starlight.



Author bio: John is a multi-level creative that works in design, film, apps, and storytelling. By day he builds and maintains websites, by night he tells stories as the Chief Story Scientist at Story Lab. He lives with his wife, three rambunctious boys, and a small army of pets near Charlottesville, VA.

Starlight is part of 101 Fiction issue 10.

Reckoning

by John Rhea

Aaron raced through the spaceport exhaust tunnels. Footsteps echoed behind him. Antarans didn't like thieves. He'd lost a finger each time he'd been caught. Well not this time.

He zigged and zagged, careening through the shafts.

The tunnel opened up and he stopped dead. A human face, painted on the wall, towered four stories above him. Its hair faded into the darkness. Green skin. Weeping yellow eyes. Purple blood ran down its cheek. The face was giant, disfigured, grotesque, and... beautiful. Debilitatingly beautiful.

Something ripped loose inside Aaron.

As they took him into custody, Aaron knew he'd never steal again.



Author bio: John is a multi-level creative that works in design, film, apps, and storytelling. By day he builds and maintains websites, by night he tells stories as the Chief Story Scientist at Story Lab. He lives with his wife, three rambunctious boys, and a small army of pets near Charlottesville, VA.

Twitter: @storykaboom

Reckoning is part of 101 Fiction issue 9.