Short Fiction

If you're going to steal a shaman's pretzels at the inn, you better make sure your back is covered...

A young man is about to quit his job with regardless of the consequences. Meanwhile, a dissatisfied barrista is about to complete the strangest job application of her life.

Dorothy Hall found three more children to add to her family. The only problem with that is that they're in the garage, and have been dead for ten years. At Christmastime, even ghostly kids could use a mother who cares about them ...

How does Santa actually determine who has been naughty or nice? Find out in this first prize entry in the Piker Press 2004 "Letters to Santa" contest.

Tomorrow, there will be debts to pay, but for today, there's still one last sunset to ride off into. A fantasy concludes.

Sometimes there is no following when they leave.

Once, long ago, they came to his rescue. Now, there is a price he must pay. How one mortal biker lives determines what will happen to him after he dies, on a lonely stretch of highway haunted by those on an eternal ride. Part 1 of 2

Saying goodbye to an old friend. He always did have to do everything big.

Just because you walk away from the wreck doesn't mean you've survived.

He had the territorial aggression and fearlessness of a wolf, but he was lucky to top the scales at ten pounds. Ultimately, it would prove the little dog's undoing.

When you're running a bed & breakfast, attention to the little details is everything. Even so, sometimes you never hear from a guest again...

He's made his apology. She's told him to go away. End of story? Almost. But then the elevator broke down... Part 2 of 2.

Out there it was easy to believe in a God that lived to pull the strings, giving tiny events great significance. A rundown motel and casino reveals itself to be a shrine to the God of Numbers.

The date was a complete disaster, but Annie knew it would be from the start. She has her magazine to run, and that's more than enough to keep her busy. Part 1 of 2.

Extraterrestrials have been kind enough to offer their advanced technology to cure mankind of troubling problems like alcoholism. But some people really just don't want to be helped.

The company reps from offworld have arrived to question why the rules aren't being adhered to. Among the things the rules didn't take into account -- native invertebrates that have a taste for hydraulic oils.

In a war of loneliness, the battle itself is the only prize and the victor never really wins.

What is the true color of manhood? Hulk Hogan provides insights into the topic that end up being, well... fairly accurate actually.

Laws made lightyears away no longer apply to what was supposed to be a run-of-the-mill mining colony manned by cloned workers. Contact has been re-established -- now it's up to the workers and the Company reps to sort out which broken rules need to be rewritten and which need to be re-enforced.

The script for <em>Pirates of the White Sand,</em> inspired by Pirate Week here at the Piker Press, won the Federico Fellini award in 2005 at the Duke City Shootout and was subsequently produced as a short film. What follows is a version modified to story format for readability -- complete with favorite ad-libs by the cast. Hey, there was a reason Miguel won the Best Actor award.

Sheraden continues searching for Alphonse and her stolen heart, growing weaker by the hour. But she isn't the only one weakening -- as she nears death, the power of the Heart's Blood is fading, too. Will Sheraden regain control of her existence again? And if she does, will she regain her humanity? Part five of five.

Sheraden's symbiont may be a curse, but it's a lucrative one. With a few partners and a ship of her own, Sheraden can seek her father and freedom from the Heart's Blood. But one of her newfound friends doesn't seem to understand that Sheraden can't return his attentions. Will his drastic ploy to break through to her work, or will the Heart's Blood lead to Sheraden's death? Part four of five.

Sheraden finds a way off world, one little step closer to finding a way to rid herself of the Heart's Blood, one little step closer to her own goals. A different world, a different job, a different group of people, but it all feels the same - like nothing at all. Part three of five.

The strange stone that's become a part of Sheraden grants her the ability to heal almost any wound, will make her rich beyond her dreams. Shouldn't she be overjoyed? That's just the problem. Part two of five.

Sheraden is just passing through, looking for a temporary job before she heads off world again. A seemingly kind recommendation from a stranger forces Sheraden into a situation that some might call a blessing, but that she regards only as a curse. Part one of five.

Ever wonder just what it is they do when we're not home?

With permission of (and apologies to) fellow staffers Josh and Audie, you are invited to take a step backwards in time, to visit con-man and spiritual psychic Vince Raines long before he met the strange creature who opened his mind to the whispers of demons. Meet a younger Vince, lower on the food chain of scam artists, posing as a pet psychic. And meet "September," the woman whose fecally fluent Scotty dogs prompt Vince to look into a career change...

Blackman reveals the depths of evil he carries with him in his heart; evils done to him as well as evils done to others. Despite his boyhood friend's assurances that he doesn't need the burden of that much hate in his life, evil is calling to Blackman, and though the necromancer is dead, the demon who dwelled with Blackman's old master can not be harmed by flames. Caught between the call of darkness and light, to whom will Blackman finally choose to turn? Harper, or the demon that waits in the ruins of the evil sorcerer's home? Part five of five.

Harper has returned to see if his friendship can save his boyhood companion from the darkness that seems to be consuming him. A hair cut, a bath, some clean clothes might change Blackman outwardly, but is there anything to be done to turn the inside away from the evil and hatred he has embraced? Part four of five.

Seven years have passed, and Blackman has returned once more. Thoughts of the past burn in his mind, but not warm feelings of friendship. Hate and revenge are the driving forces in Blackman's life, and he is willing to strike a bargain with the warlock and serve a demon to further his dark goals. It seems Blackman has chosen his path, and yet no choice is written in stone -- the old school teacher sends an urgent letter to Blackman's childhood companion, begging him to return. Is Harper's simple gift of friendship going to be strong enough to counter the lure of vengeance and power? Part three of five.