She’s a Real Beauty
I remember the first pair of hands that ever held me. Rough and perfunctory. Treated me only like a tool, checking I was up to snuff. When judged healthy, I…
The Servitor’s Laugh
My gears click-clack as I trundle past the stacks. I hand off my cart of tomes to a page servitor and putter back to the archivist's office. On the way,…
Fast Fiction XVI
Everything Ends Featured Story The Featured Story is the grand winner of this theme’s contest. They are chosen by a judging panel including Cold Open Stories Creative Director and Community Judges. One Hundred…
A Taste of Xenos
‘Fear the alien. Hate the alien. Kill the alien. Eat the alien.’- Chef Basilious III They’ll hang this on me, I guarantee it, but I refuse to be held responsible. If…
The Blooming Wallflower
Delora began her day by cleansing her mind in meditation, showering herself with positive affirmations and repetitive mantras to encourage beauty. She always made sure to encourage perfection and elegance…
The Long Retreat
‘What the frak is that?’ Corporal Joriah Hask tutted as he looked to his watch partner, Guardsman Kant.‘Stop gawking, Kant. You're Cadian.’‘I’m serious,’ said Kant. ‘Something big’s coming.’Hask felt like he’d…
The Pride of Silas Prov
Deep in the bowels of Kulograd, production lines hum every hour of the day. It’s long, hard work, with no time to rest, though nobody complains. Most of them remember…
The Phantom Hands of Time
My heart hammered against my chest. The visceral sound of a chainsword arcing toward me drove into my bones, igniting my will to survive. My eyes squeezed shut, and I…
The Final Course
A vicious right hook sent Apprentice Osberft reeling backwards, a blurry double image of Master Leofric looming over him. ‘You stupid Grox! You utter fething moron!’ he roared. This abuse was a…
Shattered Jade
I wait alone, as I have been instructed to do.A glance over my shoulder shows me a rolling sea through thick glass. It is a view calibrated, along with the…
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