“School was closed today, and the children went home early. They ran along the streets underneath broken windows and drainpipes, stopping as they reached the supermarket. Esma found milk powder on one of the shelves, Niles placed a coin on the checkout desk. Even in daylight, they could already see the enormous moon looming over…

“The bastion rose from the evening shadows, and Hiroki paused on the mountain path. A crevice separated the buildings from the rest of the peak, and only a narrow bridge led up to their entrance. Fog drifted through the windows and over the battlements, easing into the scars and pockmarks of a long-forgotten onslaught. This…

“We require the Tirani correspondence from the archives. Do not open it. Do not read it. Bring it to us.” The instruction came from the fax machine line by line, accompanied by toneless buzzing. M. watched the paper, searching for a way to escape this assignment, but there was none. The instruction was in writing,…

“The sea spits a man onto the shores of an island. Every wave hurls his blood against the cliffs and drops fragments of broken bone. The storm roars like white noise inside a conch shell. And yet, the man opening his eyes is whole.” Published in: Exterus, Vol. 1, March 2021

“Outside the hotel, European flags flapped in the breeze. The man crossed the hall, suit on his shoulders and shoes banging on marble. He knew he could always adopt the easy arrogance of privilege, the confident stride of the white western male. The woman sat in the lobby corner, her nails clicking away on the…

“Snow drifted through the hallways of the floating temple, and Tlachoatl shivered. His body was bloated from the fetuses inside it, his faith implants bristled with zeal. Iteration 569 was going well. Tlachoatl scanned the corridor and swung the hungry wood in his hands. The handle chafed his skin, and its obsidian eyes blinking darkly.…