"Children of the Artificial Womb" by Edward Lange (Novelette)

Genre:  Science Fiction, Cyberpunk

Type of Short Story:  Novelette

Summary:  Hector, a member of the Plasmid street gang and product of the artificial womb, is not doing well. His girlfriend is pregnant, his best friend is a murderous, technological genius and his gang boss is a violent bully. But when a once in a lifetime opportunity comes his way, Hector will have to choose between safety and freedom, in the dangerous world of gang warfare.

Excerpt:

“I’m pregnant.” Emma blurted out. Hector looked at her, even more confused than he was before.

“So what?” He asked. “You’ve been pregnant before. Just go to the clinic.”

Emma was silent for the first few moments after Hector asked his question. She looked away from him.

“What’s wrong with going to the clinic?” Hector asked.

“It’s your baby.” Emma said.

Hector stopped, and Emma stopped with him. For a few moments, they were both silent. They just stood on the street. Somewhere above them, a hover car flew over, and they could hear its rumbling engine. In a nearby alleyway, they could hear a homeless bum mumbling about giant rats and psychotic children.

“Are you sure?” He asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes.” Emma said.

“Is it at all possible that-”

“Hector, I haven’t been with anyone else but you for two months.”

“Two months?”

Emma shrugged. “Business has been kind of slow for a little while.”

Hector just nodded. His mind struggled to process the information.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He didn’t quite feel like throwing up, but he did feel a little queasy. He wasn’t sure why though. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I…I thought you’d want to know.” Emma said.

“Well, I don’t need to know.”

“I just thought you might like to.”

“Why, what difference does it make?”

She didn’t say anything.

“Emma, we can’t keep it.”

“I know but…”

“But what?”

“You’ve never wanted to…?”

“No.” Hector said quickly.

Emma’s eyes went wide. She looked away from him. He could hear her begin to sniffle. He gently took her hand.

“I’m sorry.” He said.

“Why do you always have to be so aggressive?” the tears still streamed down her face.

“I’m sorry, it’s just...”

“Just what?”

“How could we take care of it? How would we feed it, where would it sleep? How could we pay for baby food? Where the hell do you even buy baby food?”

“Grocery store.” Emma said, meekly.

“We can’t keep it.”

“But wouldn’t it be nice to be normal?” It sounded almost like Emma was pleading. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a family, and live together?”

“We can’t do that, and having a kid won’t make it happen. If anything, it’ll just make things worse.”

“But maybe….”

“Emma, baby, we can’t.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped. She silently nodded, and began to wipe the tears from her face.

“I mean…” Hector struggled to pick his words. “Maybe…maybe one day we’ll have the money and…and we can do it. But now…we just can’t.”

“Okay.” Emma said.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re right.”

He put his arm around her shoulders, and kissed her on the cheek. They walked the rest of the way to her building in silence. Neither of them said anything until they reached her front door.

"I’ll go to the clinic tomorrow.” She said.

“It’s for the best.” He said. She just nodded. He took her in his arms, and kissed her. She didn’t respond. She unlocked the door, and went inside. Hector stood on the street by himself, and felt his heart sink.

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"Knights of the Iron Dragon" by Edward Lange (Novelette)

Genre:  Steampunk

Type of Short Story:  Novelette

Summary:  The Iron Dragons: flying, steam-powered battleships. Used by knights to fight the dragons that dwell in the sky.

Excerpt:

It was only a few moments before the ship and the beast engaged in combat. The dragon made the first move, lunging at the cockpit with its snout wide-open. Lily dove the Iron Dragon downward, just as the beast’s jaws snapped shut. Behind her she could hear a chorus of metallic clicks, as the archers fired off their crossbows. The beast howled in pain, as the barrage of arrows crashed into its body. Though most had merely bounced off the creature’s scaly hide, enough had struck his soft underbelly that Lily could see droplets of blood fall down onto the windshield of the cockpit.

“Try to aim for the wings.” Harding said. “Crippling it will be easier than killing it.” The archers silently agreed, and continued their assault.

For the next several minutes, the knights of the iron dragon engaged the winged monstrosity that threatened their countrymen. The twin serpentine forms twisted in the sky, shining silver and green in the sunlight. The two combatants would often get so close that they’d appear as a single half-flesh, half-metal double helix in the sky.

They would swoop, and smack into each other, denting the metal on the air ship, and cutting the flesh of the monster. Through the various windows of the craft, Lily and the others were given dozens of up-close glimpses of the beast’s increasingly bloody body. Its stench dominated the cabin, to the point that it was the only thing the knights could smell, besides the blood, and the smoke from the engine.

The creature’s roars and growls eclipsed all other sounds. The knights in the craft felt like they were really and truly in the belly of the beast. All other sensations and life experiences had been supplanted by this dragon. It occupied all senses, and only its death or theirs would free them from its grasp.

Throughout the ordeal, Lily found her mind bombarded by memories of the last time she’d seen a dragon. Her nostrils could faintly smell her sister’s burnt corpse, and hear her final death cries. Tiptoeing around the edges of these flashbacks was the paralyzing terror and fear that Lily had felt at the time, and the threat that it would take over again. But Lily resisted. Throughout the ordeal, she kept herself focused on the task at hand, expertly dodging the beast’s attacks, while flying in close to give the archers clear shots. There had been a few moments when she wasn’t able to push these emotions back, and she felt them overwhelm her. But when these moments came, she simply did what she’d done at all other such times; drown it out with blind, undiluted hatred.

As the fight went on, the wings of both combatants became riddled with holes and tears. Both now had to struggle to stay airborne, but neither was in any immediate danger of falling out of the sky. The fight would go on.

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"Mary" by Edward Lange (Novelette)

Genre:  Horror, Urban Fantasy

Type of Short Story:  Novelette

Summary:   Old Mary Roberson has never hurt a fly. That is until she blows up her neighbor and gets arrested. But Mary’s reign of terror is just beginning.

Excerpt:

When he woke up, his head lay on the dead center of the steering wheel. The sound of the horn could be heard blaring all around him, as his skull pressed against it. He removed his head from wheel, and the horn stopped. His head throbbed, and he could feel warm blood trickling down his cheek.

“Michael, are you…” He turned to the passenger seat to see how his partner was doing, but trailed off when he saw it was empty. A large opening rimmed with jagged glass sat on the right side of the windshield. Through the broken windshield, Ellis could see the crumpled up hood of the squad car, and the bits of engine that stuck out the sides. They’d exited the thick canopy of branches, and the world around him was now illuminated by the dark blue moon light. The tip of the hood was partially wrapped around a tall tree. Its thick trunk had a large crack at the spot where the car collided with it. The tree sat in the middle of a bend in the road; a bend which Ellis had been unable to anticipate because he hadn’t been focusing on the road.

“Michael!” Ellis called through the broken windshield. He clutched at the bloody side of his head, while he listened for a response. He heard nothing but the sound of cold air whistling through the trees.

“Michael!” He called again, and still got no response. He scanned the area around the tree, and eventually spotted the pile of clothes and flesh that sat near the base of the trunk. The body of his partner appeared to be twisted in an unnatural, painful looking way. Ellis thought his partner could be seriously hurt, maybe even paralyzed.

Ellis opened his mouth to yell again, when he heard a soft growl behind him. He heard scaly feet crushing rocks on the unpaved road behind him. He turned to see the tiny glowing red eyes, which were getting bigger as the creature emerged from the darkness of the canopy.

It stood six feet tall, on four powerful legs that ended in lizard claws. Its black skin covered a muscular horse body. The hairy tail wagged in the cold night air. At the end of its horse head sat a mouth with fangs that overlapped the lower lip. And protruding from the center of its head, in-between the glowing red eyes, was a long white horn.

The beast neighed, and slowly walked around the squad car. Ellis watched the muscles move under the animal’s skin, as it made its way to the man that lay slumped on the ground. It walked up, and stood over him. With its fanged snout, it turned the man over on to his back. The unconscious face of Michael stared up at the beast, his eyes closed to the world. Ellis wanted to yell “RUN!” but the terror that gripped him stayed his tongue.

In the pale moonlight, the beast opened its mouth, revealing the white curved daggers that lined its jaws. It ripped off the front of the unconscious officer’s shirt, and tossed the black cloth to the ground. It lifted its front-right claws it the air, and brought it down on the exposed stomach. The unconscious body didn’t even flinch, as its warm guts began to spill out onto the ground.
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"Sins of Heaven and Hell" by Edward Lange (Novella)

Genre:  Dark Fantasy

Type of Short Story:  Novella

Summary:  The Grim Reaper wants to kill God. His quest will take him across the dark landscape of Hell, and to the gold-paved streets of Heaven. He will come face to face with the perpetual cruelty of the underworld, and the endless hedonism of paradise. Sadistic demons, unsatisfied souls, and an army of angels stand in his way. Can he succeed?

Excerpt:

The landscape before me was totally dark, save for a few towers of fire, and pits of magma that stood off in the distance. Shapes and figures moved in that darkness, scurrying, slithering, slipping, and stomping their way around their dirty dark hellscape. Sometimes they would brush against me, and I’d find my cloak ruffled by a reptilian tail, or covered in unnamable goo. Dark shapes stood silhouetted against those pillars of flame, and pits of magma, and I could see the outlines of hundreds of snouts, tentacles, claws, and other assorted body parts. They snarled, growled, gurgled, and squealed, but their grunts and guttural noises could not compete with the screams.

From all sides, I could hear the screams echoing in the gigantic dark cavern. They came in all languages, accents, pitches, keys; an inhuman symphony of the damned. Occasionally through their anguished screams, intelligible words would pour forth, making their demands, and asking their questions.

“Please!” one of them said, somewhere to my left.

“I’m not supposed to be here!” an older voice, high above. A shrill bird-like squawk followed.

“I couldn’t help it! I’m sick! The doctor said so!” From somewhere up ahead.

“My leg!” from right behind me. It was followed by an amused roar.

“I can’t help it if braces turn me on.” A nasally voice from the horizon said, and was silenced when a silhouetted tentacle threw something into one of the magma pools.

“God please!” A little figure said from the top of a pillar of flame. The screams continued as I walked on.

“I wasn’t myself! I made a mistake!”

“No, please no!”

“I’m so sorry!”

“I’ve learned my lesson! Please let me go!”

“I wasn’t ready!”

“Stop it”

“Mommy!”

“The fucker had it coming!”

“I didn’t know!”

From the darkness something wet grabbed my arm and said, “Please help me.”

The voice was weak and familiar. I turned and by the dim yellow glow of a nearby magma pit, saw a man whose soul I’d taken to Hell only months before.

Dark circles hung under his eyes. His face was the color of chalk. Small streams of dried blood flowed from his nose, ears, and mouth, and mingled with the dried tears and dried sweat. The letter A had been carved on the top of his bald scalp. I looked down at his quivering naked form, and saw that all his skin from the neck down had been ripped from his body. What he now gripped me with was a collection of nerves, muscles, and tendons, stretched over bone.

“Please help me.” he whispered, and it was hard to hear him over the screams. His lips were trembling, and he kept looking over his shoulder. I wanted to tell him the truth; that I wanted to help him; that I’d come down here for that precise reason. But I couldn’t risk one of the demons over-hearing.

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"Stum: A Short Alien Abduction Story" by Edward Lange (Short Story)

Genre:  Science Fiction

Type of Short Story:  Short Story

Summary:  Tony is being abducted by aliens. As he scrambles to find a way to stop it, the little gray men from the stars have other plans for him.

Excerpt:

Then I wasn‘t alone.

My eyelids flew open to see a gray hand hanging just above my head, a black pen-like object grasped in its skinny fingers. They’d found me! They were watching me! Nowhere was safe!

My body was paralyzed. Again, the creatures had rendered me defenseless. Just as before, this alien stood on the right side of the bed. Another one stood on the left side of the bed, pulling a pair of silver-black gloves over his skinny hands. My eyes quickly scanned the room, and couldn’t find a third.

By the light of the lamp on the nightstand, I could see a bright red circle on both their collars. The two figures stared down at me, their eyes assessing my rigid, helpless form.

An intense, bright light appeared on the ceiling, dwarfing the light bulb of the lamp and the glow of the television. My body began to move toward the light, away from the ground below. Frantic eyes searched the motel room for anything that could get me out of this situation. I tried to scream for help. My lips refused to part.

In the corners of my eyes, I could still see the creatures standing by the bed, looking up as I was pulled by the alien light. The one on the right was putting the small black rod into his pocket. The one on the left had raised his gloved hands up, guiding me to the light.

Empty threats and curses struggled to escape my paralyzed lips. My hands tried to ball themselves into fists, my legs tried to kick, but still I was pulled into the light, back to that strange realm of cold steel, and uncaring eyes.

Eventually, the blinding light had consumed my entire field of vision. I lost consciousness at that point.

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"Fall of Jupiter" by Edward Lange (Novella)

Genre:  Historical Fantasy

Type of Short Story:  Novella

Summary:  In the twilight years of the Roman Empire, a fleet of trade ships goes missing in the uncharted waters of the Scandinavian north. In the wake of the tragedy, the Emperor of Rome dispatches five war ships, to find the missing traders. What they find instead is a watery wasteland, with horrors beyond their wildest nightmares.

Excerpt:

“It could have been sea storms.” said Gaius, pacing up and down Dion’s cabin. They’d ordered the fleet to stop and sit tight. The trail of destruction running along the trade route had changed things.

Alec sat in a corner of the cabin, watching the officers with intense interest. Dion looked at his first mate.

“No. Sea storms sink ships, they don’t obliterate them.” he thought about the wreck floating just outside his ship. “Can any weapon do that?”

“Maybe, but it’d be very heavy. You wouldn’t be able to carry it or use it on a ship in the middle of the ocean.”

“Not on a Roman ship.”

“What other kind of ship is there?” said Gaius, frustrated.

“Before we came here, there were rumors of people who lived in this region. What if they have warships and weapons more powerful than ours?”

Gaius looked worried. Scandinavia had never been properly explored by the Romans. For all they knew, it was possible.

“Do we turn back?” there was a repressed eagerness in the first mate’s voice. Alec waited for the commander’s response with bated breath.

Dion thought about the ship wrecks. Then he thought about Rome. The people who’d seen them off at the port would be waiting when they got back. How their spirits would be crushed if their champions returned with nothing to show for their efforts.

“No, we keep on going. We find whoever or whatever got those trade ships. We measure the strength of their forces, and then make an appropriate plan of action. Tell the other ships to start their oars and follow the trail.”

All color drained from Alec’s face. Gaius hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. “Alright.” he said tersely before leaving to carry out his commander’s orders.

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