Alfar Anthology E-Book

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• Herausgeber: Volume Edizioni
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

The Best 12 Alfar Series short stories of Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction.'Perpendicular By Brendan Higgins' - A deadly virus has wiped out three quarters of the world's population. Medical research scientist Dr. Jary Coble had sought -- and failed -- to combat the pandemic. 'Counter Program' by Dennis Coleman- Miles and the robot servants on space station Ursa Five are programmed to obey humans without question. 'Red One' by Ivano Massari- Set in a post nuclear war landscape, the elite rebel team of Red One battle against the forces of planetary domination.'Ticket Please' by Lee Brown- Following a life changing mistake a young man boards a train hoping to leave the past behind. 'Outpost Omega Seven' by Nina Tozzi- Cathy and Wayne are a young couple who man a remote outpost at the junction of three trade routes in the boondocks of space.'Beyond This Point There be Ogres' by Robert Bresloff - The last of the great dragon slayers, Salvi believed that he had killed his last dragon. 'Inducing a Dream' by M. Travis Leake - Kyna is an up-and-coming skyke racer. Courted by a corporation to endorse a product she despises, she exchanges her principles for victory. 'The Thirst for Power' by Wolcott Wheeler- A paranormal investigator learns that a certain notorious world leader—the most feared and powerful man in the world—is not what he seems. In fact, he’s not even human…'Fate' by Eddie Grant- Roll was an ordinary teenage girl who's lately been suffering from a serious case of Deja Vu, and horrific dreams. After shocking revelation, her night of fun soon turns into a walking nightmare that will change her life forever.'King of the World' by Paul Martin- When the Turtle first appeared before an awestruck world, it seemed nothing would ever be the same again. 'Orienteer' by Clémence Roche - Within a post-apocalyptic world, watch how the clash between the environment affects the mortals who continue a form of survival. 'The Great Fairy' Tale Hoax by Chava Klahr - Forget everything you ever read about these seven classic fairy tales.

Leseprobe

COVER

Copyrights

Alfar Anthology

Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Stories Anthology

ALFAR

Sci-fi & Fantasy Series

Anthology n. 1

ISBN 978-88-9774-72-91

First published : November 2016

Stories

First published: May 2016 © Volume Press

‘Perpendicular’ by Brendan Higgins

‘Counter Program’ by Dennis Coleman

‘Red One’ by Ivano Massari

‘Ticket Please’ by Lee Brown

‘Outpost Omega Seven’ by Nina Tozzi

‘Beyond This Point There Be Ogres’ by Robert Bresloff

‘Inducing a Dream’ by M. Travis Leake

‘The Thirst for Power’ by Wolcott Wheeler

‘Fate’ by Edward L. Grant

‘King of the World’ by Paul Martin

First published: July 2016 © Volume Press

‘Orienteer’ by Clémence Roche

‘The Great Fairy Tale Hoax’ by Chava Klahr

Cover by VolumePressGT

Editor in Chief: Massimo Cimarelli

Art Director: Francesca Eleuteri

© Volume Press

www.volumepress.nl

Volume Press

Roef 12 - 1319AK Almere - The Netherlands

NL855776821B01 - KvK 64681327

Copyright © Volume Press

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduce, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher, the copy bought is only for the personal use of the buyer, any violation will be prosecuted according to Law.

Perpendicular

By Brendan Higgins

Iremember the first time I saw him. It's not like I could forget. It isn't every day you wake up to a stranger sitting at the foot of your bed, waiting for your dreams to end and the nightmares to begin. His face was cold, angular, bathed in shadows under a Stetson from another time. I didn't startle when I saw him. Maybe, somehow, I was expecting him.

"Why are you here?" I asked, before I even sat up.

His voice clawed forth from the depths of some wretched place.

"To show you the way," he told me, struggling with each little word.

I don't remember getting out of bed. I don't even recall agreeing to follow him. My legs were moving and my mind was churning and I couldn't stop either one. We were walking on soft, padded moss. Darkness was fading and a pale blue light was breaking through the trees high above. The trees. They reminded me of the lush oaks and maples against the summer night sky. I would lose myself in them as a child while the katydids sang until dawn. I hadn't seen a tree in bloom in more than three years. I watched these ones sway as the stranger led me deeper into an unfamiliar and uninviting wilderness. And yet, it was liberating. Nothing about my surroundings spelled safety. But the world I had anticipated waking to only hours later was much worse. Gone were supermarkets and shopping malls. Stadiums and entertainment faded like a vapor. All we had left was survival. And most of us didn't even want that.

*****

The virus had come like a thief in the night. The world woke to breaking and alarming news. It had become airborne when it mutated somewhere in the States. Patient Zero was public enemy number one. He was probably dead before we knew what was happening. People grew paranoid. And those that didn't paid for it with their lives.

I was a medical research scientist then, working at George Washington University Hospital. Three of my colleagues and I were tasked with finding the man who brought it here, dead or otherwise. If we could find him, we could stop its spread, we believed. We thought we'd done it within the first week. He was a tourist from West Africa. He was dead, but all the evidence pointed to him as our culprit. So we celebrated our feat. There were no new cases for eleven days. The world breathed a collective sigh of relief. But it was tragically premature. Cases re-emerged, even stronger than before, fomenting a widespread panic.

We had been wrong.

I returned from a macabre odyssey across America not six weeks later. Alone. Shaken. I must have aged six years in those six weeks. I was alive and I probably shouldn't have been. The Washington I returned to had its population cut in half in the time I was gone. And the city was a ghost town. No one even bothered to clean the bodies off the streets. I didn't blame them. That was too dangerous.