"The Throwaway" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Simon Fitzgerald lived on the fringes of the ultra-modern city to the east. He survived by recycling and selling to other members of his group the items discarded by the city dwellers.

During one of his salvage trips, Simon came upon the damaged remains of one of the new female companion droids. It appeared that the former owner had taken a hammer to the face of the creature.

Simon loaded the droid into his cart and took it back to his shack in the woods. The damage to the droid was extensive but Simon did his best to put her back together and after restoring its fuel cells the companion bot awakened.

"What is your name? " Simon asked the creature.

"Mary" the droid answered.

"Do you remember your owner?" 

"He.... hurt me" was all she would say.

On his rounds the next day, Simon thought about what to do with Mary. If he sold her, she would probably be cut up for parts, and he couldn't bear to have that happen. Upon his arrival home, Simon was surprised to find a home-cooked meal waiting for him courtesy of Mary.

Simon had lived alone for most of his life, but he quickly became accustomed to having Mary with him and soon couldn't imagine life without her. At the end of the day, the couple would sit on the makeshift porch, listen to music, and watch the dazzling lights of the city on the horizon.

"Give me a Light" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

The young woman came out of the gloom of the parking lot and asked Peter if he had a light for the cigarette that dangled from her lips.

He didn't have a light and told her as much. Unfazed, she asked Peter if he wanted to see her pet.

Before he could answer, the woman brought forth a hideous worm-like creature from beneath her coat. Peter tried to think of something positive to say about the animal, but nothing came to mind.

The woman was apparently offended by his silence, and she disappeared back into the gloom of the parking lot.

 

"A Desert View" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

From behind the counter of Tim's Diner, Amber Donaldson stared out at the shimmering desert across the highway. The wasteland was as dry and dead as the dreams she had in high school.

Amber could still recall the excitement of graduation night ten years before and the plans she and her girlfriends had made, but somewhere things had gone wrong and she had never left the small town where she grew up.

Tim, the owner of the diner tapped on the counter and awakened Amber from her reverie. "We have a customer waiting" he reminded her. Amber wearily retrieved a menu and walked over to the new arrival. "Would you like a menu sir?" she asked a dark-haired man who was studying the horizon. The man smiled at Amber and ordered a cheeseburger.

When Amber brought the burger, the man looked up from a map that he was studying. "Do you know any good trails through the desert?" I am writing a book about American wastelands, and I could use someone to show me around." Amber shook her head. "I never had a reason to go out there. It's just rocks and sand." The man seemed disappointed and went back to his map.

Eventually, the man finished his meal and drove away, and Amber spent the rest of the afternoon remembering hopeless dreams.

"Unwanted Advances" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Commander Deena Larson had been in deep space for three years and in all that time she had not encountered an alien spacecraft... until now. Ship sensors detected an unidentified craft about six hundred thousand kilometers away and closing fast.

Deena shut down most of her engines and only maintained enough power to keep her ship more or less stationary. The alien spacecraft arrived at her location in about twenty minutes. The unidentified vessel was slightly larger than her own ship with several large domes running the length of its rectangular body.

Her ship's computer informed Deena that the alien craft was trying to communicate, and she gave assent to play the message. A hideous creature with eight limbs and several eyes filled her video screen. According to the computer's universal translator the alien sent greetings and referred to itself as something that sounded like "Mek."

The creature had all kinds of questions about where Deena came from and what her mission was, but she only gave vague general answers. There was something about the alien that Deena did not trust. After several minutes of conversation between the two ships, Mek admitted that he was roaming space looking for a suitable mate, and he thought that Deena was the perfect candidate.

Deena checked to make sure the translation was correct and then quickly shut down any notion that she was going to be Mek's wife. The creature reacted with anger when he heard Deena's answer, and she decided it would be a good time to say farewell to the alien ship.

Deena engaged her ship's engines and sped away at six times the speed of light. According to ship sensors the alien craft did not follow, and she was relieved to be away from the ugly beast.

Deena went to bed at her usual time but was awakened suddenly by a feeling that something was wrong. "What is the ship's status?" she asked the computer. 

There was nothing but silence. Deena jumped out of bed and put on her uniform and as an afterthought grabbed a laser weapon. Entering the corridor outside her room, she saw with horror that Mek was rapidly advancing toward her.

Deena raised the weapon, but a blast from Mek's own device destroyed her pistol. The creature kept advancing and was nearly on top of her when Deena pulled a long knife from an ankle sheath and plunged it into the soft underbelly of the monster.

Mek howled in pain and his yellow blood poured from the wound. Deena continued to stab the creature until it was clearly dead. She later found out that Mek had somehow disabled her defense systems and gained entry to the ship while she was asleep.

Even though Mek was an evil being, Deena regretted the killing and made a note to herself to be more careful in the future.

"Lydia" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

It had been three days since George Mason had anything to eat and now, he stumbled down a dusty Texas road looking for any kind of food. As he struggled through the stifling heat, memories of his old life tormented him.

At one time, George had a good job and was about to be married but then the factory closed and he was looking for work like thousands of other men. George was able to pick up odd jobs from time to time but nothing permanent. Eventually, he was forced to hit the road in order to find something.

The last job he had was picking onions in a dried-up south Texas field, but the contractor skipped out with the payroll money and none of the workers received a dime. Since then, George had been wandering and scrounging meals wherever he could find one. Walking in the mid-day sun was brutal, and he sat down for a short rest.

Sometime later, George awoke in what felt like a very comfortable bed. Old photos and samplers covered the walls of a small bedroom. The door opened and a beautiful young woman with light blond hair entered.

"How are you feeling?" she asked in a heavily accented voice.

"Much better, but who are you and how did I get here?"

"My name is Lydia. I found you on the side of the road and brought you here."

George wanted to ask why she would do such a thing, but he remained quiet. Later in the evening, Lydia fed him a wonderful meal and for the first time in weeks, George felt a little hope.

For several days, Lydia cared for George and then one day, without warning she was gone. He got up and searched everywhere until he found the grave.

According to the marker, Lydia Petrov had died three years before. 

"Headlights" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Surgical nurse Jill Peters was exhausted after an intense late-night shift at the hospital, and she was anxious to get home. Traffic was almost non-existent as she made her way to her condo.

As Jill drank a little coffee to keep awake, she noticed two tiny pinpoints of light behind her that quickly grew larger. In just a moment a large truck was right behind her. The headlights of the following truck were so bright that she was nearly blinded.

Jill stepped on the gas pedal and her car lurched forward, but the truck behind her easily kept up. Sarah spotted a place to pull over and quickly steered her car onto the shoulder. The truck behind her honked loudly and sped down the highway.

Slightly shaken, Jill resumed her drive home until once again the bright headlights appeared in her mirror. Jill pulled off the road and this time the following truck up pulled behind her. Frantically, Jill hit the emergency button on her cell and told the dispatcher what was happening. The 911 operator assured her that a police officer was on the way.

Jill made sure all of her doors were locked and closely watched the big truck. So far, no one had left the vehicle. Jill considered getting back on the road, but she wanted to be here when the police came. It had been such a long night already and now this. For a moment, Jill rubbed her eyes and when she opened them, the truck behind her was gone. Soon after, a police car pulled up.

Jill explained to the officer what had happened, and he promised to follow her home. After arriving at her condo, Jill waved goodbye to the officer and punched in the code to the parking garage.

Jill felt immense relief as the garage door closed, and she parked in her assigned spot. As she walked to the elevator, dazzling headlights pierced the gloom of the parking garage and Jill knew that there was nowhere left to go.

"Encounter on Pike Street" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Security guard Christopher Milton was enjoying the air conditioning in his tiny office when he got the call about removing an unwanted person from the property. Chris dreaded going out into the heat, but he would catch hell if he didn't do his job.

The mid-day temperature was nearing 95 degrees and Chris grabbed some bottled water before he exited the office. The radio said that the trespasser was sitting on a bench near Pike Street and yelling at people walking by. 

Chris spotted the man immediately and walked down a slight incline to confront him.  The man was older than he expected and did not appear to be carrying any weapons, but his shirt was torn, apparently from an earlier fight.

"I'm afraid that you will have to leave sir" Chis said to the man in his best authoritative voice. "You know I could kill you right now if I wanted to" the stranger responded in a low growl.

Despite the threat, the man had the look of someone who had been defeated by a hard life and Chris took out a bottle of water and handed it to him. The anger drained from the stranger's face, and he nodded in gratitude.

After finishing his water, the man ambled down the sidewalk and Chris never saw him again. Later in the day, Chris thought about embellishing the story of the encounter to impress his girlfriend Julie, be she probably already knew that he just wasn't the heroic type.