"Edwin and the Snowstorm" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Edwin the crow perched in a small tree and watched the cold white flakes cover the Walmart parking lot where he lived. From past experience, Edwin knew that the snow would make it harder to find food.

As the hours past, the snow showed no sign of letting up and Edwin decided to take a little trip and see if he could rustle up some treats. He took off in an unexplored direction, and the lights of the city gave way to fields and hills.

Edwin spotted an opening in one of the human buildings and shot through it. The inside was warm and dry and as a plus Edwin found some grub. On the lower level of the building, a large beast was making a "mooing" sound and Edwin told him to be quiet. Apparently, the animal didn't understand crow-speak and kept making a racket.

After stuffing himself with food, Edwin settled down for a nap, but his rest was short-lived when a big orange cat nearly caught him. Edwin flew to the top level of the building and kept an eye on the movements of the cat.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, and Edwin headed back to his favorite tree in the Walmart parking lot.

"Escape" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Mark Jarrett's old man told him he had to be out of the house the day after graduation, so on Saturday morning Mark packed his few belongings into his truck and backed out of the driveway for the last time. His father did not say goodbye.

Mark drove slowly down the main street of his small town looking for any familiar face. The owner of the general store: Mr. Dutton stared at him as he drove past but didn't acknowledge Mark in any way. Oddly enough, Mr. Jacobson the barber gave a friendly wave even though Mark rarely got his hair cut.

A girl from his class, Amy Riggs smiled at Mark from the sidewalk, and he pulled the truck over. "Hey, you want to go to California?" he asked partly as a joke. To his great surprise, Amy jumped into the passenger side. 

The silent mass of the deserted sawmill was the last witness to the departure of the young people as they headed west in an old Ford truck.

"Club 17" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Tom Sheridan could already hear the music when he pulled into the parking lot of Club 17. As he entered the building, a girl with pure white hair took his hand and led him to the dance floor. Tom had never seen her before, but she seemed to know him very well.

Tom and the girl danced for what seemed like hours and the people around them faded into the background. The girl seemed tireless as she danced through one song after another, but Tom was growing sleepy, and the girl was slipping further away.

Sometime later, Tom awoke on an empty dance floor. The girl with white hair was gone, but Tom knew she would come with the night and he sat down to wait.

"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.