Speculative Fiction

Ava Kouri’s fingers flew across the keyboard, her eyes fixed on the bank of monitors before her. Lines of code scrolled past in a dizzying blur. Outside the reinforced windows of her laboratory, snow-capped peaks stretched as far as the eye could see, their jagged silhouettes stark against the fading twilight sky. “Run simulation alpha-seven-three,” Ava commanded, her voice echoing in the cavernous room. A moment later, a synthesized female voice responded: “Simulation alpha-seven-three initiated. Processing.” ...

The mist clung to the ancient trees like a shroud, muffling Lyra’s footsteps as she crept through the shadowy undergrowth. Her keen elven senses were on high alert, ears twitching at every rustle and snap. The Everbloom Forest had grown eerily quiet in recent months, its once-vibrant heart now beating with a feeble, faltering rhythm. Lyra paused, pressing her palm against the gnarled bark of a towering oak. She closed her eyes, reaching out with her spirit to sense the tree’s life force. Where there should have been a steady thrum of energy, she felt only a weak flutter. Her brow furrowed with concern. ...

The cathedral’s spire pierced the night sky like a needle, its weathered stone a stark silhouette against the waning moon. Mira crouched in the shadows of a nearby rooftop, her eyes fixed on the ornate stained glass windows that adorned the building’s western face. She’d been watching for hours, waiting for the last of the clergy to retire for the evening. Finally, the cathedral fell silent. Mira took a deep breath, steadying her nerves. This was it - the biggest score of her young career. If she could pull this off, she’d have enough coin to get her grandmother the medicine she so desperately needed. ...

Mira Chen stood motionless in her kitchen, head cocked to one side, straining to pinpoint the source. It seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at once - a low, persistent drone that vibrated in her bones. She’d first noticed it three days ago, the morning after she’d been laid off from NeuroSyn Labs. At first, she’d attributed it to stress, lack of sleep, the disorientation of suddenly finding herself untethered from the routines that had defined her life for the past decade. ...

Elara Thorne knelt in the damp soil of her herb garden, her fingers gently caressing the wilting leaves of a once-vibrant rosemary plant. She leaned in close, straining to hear the faint whisper that had grown fainter with each passing day. “Please,” she murmured, “speak to me.” But the rosemary remained silent, its branches drooping as if in sorrow. Elara sat back on her heels, a familiar ache settling in her chest. All around her, the plants of Willowbrook were growing quieter, their voices fading like mist in the morning sun. ...

The cherry blossoms were in full bloom when Dr. Yumi Tanaka returned to her lab at Kyoto University. Pink petals drifted on the breeze, dusting the shoulders of her white coat as she walked across campus. In years past, she and Akira would have strolled hand-in-hand beneath the trees, marveling at nature’s beauty. Now, the flowers only served as a bitter reminder of all she had lost. Yumi swiped her keycard and entered the quantum physics building, her footsteps echoing in the empty corridor. It was early - too early for most of her colleagues to have arrived. But she couldn’t bear to stay in their silent apartment any longer, surrounded by Akira’s belongings and the crushing weight of his absence. ...

Mei Lin’s hands trembled as she clutched the letter, its creased paper soft from repeated folding and unfolding. The characters blurred before her eyes, but she’d long since memorized their contents. Her grandmother was dying. The woman she hadn’t spoken to in over twenty years, the last tenuous link to a part of herself Mei Lin had tried so hard to bury, was slipping away in a village half a world away. ...

The moving truck rumbled away, leaving Mira Chen alone on her new driveway. She surveyed the quiet cul-de-sac, identical houses lining the curved street like a row of pastel-colored teeth. Only the numbers differentiated one from the next. 1420 Sycamore Lane - her new address. Mira’s gaze drifted down to the sidewalk. Something about the cracks in the concrete caught her eye. They formed an intricate lattice, almost like a circuit board or the veins of a leaf. She shook her head, chalking it up to an overactive imagination after a long day of unpacking. ...

Lira stared out the car window, watching the lush green landscape blur past. Her sister Mira’s excited chatter faded into background noise as Lira silently willed the car to turn around and head back home. She’d much rather be curled up with a good book than embarking on this ill-advised camping trip. “Come on, sis, at least try to look a little excited,” Mira said, nudging Lira’s arm. “This is going to be amazing! Fresh air, starry skies, just us and nature.” ...

The sun beat down mercilessly on the cracked pavement, shimmering waves of heat rising from the abandoned streets. Aria wiped the sweat from her brow and adjusted the straps of her scavenging pack, scanning the desolate urban landscape for any sign of movement. The ruins of the once-thriving metropolis stretched out before her, a concrete jungle slowly being reclaimed by nature. She’d been out since dawn, methodically combing through the remnants of office buildings and apartments, searching for anything of value. Water was the most precious commodity, of course, but food, medicine, and functional tech were also worth their weight in gold these days. So far, her pack held only a few cans of preserved vegetables and a handful of corroded batteries. Not exactly a jackpot, but it would have to do. ...