Mal held the reins loose, letting the horse follow the scent of water. Four bullets left. Hard to believe he’d only needed two.

He was not a funny man. Folks were often surprised by that. But he was good at his trade, the science of it. He reached for the greasepaint.

“I can’t believe folks are still hunting Sasquatch,” Ed said, clearly disgusted. Gus shrugged. “They haven’t found us yet, son.”

As it turned out, the vacuum of space was existentially horrifying. She was right. They should have gone to the beach. #MashReads

"The vacation of a lifetime," they said. And it would be. He looked through the bars of the cell. There was no going home. #MashReads

“What’s it do?” “It’s a love field,” Rob said, flipping the switch. I snorted. What a stupid idea. Wow—why hadn’t I noticed his eyes before?

107 years was a long time to be stranded, even on an Edenic planet. How had things changed? She watched the ship come in to land.

Direct interface changed everything. Medicine. Piloting. Entertainment. 'Til the virus brought it down. Civilization almost came with it.

The gengineering was meant to make him faster, stronger. But there were unexpected side effects. That was 70 years ago. He still looked 36.

He’d spent years plotting it. Data theft and espionage on a grand scale. He hadn't accounted for a mouse with a fondness for electric cords.

It was coffee blight that started it. In the Americas, then spreading to Africa. Such a mundane reason for a global war.

The rock had been on tourist maps for generations. A monolith surrounded by miles of flat grassland. Then, one Monday morning, it sat up.

She wouldn't miss him, but she would miss the idea of him. She sipped her coffee and thought of the open road and whatever came next.

A quiet awe filled the room as the glow faded and she settled back down to the floor. "That's how you do it," she said.

Living people can't do this. #ScaryStoriesIn5Words

A sliver of sunlight crept in where the door was cracked open. I could make out specks of blood on my tie. Where was I? *What* was I?

Ironically, many of the "clean gene" advocates who voted for the culling were among the first to be killed. Be careful what you vote for.

He finally found the nerve to ask. A day later he stood, dazed, his hands jammed into pockets filled with crumpled tissues. And a ring.

"They say I'm a bad guy. Can you believe that?" She didn't say anything. They never did. I started cleaning up the blood.

Day 32: Subject awake for first time. Her eyes are...how to put this? Her eyes are silver. Will attempt communication soon.