SPEC*U*LA*TIVE ​66

66 words. Endless possibilities.

Issue 19
 Table of Contents
• Outside My Window I (the world) Breaking Kimberly
Nugent..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………3
• When You Can’t Sleep Because of the Space Dust in
Your Eyes F. E. Clark.…………………………………………………………………………4
• In And Out Of Allen Ashley………………………………………………………………5
• The Flyer I. E. Kneverday…………………………………………………………………6
• Rejuvenated Michael Carter ……………………………………………………………7
• Used Kristin Garth……….…………………………………………………………………………8
• Obsidian Romance Rhys Hughes…………………………………………………………9
• Guilt Kerry E.B. Black ……………………………………………………………………10
• Wrong Question George J. Bryjak ……………………………………………11
• Buyer's Remorse Joseph Sidari……………………………………………………12
• The Double-barreled Treatment S.S. Sanderson……………13
• Error Harris Coverley..……………………………………………………………………14
• Abandon Ship Alexander Stewart…………………………………………………15
• A Nibbling Doom Joshua Scully……………………………………………………16
• Take Me Out To The Ballgame Marty Weiss…………………………17
• Progeny Thomas Tilton ………………………………………………………………………18
• Regular PTA Meetings Herb Kauderer.……………………………………19
• The Working Week Vaughan Stanger.…………………………………………20
• Ashes Do Not Burn Kenny A. Chaffin………………………………………21
• Contributor Bios………………………………………………………………………………22-25
• Speculative 66 Staff.…………………………………………………………………………26
• Photo Credits………………………………………………………………………………………………27
Outside My Window I (the world) Breaking

Kimberly Nugent

Exploding blades of grass

in the distance on the hill
impending solitude
and just this time what is last is first
and all the world is reversed

The tree out the window leans

I think that it was always so
Its truck turns black in the rain
Its leaves they come and go
the tree out the window leans
I think that is was always so

3
 When You Can’t Sleep Because of the
Space Dust in Your Eyes

F. E. Clark

Go see Elleroi. She sells sleep out the back

of the Earth-Heart store, down the Diamond
Run by the airlock. Tell her I sent you.
She’s first generation immigrant, used to
run The Good Sleep Company back home. Yeah,
sleep not bedding that’s what Elleroi sells.
By the hour, by the night, by the week if
required, though I don’t recommend it—things
change fast here.

4
 In And Out Of

Allen Ashley

The Earth spaceships have developed

technology which allows them to wink in and
out of existence. Previously easy targets,
this cloaking device has made them harder
to obliterate in battle. We reptilian
Aldebarans play fair while these hairless
apes indulge in interstellar trickery.
We trust in our superior weaponry and
marksmanship.
We take aim… now
here
there
that one just there
get it before it gets –

5
 The Flyer

I. E. Kneverday

She stops to scan the flyer that’s been

stapled to the telephone pole.

“Have you seen her?” the headline asks.

There’s a black-and-white photo of a girl in a

dress. A caption:

“This is Mary Ellen Parker. She disappeared

from this neighborhood in 1918. Residents
claim her ghost still wanders the streets.”

I’m not wandering, she tries to convince

herself as she hovers down the sidewalk.
6
 Rejuvenated

Michael Carter

The last man on Earth drank the

last beer on Earth.

Having traveled a thousand miles

of barren wasteland, he deserved
it. He savored the final swallow
of warm froth and bitter hops. He
set the glass on the bar and
smiled.

He snapped his hatchet into its

holster. Turning to leave, he saw
in the mirror behind the bar that
his glass was full again.

7
 Used

Kristin Garth

Gilded edges, featherweight.

Red ink admonishments, pale pages,
a rough draft you’d like to recreate
Unmarred, crisp corners.
though my binding’s cut.
Scent of bone with feathers,
torn, rough cuts,
too many fingers.
I can’t stay shut.
Unblemished cover, back pristine,
graffitied chapters hide between
highlighted obscenities — almanac
of indiscreet iniquities.
All sheen and supple
in your calloused hand,
my plot is tragedy.
You should understand.

8
 Obsidian Romance

Rhys Hughes

Doña Maria arrived with the Spanish.

But she fell in love with a local

man and gave up everything for him,
her husband, family, culture,
fortune and beliefs. She learned new
ways directly from his example.

Now she lifts the obsidian knife

high.

Brings it down hard.

Yes indeed. You have to make a lot

of sacrifices to be in a successful
relationship with an Aztec.

9
 Guilt

Kerry E.B. Black

It piles and heaps, buries her

Beneath its crushing weight
An infernal feast that devours
Until she’s hollowed out,
Unable to reconcile
The image with reality,
The expectation with oppressed disappointment.
Nobody aspires to cowardice.
Surely even the Devil feels himself wronged,
But upon consideration of her soul,
Her actions and inaction,
She recognizes her multitude of shortcomings
And hates herself for every one of them.

10
 Wrong Question

George J. Bryjak

“Paper or plastic, Sir?”

“Neither, I want...”
“Paper or plastic? I don’t have all night.”
“I just...”
“Company policy. Answer the question or take
your business elsewhere.”
“Please, Miss, I ...”
“All right Mac, you’re outta here.”
“Plastic, the extra strength bags.”

I pulled the sack over her head; it didn’t

take long. I only wanted a six-pack...and
the money. I put them in a paper bag. 11
 Buyer's Remorse

Joseph Sidari

“I’ve changed my mind,” he said. “I’d like

that one.” He gestured to a glass
container. “I’m sorry—”

“No worries.” The technician brought the

jar down. Fluid sloshed. Something pulsed
inside. “We aim to please.”

“And my stitches—they’re fresh,” he said.

“So the doctor can—”

“Cut ‘em. Slide the new brain in.” She

unwrapped the bandages from his temple.
“Don’t worry; this happens all the time.”

12
 The Double-barreled Treatment

S.S. Sanderson

After custodians had thoroughly cleaned the

examination room, a new cohort of patients was
ushered inside.

The doctor followed. He hurriedly explained the

merits of inoculation.

“The vaccination will introduce a weakened

virus,” he explained. “Only five percent of
those treated will experience the undesired
transformation.”

“And what happens to the five percent?”

“Immediate euthanasia,” he replied.

A nurse stepped through the doorway with a

shotgun. 13
 Error

Harris Coverley

“And...done! That’s it! I’m uploaded! I’m

immortal! I’m—!”
“Hi there.”
“Erm, who are you?”
“I’m Jim.”
“No, I’m Jim. I just uploaded myself.”
“You can’t upload yourself silly, you can only
upload a copy of your consciousness.”
“You mean...I’m still going to die? In this
body?”
“‘Fraid so.”
“And you?”
“On the web? Forever.”
“Hmmm...undo...”
“Wait!”

And that’s how I committed suicide without

killing myself. 14
 Abandon Ship

Alexander Stewart

This was the cabin of the ship that was

christened years ago. Part of a newly
appointed crew, it was like we were
destined to uphold her glory.

Until the map was blown away. With a

captain who spent more time as a cabin boy.

Mist shrouded. I jumped as the shroud

engulfs the ship.

Two years, I find it unscathed. But the old

crew - gone.
15
 A Nibbling Doom

Joshua Scully

He didn’t know how much oxygen remained, but he

initially paid that concern no second thought.
His eyes feasted on a sunken city nestled on the
bottom of the sea.

He attracted the attention of several

merfolk. The populace was just as scantily clad
as popularly imaged.

He soon realized these fishy humanoids possessed

the mouths of lampreys and suddenly didn’t mind
running out of oxygen.

16
 Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Marty Weiss

It was late Saturday night, and twenty

thousand people watched horrified as the
black bat flew out of his hands and over
the newly installed mesh screen.

A comely young girl wearing a bright red

1980’s Phillies baseball shirt quickly
turned her head away to protect her face
and eyes.

The bat swooped down, sunk its sharp

teeth into her left jugular vein, and
drank deeply.
17
 Progeny

Thomas Tilton
My wife caught me. When she burst in
unannounced, I could not very well stop
halfway through.

“What are you doing?” she cried.

“Experimenting,” I said between mouthfuls.

“Just like Father.”

“But you promised me. You said it would end

with you! Your father was a madman!”

“My father was a scientist! But he was too

rational.”

Her head sank.

I finished eating the corpse’s heart.

18
 Regular PTA Meetings

Herb Kauderer

Cyber-attack Monday rolled around on

schedule, the second Monday of every
month. Essential services ground to a halt
and children were kept home from school.
Parents took the day off to grill lunches
and play family games in the yards.

Behind the scenes cyber-security

professionals battled the attack once
again baffled by its pervasiveness, unable
to comprehend the breadth of the
conspiracy that kept them employed.

19
 The Working Week

Vaughan Stanger

"There aren't enough days in the week to get this

job done!“

George's manager nodded sympathetically. "I can fix

that for you.“

"How?“

"Simply enter this code in your timesheet and...“

George followed his manager's instructions.

Tweenday appeared between Wednesday and Thursday –

and not just on his timesheet.

Despite working hard throughout Tweenday, he never

quite caught up, so he entered the code again.

And again...

20
 Ashes Do Not Burn

Kenny A. Chaffin

If there were no dirt, only cashews, would we

believe that God scooped up a handful of
cashews, shaped them into the form of man and
breathed the fire of life into him with red
velvet lips.

Would the priests at future eulogies

proclaim, “From cashews we are born, to
cashews we return. Ashes to cashews, the life
of man. Gods above, nuts in the pan.”

21
 Con*trib*u*tors
Allen Ashley

Allen Ashley works as a creative writing tutor in north London, UK. He

runs the advanced science fiction and fantasy group Clockhouse London
Writers. He is the judge for the annual British Fantasy Society Short
Story Competition. His story “Take Us To Your Leader” featured in
“Speculative 66” issue 18. www.allenashley.com

Kerry E.B. Black

Kerry E.B. Black skips through the land where George A. Romero made
zombies a cultural statement. Steel runs through her veins, and
bridges span rivers proverbial and actual. Please follow this First
Reader for "Postcard Poems and Prose" and occasional anthology
contributor at www.facebook.com, https://kerrylizblack.wordpress.com/,
and https://twitter.com/BlackKerryblick

George J. Bryjak

George J. Bryjak taught sociology at the University of San Diego for

24 years before moving to the Adirondack Park region of New York state
with his wife, Diane. He is the co-author of four sociology textbooks
and numerous scholarly articles. His one-act plays have been performed
in New York, Buffalo, Los Angeles, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Providence,
Denver, Tampa, Orlando, and Houston. Bryjak is the author of The Power
of the Dark Goddess and Other Stories and Voices from the Civil War:
North and South, Men and Women, Black and White

Michael Carter

Michael Carter is a short fiction and creative nonfiction writer who

grew up reading an odd combination of sci-fi and Louis L’Amour books.
He’s also a ghostwriter in the legal profession and a Space Camp alum.
He’s online at michaelcarter.ink and @mcmichaelcarter.

Kenny A. Chaffin

Kenny A. Chaffin writes poetry, fiction and nonfiction and has

published work in Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, Microfiction
Monday Magazine, 365 Tomorrows, Speculative 66, James Gunn’s Ad Astra,
101 Word Stories, Star*Line and others. He grew up in southern
Oklahoma and now lives in Denver where he works hard to support two
cats, numerous wild birds and a bevy of squirrels. His poetry
collections and other work is available at http://www.amazon.com/-
/e/B007S3SMY8. More information at http://www.kacweb.com. 22
 F. E. Clark

F. E. Clark lives in Scotland. She writes and paints. A Pushcart and

Best of the Net nominee, read her words at: Molotov Cocktail Literary
Magazine, Poems for All, Occulum, Moonchild Magazine, Ink In Thirds,
Poems for All, Folded Word, Ellipsis Zine, Luna Luna Magazine, and The
Wild Hunt. And in anthologies: Flashdogs Solstice and Calendark, and
Nothing Is As It Was from Retreat West.
Website: www.feclarkart.com | Twitter: @feclarkart

Harris Coverley

Harris Coverley lives in Manchester, England, where he works as a

teaching assistant. He has had fiction published at Disclaimer
Magazine, Microfiction Monday Magazine, The Drabble, and 50-Word
Stories, and poetry in 50 Haikus. He blogs
at: https://medium.com/@ha_coverley

Kristin Garth

Kristin Garth is a poet from Pensacola and a sonnet stalker. In

addition to Speculative 66, her sonnets have stalked the pages of Luna
Luna, Anti-Heroin Chic, Occulum, Fourth & Sycamore, TERSE. Journal,
Drunk Monkeys, Ghost City Review and many more publications. Her
chapbook Pink Plastic House is available
at maverickduckpress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @lolaandjolie and
her website kristingarth.wordpress.com

Rhys Hughes

Rhys Hughes has lived in many different countries. He now works as a

tutor of mathematics. His first book was published in 1995 and since
that time he has published more than forty books and eight hundred
short stories in ten different languages.
@rhysaurus
https://rhysaurus.blogspot.co.uk/

Herb Kauderer

Herb Kauderer is an associate professor of English at Hilbert College,

and the author of many short stories and poems including the recent
mini-chapbook 'Cascade of Stardust'. His writing has been nominated
for the Pushcart, Elgin, Analog AnLab Reader's, Rhysling, and Dwarf
Star Awards, and has won the Asimov's Readers' Award, the Ewaipanoma
Sonnet contest, and a WorldCon Poetry Slam among others. More can be
found at his website HerbKauderer.com.
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 I. E. Kneverday

I. E. Kneverday is a writer of speculative fiction. His first

book, The Woburn Chronicles: A Trio of Supernatural Tales Set in
New England’s Most Mysterious City, is available now. You can read
more of Kneverday’s microfiction on Medium.

Kimberly Nugent

Kimberly is a freelance editor and poet who calls the Sierra

Nevadas home. Look for her poetry in Star*Line and Scifaikuest.
For more updates, check her Twitter
account. https://twitter.com/BlueTeaEditing

S.S. Sanderson

S.S. Sanderson (@SSSanderson2) writes flash fiction and lives a

life that looks better on paper. He resides in rural Somerset
County, Pennsylvania.

Joshua Scully

Joshua Scully is an American History teacher from Uniontown,

Pennsylvania. His fiction can be found
at www.jjscully.wordpress.com or @jojascully.

Joseph Sidari

Joseph Sidari (www.josephsidari.com) writes from outside of

Boston. He has been published in Daily Science Fiction, Brilliant
Flash Fiction, and Third Flatiron’s Anthology, “Monstrosities.” He
is a practicing physician, and has also been published in Medical
Economics after being awarded Honorable Mention in their annual
writing contest. He is patiently waiting for his agented novel,
LITTLE GREEN MEN, to find a publisher.

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Vaughan Stanger

Formerly an astronomer and more recently a research project

manager working in an aerospace company, Vaughan Stanger now
writes SF and fantasy fiction full-time. His stories have
appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Abyss & Apex, Postscripts,
Nature Futures, and Interzone, amongst others. He has published
two collections of his fiction: Moondust Memories and Sons of the
Earth & Other Stories. Follow his writing adventures
at http://www.vaughanstanger.com or @VaughanStanger.

Alexander Stewart

Alexander Stewart is a writer who lives in Massachusetts. As a

writer who focuses on fiction and poetry, Alex has been published
in Spires, a literary magazine at Massachusetts College of
Liberal Arts. Twitter handle: @HJXander18

Thomas Tilton

Thomas Tilton’s fiction and poetry have appeared in 365

Tomorrows, Scifaikuest, Star*Line, Disturbed Digest, Failed
Haiku, and Speculative 66. From Texas originally, he now resides
in Michigan with his wife, two dogs, and a son on the way. Reach
him at thomas.tilton@gmail.com

Marty Weiss

Marty Weiss has had his stories published in a number of

magazines, including “The Sun” and “The Good Old Days,” as well
as in several regional newspapers and Sunday magazines. He is
seeking a publisher for a recently completed historical novel.

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SPEC*U*LA*TIVE ​66 Staff

• Cat-in-Chief – Ila

• Editor-in-Chief – L.L. Madrid

• Photo Editor - Jason Palmieri

26
 *Photo Credits*
Cover Photo By L.L. Madrid

*** Unattributed photos in this issue

are from Pixabay and are CCO Public
Domain, Free for commercial use
with no attribution required.

27
V.VI.MMXVIII

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