Happy RebirthdayOn Octovio’s one hundred and twentieth birthday, the lit candles on his birthday cake shine like a bonfire. Sweat beads on his forehead from the heat. He feels the ghosts of his bones and organs, more machine parts and technology than human flesh. Nobody makes wishes anymore, but he makes one. For tomorrow comes his rebirthday, and brings the moment when society uploads his mind and sends it on a laser beam into the universe.A dazzl...

Escape your own world into these wondrous and imaginative places in these six science fiction short stories by Rob Vagle.In a world . . .Where a new form of execution transforms more than just the condemned.Where a being made of gears and scales calculates a human life’s monetary worth.Where a stranger courts away mirror reflections of others, leaving one narcissist desperate andalone.Where the Earth holds what completes each of us to fill th...

Time travel in a variety of ways. Through a secret government project, through a time tunnel in the back of a school locker. With a watch, whether fancy or cheap. And in the final story, a man joins a corporation covered in dust. Five science fiction stories presented here come packed with wonder.

Cat NoirFrom the acclaimed writer, Rob Vagle, a short noir tale.Cleo the cat rules over her territory at the back of Sherman’s Fish Market and avoids humans. Until one dark night when a couple of young thieves cross her territory. Cleo must face the human monster.A dark and gritty crime and animal tale.

Survival By StarlightFrom the imagination of the astounding speculative fiction writer, Rob Vagle.The highly intelligent dog, Starlight, must save humanity. Trained and educated by her beloved Gwen, Starlight carries canisters on her back, trekking across the hot desert to the science station populated by machines. With Gwen gone along with the rest of humanity, Starlight’s only companion now smells like plastic, metal, and rubber. Without the human touch, ...

Saturday In The Park With CerberusFantastic writer, Rob Vagle, presents a charming tale.Teenager Colin learns something startling about himself: he can communicate with animals. He wishes that could help him in dealing with a bully. When his older sister Hannah takes Colin to the park with her German Shepard, Cerberus, he learns Hanna has been communicating with animals for years. She can teach him much about his new found talent, but can he still deal with...

Going HomeFrom the distinctive mind of writer, Rob Vagle.Being homeless in a desert college town is hot, dirty, and unforgiving. Miles survives because he is not alone. He still has Sammy and as for Jessica, she is missing and he writes messages on the pavement for her to please come home. Until one day a man overdressed in a long trenchcoat claims he knows her and it is Jessica who wants Miles to come home. For Miles, the street has been home for years. Wh...

A Vulture WaitsStunning crime author, Rob Vagle, spins a dark tale that will make your heart race.Guillermo Tavarez is more than a private detective. He is a fixer. A fijador. In Phoenix, the city in the desert, full of devils preying on the innocent. Guillermo has identified one of the men who had killed his father. The drive for vengeance fills his heart with darkness and Guillermo faces both the devils surrounding him and the devil inside of him...

A Guillermo Tavarez Crime Short StoryPhoenix, the city in the desert.Private detective, Guillermo Tavarez's dark past catches up to him.On the outskirts of the city, as a haboob and the devils of his recent past descend, and threaten to consume him.

In a futuristic world where each human life is measured on scales.The counting begins when The Counter comes a calling.The Counter, a being made of gears and scales.One man's life hangs in the balance.

Dangerous Frontier MagicFrom the extraordinary imagination of acclaimed writer, Rob Vagle.There is magic under the earth in the American frontier as accessible as gold. Mages collect the raw magic matter and create potions, tonics, and elixirs. Bannerman is a peddler of such goods to make one’s life better and safe. But in the town of Pratt another peddler named Greystone is selling the townfolk things too powerful and dangerous for mortal beings. Products ...

For All Your Head Needs Inside And Out.A Cut Beyond Barbershop always open for business. Everywhere, anytime. Turn your head after visiting and it blinks out of existence.A barbershop full of multitudes.Wherever the shop appears, the barbershop changes. A different name and a different barber—different gender, different nationality, different race.A Cut Beyond Barbershop Quartet includes stories about a woman looking for help facing her fear of death, a youn...