Kevin Marlow

“Empress Evangeline” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #256

“Evangeline?”“Yes, she can keep the name, Tokarov. We are Overlords, not monsters.”“Can I see her?”“Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?”“The child, she's alright?”"With all you, and we have invested in this offspring, why would you question it? It thrives, the first Human/Sabinarath hybrid. It feeds, grows, the other Overlords are impressed. This hybrid might be able to populate New Eden successfully. We have located a fertile planet, yet, there is one final obstacle."“What? What do you mean?”“You must rekindle your warrior spirit....

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“It's Just How You Left It” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #253

   The loaf of ash broke off ugly and hot, settling in the ashtray with its dead brethren without so much as a prayer. The fire of the cherry again lit up a swollen face, streaked with makeup that needed touched up. The anger in her eyes had been simmering for months. What was left resembled a sullen mess of regrets and unfinished paintings. The scruffy face across from her opened his mouth.Before he could gutter a sound, she tapped an unlit filtered cig from the case and spoke, “Just have one with me. I know you quit. Trust m...

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“Your Own Personal Cell” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #236

“My WORD! What is that?”“I don't know, it looks dirty.”“Are you going to take it?”“There is a.....what did they call those? Is it a switch?”“Let me access my database.” Closing his eyes, he stopped for a moment, “The bio-network says you can touch it and it will revive itself.”They watched in wonder as she squeezed the raised button on the side of the device and put her face closer to the screen. Images swirled in a colorful tornado, settling on a picture of a family in ancient garments clutching a smiling infant.“O...M...G...is that a baby?...

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“Rebirth on Xenoscythe” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #232

Jagged spears of light sliced through the dome of the cavern. The planet Xenoscythe's sun, Aerialis spun in a perpetual dance with its barren rocky surface. Its scant rays fed the underground cathedral rock amphitheaters through rifts in the crust, allowing life to survive under the surface. Vast rippling pools of fresh water were ringed with igneous rock formations bursting with gold and green mosses, giant leafed ferns, purple flowers, succulent fruits, amphibians, and tiny flitting red finches. The sounds of the waterfall splashing into t...

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“Why Bother...” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #230

“Those bastards and bitches are so delusional they would ride their horse out of town hitched to the latest TikTok snake oil salesman's circus wagon.”I am already sick of all the glad-handing pukes on Facebook congratulating me for what I haven't even accomplished yet. What? Vomiting a bunch of words onto a page and breaking my arm patting myself on the back? I'm garbage, it's garbage. When I hand a friend a chapter of my manuscript, edited and printed with over-priced ink, they give me a bored look and eye roll pretending to read for a few ...

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“My Friend Carmen” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #211

Although because of my age, you can't tell, I'm a chocolate point, not a blue point or orange-ass Abyssinian like those turned-nosed bitches from the east side insist on being ruled by. Being generic isn't always bad. At least the beasts don't expect a lot if you are average. If one can fake normal you can coast through the teen years like a boss even though you are missing your gonads and only means of self-defense.I digress. This lame bipedal monkey fish signed some shit and put a box of gravel next to the toilet and tried to tell me what ...

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“Marci's Menial Menagerie” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #208

Marci thumbed through the pile of manuscripts. Bad text choice, that title is terrible, and the surname alone cries DORK, Oh, this one sounds promising. She proceeded to spend the best part of the three hours after her two-hour, three-cocktail lunch deciphering the story arc of a dystopian, science fiction novel, occasionally peering over the top of her leopard print Warby Parker progressive lenses at the bland modern architecture of the Goldman Sachs building across from the glass on her floor.A smile crawled across her burgundy lips. Knowi...

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“High There” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #193

“Dude, it's just a plant.”“I don't know Cain. What does it feel like?”“It's the best feeling in the world. Why do you think they call it a high?”“I've never used any drugs. Are you trying to help me or get me hooked?"“You've been in the dumps lately friend. Weed is not a drug. It's all-natural. It's a gift from Mother Nature. If you don't like it, remember it's the thought that counts. I'm turning you on to help you out.”“O.K. Give me the damn pipe.” I fondled the stem nervously, plucking the red bic lighter from Cain's outstretched hand. Fl...

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“Farewell to Adelaine” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #174

Adelaine finished the draft of the text and pressed save, rolling her eyes and drawing in a breath. Looking around from the safety of a Lexus, the parking garage felt empty. It was early. That didn't stop the tension from surfacing. Rereading the unsent text, she pressed the button to turn off the screen and plucked the goggle-eyed shades from the visor and pulled the earpieces out with a lip still soft from a hot shower, and slid the sunglasses on to hide her face.Pulling a hood over her still-damp hair, the car chirped as the door clunked....

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“The Mind Flayer's Minions” by Kevin Marlow

{A Stranger Things Fan Fiction Story}“He doesn't like you.”“What? Will, don't kid around.”“I'm not joking Dustin. He is coming for you. You abandoned Dart, you wanted to kill him.”“He was a Demogorgon and he ate my cat Will, besides what happened in the bus at the junkyard. Did you forget about that little detail?”“If you don't give him what he wants, he's going to drag you to the upside down in your sleep.”“Now you're scaring me, Will. This isn't cool. Friends don't lie, remember.”“I'm not lying, you have to give him what he wants,” the loo...

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“Bury Me Home” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #164

The rolling hills of the Midwest undulate like the humps of the Midgard Serpent, locking the hard-pan clay together. Its scales are clusters of juniper and elm, erupting from sandstone bluffs. The forked tongue is a confluence of two mighty rivers, the legs, scars of railroad beds riveted to the land with iron, torn from its own belly. Johnathon remembers seeing the beast in the ancient lake that had been plowed by glaciers from the last Ice Age, or is it a recurring dream, he never quite figures that part out.“Penny for your thoughts.” Gwyn...

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“Like Roses in the Desert” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #160

Red tail lights whizzed by, their glow leaving sparkling trails on the side glass in the back seat of a domestic sedan with an interior the color of ash. Tristan craned his head, looking for the street sign.The stiff collar on his shirt rubbed his neck like sandpaper. Mom had settled on the cotton poplin dress shirt and tie, they couldn't afford the Ralph Lauren Polo. 'It makes you look mature,' she said.“When you pull up to the gym, just let me out O.K.” Tristan leaned up to catch his mom's eyes in the rear-view mirror and scowled as a warn...

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“1869 Gehenna Street, Hades” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #148

The heat erupted from the very rocks themselves. With no sun, orange light emitted from the glowing stalactites that jutted from the roof of the massive cave like giant flaming lances. Pools of sulfuric acid smoked and gurgled, belching fumes that burned the nostrils; fumaroles were burping dragons releasing acrid gases. This was 1869 Gehenna Street, Hades, just up the way from the Abyss. The apartments were carved into solid rock by wayward souls that had yet to earn a chance to hurl themselves into the eternal fire and be erased from the a...

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“Whatever You Do Don't Write it Down” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #146

CW{Strong Language, Sarcasm}Dear Kevin,It's me Kevin, your actual future self. I remember the summer you are in well. Your air conditioning was not working because the electric company turned you off due to not paying. You were admitted to the hospital due to a bizarre host of episodes that culminated in a weekend in jail and a trip in front of a judge. It doesn't seem like it now, but everything is going to be alright. Being diagnosed with schizophrenia is not a death sentence. Which brings me to the issue at hand. During counseling the nic...

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“I am The Crow” by Kevin Marlow

Submitted to Contest #145

{The names of the guilty have been changed to protect them from the innocent.}Brandon Lee was dead. An accident they said. Having been around guns since I was old enough to point my finger and say POW! I wasn't sure I believed it. A loaded gun is that, loaded. A live round is an ominous thing to hold. It vibrates with the confined kinetic energy it contains. The graceful flow of the trigger sear releasing the firing pin feels like poetry until the powder ignites. BANG! One has to train themselves not to flinch and pull off target. The best m...

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