Sjan Evardsson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2019

Stories (142)

142 Stories

2391 karma pts

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“Bleeding Through” by Sjan Evardsson

It was there again for just a split second, then it was gone. A flash in the eye; something off-kilter just a bit. I couldn’t tell what it was, but it made me think I might be losing my marbles. If I hadn’t been too nervous to try when it was offered in university, I would blame it on it acid flashbacks. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and tied it with the spare band I had around my wrist. It served as an excus...

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“Fighting Monsters” by Sjan Evardsson

During my second year in the academy, I was still trying to decide what I wanted to specialize in. At that point, it didn’t matter; I was going to do anything that got me into space and away from the outer colonies for good. One afternoon, there was a test of a new vectoring thruster built by the engineering students. It was supposed to be super-efficient or some other thing. There were several ...

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“Compliance” by Sjan Evardsson

There were at least six cameras around the parking lot Grace could see without craning her neck. There were another nine she’d seen as she entered the lot. The counting wasn’t voluntary, it was more an annoying tic. She tried to relax in her car, waiting for the Compliance Office to open, but there was no comfortable position in her tiny commuter one-seater. She looked at the ticket summons on her phone again. “...

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“The Freeze” by Sjan Evardsson

The only thing worse than a poor night’s sleep is the day after. When it happens every night, however, the days turn into a smear of half-remembered impressions as the world passes by at what feels like double or treble speed. He answered the knocking at his door. “You here to wake me up? You’re a few hours late.” “You’re dragging again.” There was a hint of pity in her voice. “I’ll be f...

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“A Lady Scorned” by Sjan Evardsson

She clapped her leathery wings in rage, her eyes glowing like hot coals. Her champion had not only let her down, he’d flat-out betrayed her. As usual, only her favorite brother was here to comfort her.“Relax, sister.” Pride placed his arm and one wing around her. “You knew there was a chance to lose, and you took it.”“Yeah, sure. You can puff yourself up with ‘at least I tried’ but that doesn’t cut it for me; I have to win.”Pride stood, holding his sister close. “There will be others,” he said.“He was ...

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“Achievable” by Sjan Evardsson

Matthew was certain this arts and crafts project was a waste of his time and patience, but he’d promised the doctor. Things I want for my life, things I can work toward, things I can achieve in the coming year, he thought. It took long hours searching the web, finding just the right images, printing them out on the color printer, and stuffing them in his backpack before anyone could see. The li...

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“My First Christmas” by Sjan Evardsson

I should’ve listened when the union rep told me I should wait for another navigator — any navigator — as long as they weren’t human. “Too much trouble,” they said. Noooo, I was in too much of a hurry and hired on the human. It is important to me that I am good captain. To that end, I’ve accumulated a set of rules, guidelines, if you will, to keep me moving in that direction. I’ve written them all down i...

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“A Simple Gesture” by Sjan Evardsson

When she moved in, I knew nothing about her; even her species and sex was a question to me. Sure, there are a few non-humans on this back-washed mining planet — mostly running away from the law on their home worlds — but she wasn’t even one of the recognized member species of the Combine. News of the war was always slow to arrive out here, but we all knew that it was going well for the Combine, not so well for t...

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“The Hanging” by Sjan Evardsson

I’ve heard that, given enough time, one can get accustomed to anything; to see it as normal. After ten years of this, I can say that’s a load of hogwash.The oohs and aahs of the audience over what amounted to basic sleight of hand annoyed me. Still, I smiled and performed as if for a classroom of five-year-olds. It shouldn’t have surprised me how easily the dupes were fooled, I guess, since they grew up in a world where they knew magic isn’t real.They were wrong, of course, but I didn’t dare show them the real stuff...

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“Shelter” by Sjan Evardsson

Anya’s neighbor had been gone for a month. During that time, his brother, who lived in the next house over, had been keeping up the front yard. The HOA frowned on less-than-show-quality yards. He was there now, raking the front lawn. Anya knew, from the vantage point of her own back yard, that the back yard needed some attention as well. She decided to do something about it. “Hey, Carl!” She waved at the...

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“Exponential” by Sjan Evardsson

As a child, I knew the world was the way it was, and that was that. Changes, even small ones, were difficult to accept. I knew that the world was and would remain static. Our enclave of skin tents in the forest was where I would live, hunting and raising a family, for my entire life. I should’ve paid more attention when the elders talked about how fast the humans advanced. The elders understood that hum...

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“Voices” by Sjan Evardsson

It started the same time his voice started breaking; his awkward puberty made even more so by the flashes of strong emotion. He found himself feeling whatever those around him felt…even when that was fear of himself.As his voice settled in an octave lower and the peach fuzz on his face resolved into mustache and beard, the voices started. By concentrating on one voice, he could hear the thoughts and feel the emotions of any person around him.He couldn’t, however, concentrate every moment of every day. When his concentration ...

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“Recall” by Sjan Evardsson

Trey’s breakfast was ready a few seconds after seven-thirty; efficiency down 0.002 percent. I made a note of it in my logs and continued to my next task.“Good morning, sir,” I said. “Breakfast is served. I will prepare a warm towel for your shower.”“Schedule?” he asked.“Meeting, nine-thirty to eleven with the board. Lunch date at twelve with Leo.” It was all I could do not to spit out the name. I couldn’t stand the man. “Nothing scheduled after. Will you be returning home early this evening?”“Home at six. I wan...

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“Ends of the Earth” by Sjan Evardsson

Some people make a bucket list and never get around to any of it. I’m not “some people.” I’m luckier than most, I would say. There was no rhyme or reason for me to blow a buck on the lotto, but I did. Winning two-and-a-half million after taxes was the impetus for this trip. There are places I want to see, and many of them only allow a few people a year in to protect them. Those are the places I most want to see....

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“Lucky Night” by Sjan Evardsson

Months of planning, investigation, and surveillance — much of it skirting on the thin edges of the law — were about to pay off. Miranda had him in her sights, and she was going to put him down for good. That’s not to say she was planning to kill him but putting him behind bars was just as good. She’d followed the progress of the last shipment through customs and knew that it would be her best chance to catch him...

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Author bio

Writer with an alter-ego as a software engineer. My degree is in Information Security but my heart belongs to my spouse, my daughters, and science fiction. My first published short story is available > https://books2read.com/DSPSpirit My second published short story is available > https://books2read.com/SpaceBound

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