Ferne Merrylees

“And welcome back to channel two score alpha. This is Olli Sweetalker bringing to you the latest news on the Great Space Race. We have with us racing expert Buzz Harding, four time winner of the Space Race Cup. How’re you going, Buzz?”
“Great Olli and thanks for having me.”
“Our pleasure. Now we’re all hanging out [...]

Betrayal. That was what drove me; that and the need to escape a dying solar system.
The radio crackled. “And Earth? Earth is scorched and has long been abandoned to the ferocious storms that tear the flesh from your body and turn your bones to dust!” LOST CHANNEL… SCANNING…  “Our home system is a wasteland…” SCANNING… [...]

The cool sea wind brushed against his face like a mother’s bedtime kiss, his hair wafting behind him, a banner of feathers, ribbons and beads.
“I’m an eagle.” The boy whispered, his words snatched away by the lonely clouds that treasured his words like precious pearls. The warmth of the sun’s smile against his cheeks and [...]

“What do we do when we enter the dojo?”
“Bow!” a dozen voices piped up and I stepped back to allow the herd of white uniformed midgets to swarm pass. I gathered their name cards, checked that all my students were accounted for and hadn’t yet escaped, and strolled to the front of the class. There [...]

My knees won’t stop shaking. Short gulps of air enter my lungs at far too fast a pace.
“I’m not going to faint,” I chant to myself with eyes glued to the second hand as it counts down the last 5 minutes.
In 5 minutes time the rocket will be launched and 8 bulls each weighing up [...]

I wrote in careful big letters across the page, swallowing hard.
Ate liver and intestines last night. Need I say more?
Let’s rewind.
“She says ‘Strangely beautiful’ I think. I am not sure the words,” our host, Elfi, said with a small shrug and I kept smiling though I was completely bewildered. Elfi was a good head taller [...]