The empire went to war the same way an insecure dog picks fights, erratically and for unknown cause. Was it to assert dominance in an uncertain universe? Or maybe to protect resources of little worth and questionable appeal to her adversaries? Who can say? The whims of the empress were unpredictable and perhaps more than a little self-destructive.

They rarely did.

There’s not an easy way to explain war on the battlefield. Only the soldiers who lived it can do so. It’s been years and I remember it as yesterday. The horrifying sound of gun fire and large tanks coming straight for us still terrify me, and I relive it each night in my sleep.

Even at the cost of my left leg.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

Captain Sam of the starship Gillian’s Folly watches as the stars pass in long white arcs of Doppler light. As a boy, he always wanted to command a ship. The power. The excitement.

Captain Sam longs for the days of intergalactic war.

The Fuhrer took everything. My husband, two sons, and our home that had been in the family for years. I’m all that’s left. The war is over, but who and what do I have to go back to. I lived through the filth and disease when everyone else was dying and there had been nothing I could do.

It’s tragic and my heart aches every-day, but I will continue to live, if not for myself then for my family.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

She currently resides on Long Island, New York with her husband Richard and dogs Lucy and Breanna.

The heat has taken its toll on my men and the tents smell of sweat and rotting flesh. The battle raged taking many of my soldiers, still left in the trenches, their corpses exposed.

A loud explosion startles me. I inadvertently drop the letter and run for cover.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

There were days when the explosions didn’t subside. The sirens became more and more frequent, especially at night. We began to sleep badly. Then one morning, while hurrying to the market, I was struck by flying debris. At the hospital the doctor first looked around to make sure no one was listening who shouldn’t be. “I just need to grab a lab coat and one egg and I can fix this,” he said. He cut my feet open and put pennies in the incisions before sewing them back up and wrapping them in bandages. He said they were lucky pennies.

From Guest Contributor Howie Good

Howie is a poet and collage artist on Cape Cod. His latest poetry books are Famous Long Ago (Laughing Ronin Press) and The Bad News First (Kung Fu Treachery Press).

I joined the Air Raid Precautions as a warden, ready to serve. I never imagined the danger.

I returned home, fell into bed, and dreamt of my childhood, a happy, peaceful time when there was no war.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

Lisa has been writing since 2010 and has had many micro-flash fiction stories published. In 2018 her book Shorts for the Short Story Enthusiasts, was published and The Importance of Being Short, in 2019. Her most recent book In A Flash, was published in the spring of 2022.

In 1991 my parents invited Sharon and I on a cruise to Hawaii and Tahiti (where we had never been). This was during the run up to Desert Storm, the US invasion of Kuwait to liberate it from Iraq. The trip was quite enjoyable, but what sticks in my mind was the sight of my mother crying on the deck when we received news of the invasion. It saddened her to think of her three brothers going to war in the WWII Pacific and Korea. Flying back to the mainland USA I imagined that the plane was filled with terrorists.

From Guest Contributor Doug Hawley

It’s been years since I could feel my wife’s hands on my body, and I can’t wait to lay next to her in bed caressing her soft skin.

The three of them are here, smiling, anxiously waiting.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher

The mud on my face sticks to me from the heat of the sun, and I’m cramped in a hole waiting.

And so, I sit and wait.

From Guest Contributor Lisa M. Scuderi-Burkimsher