Free Fiction and Lights Out

A few quality free items today.





Fiction
@Lightspeed Magazine: "Woman Leaves Room" by Robert Reed.
"She wears a smile. I like her smile, nervous and maybe a little scared, sweet and somewhat lonely. She wears jeans and a sheer green blouse and comfortable sandals and rings on two fingers and a glass patch across one eye." Online text and in MP3.



@The author's website until March 28: "Familiar Territory" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (1997).
"Buster’s final wish – a Viking funeral. Although Winston, a small magician with a small talent, wants to give his familiar his ideal funeral, he can’t imagine how he’ll manage a burning boat at sea. Still, a Viking funeral is a small price to pay for years of companionship. Or is it a small price?"






@Strange Horizons: "起狮，行礼 (Rising Lion—The Lion Bows)" by Zen Cho.
"The hotel was not like any hotel Jia Qi had seen before. There was no drive swooping around a fountain featuring little peeing babies, no glass doors opening onto a golden lobby lit by chandeliers, no men in white gloves to open the doors for you."

Or read the whole issue HERE.


@Daily Science Fiction: "Skin of Steel" by Siobhan Shier.
"The hailstones leapt from the pavement, sizzling like oil in a pan. Elaine shrieked as one flicked her arm. It left a smear of wet before smashing into the pavement at her feet. I should have been overwhelmed by the need to protect her--but I wasn't. They'd taken that from me last night."



@The World SF Blog: "Mardock: Two Hundred Below" by Tow Ubukata (translated by Nathan Collins). "She stared, her eyes ice blue, out the hotel window at Mardock City and scowled at the night. The girl had braided blonde hair and wore a white glove on her left hand. Her right hand, bare, rested atop it."

And don't miss SF Signal's weekly listing of Free Fiction.





Flash Fiction



@Flashes in the Dark: "The Good Life" by Mary Ann Back.
@Flashes in the Dark: "Rosie" by Tammy A. Branom.
@365 tomorrows: "Fly Trap" by Brian Varcas.
@The Daily Cabal: "Life Goals" by Jen Larsen.

Video
@The Internet Archive: Two episodes of the classic horror/suspense series, Lights Out.
Lights Out - Season 4, Episode 9 - 22nd October 1951 "The Deal." Streaming and in MPEG4 download.





And Lights Out - Season 3, Episode 22 - 22nd January 1951 "For release today." Streaming and in MPEG4 download.






Comics
At Golden Age Comic Book Stories: I'll Be Damned #2 and #3, highlighted by the SF/Horror shorts "Nest Egg" and "Pilgrim"