Bringing you stories, book and game reviews, writing tips, and updates from author S.G. Baker.
A muted clanking sounded from the door. All of us in the room tensed, thinking the water pressure outside had at last overpowered the sealed door's capacity to keep it out. But then the clanking came again, rhythmic, like knocking. "They're here," I said. "Get ready." The group moved around behind me. I took several … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Emergency Dive
Though the warped radio station door stuck to the jamb when I pulled it open, just inside, unseen machinery hummed productively. Unseen, because thin smoke drifted along the floor, curling around my shoes. I reopened the door, letting the strong breeze outside push it wide. A distorted voice, as if piped through a ham radio, … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – The Lonely Operator
As I made to step off the sidewalk of a sunny city, a car with dark windows pulled to a stop right in front of me. I scurried back up onto the walk, frowning at having my way forward blocked. But as I made to step around the intruding car, I peered within and paused, … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Take Nothing
In a wide-open field of long summer grass stood a lonesome table, covered in gray cloth and bearing a shallow wicker basket. A single shady tree overhung the table, inviting in the over-bright afternoon sunlight. Sweat beaded on the back of my neck and grass crunched beneath my feet as I approached. Behind me lay … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – A Summer Offering
Porcelain clinked against wood with the unmistakable sound of a mug being set down. "Well, that's peculiar." At the bemused tone in my host's voice, I glanced up from where I had been scanning the spines of her myriad books. She stood hunched over, peeking out beneath the half-opened blinds on her living room window. … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – A Good Day
The ocean's surface receded above as I dove downward, out of reach all too soon. Pink rays of dancing sunlight lanced into the water around me, but these, too, fell behind. As my dive lost momentum, I blew out bubbles, sinking deeper into the sea. Every direction was an empty, darkening gradient of blue. Now … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Sea Glass Below
On a clear desert night, the crush of shifting sand from just outside my tent woke me. I lay on my bedroll in the dark, listening to the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching. The gait of my visitor... lurched. Or hopped. When it stopped next to my tent, the shadow of a lengthy, humanoid shape … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Name Calling
They arrived as the full moon crested the horizon like an enormous gold coin. Silhouetted people in ones and twos materializing beneath the spreading limbs of the Memory Tree. Their outlines wavered and shimmered beneath the hazy moonbeams, solidifying as the night grew darker. I wasn't the only person sitting beneath the boughs, so I … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – The Memory Tree
Beneath a brightly lit city, a yawning tunnel ran away into darkness. As if to avoid attracting attention to the area, no light spilled across the wide concrete steps leading downward. Yet at regular intervals, the footsteps of one or two people passing below rang out, telling those walking along the railing above that a … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Insecurity
When the waters rose and swept between the pillars of an innocuous shrine, it was said a voice could be heard by those standing beneath its graceful wooden arch. Intrigued by this rumor, I arrived there just as the rainy season petered off and stood where calm water met grass, toes bare, gazing outward at … Continue reading The Hopeful Wanderer – Whispering Waters
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