PANIC
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF ALL THE LIGHTS WENT OFF, THE DOORS LOCKED, AND PEOPLE STARTED SHOOTING?
PART OF THE BRAVE NEW GIRLS ANTHOLOGY
The scuffling sound of their movement echoes obscenely loudly in Abial’s ears, as does her restrained breathing. She almost collapses in fear as another vicious blast of energy is fired, a scream ringing out for only a millisecond and cut off. Probably shot in the throat, she thinks, surprising herself with the detached thought. The after images left by the brilliant flash of light leave stark shadows printed in eerie green on her surroundings, further confusing her senses and ruining any progress she’d been making towards nightvision.
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Her awareness is heightened by fear, reading the room as best she can in the dislocation of pitch blackness. There’s someone crouched against the end of the weight bench. She gives them a wide berth, wanting to reach out but worried they’ll call out in shock. Safer this way. Everyone's alone in the dark.
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Abial's not a fighter, but when the alternative is dying, there aren't really a lot of good choices. Street smart and quick witted, she figures if she can just get the electronic doors open, maybe she'll survive. If she had her datapad with her, it'd be a cakewalk, but without her beloved technology to fall back on, well... things might end badly.
A 5000 word short starring some secondary characters from the Psionics series, Panic is the story of one girl in the dark.
This collection of sci-fi stories features brainy young heroines who use their smarts to save the day. Girls who fix robots and construct superhero suits, hack interstellar corporations and build virtual reality platforms. Who experiment with alien chemicals and tinker with time machines. Who defy expectations and tap into their know-how—in the depths of space, or the bounds of dystopia, or the not-too-distant future—to solve despicable crimes, talk to extraterrestrials, and take down powerful villains.
All revenues from sales of this anthology will be donated a scholarship fund through the Society of Women Engineers. Let’s show the world that girls, too, can be tomorrow’s inventors, programmers, scientists, and more.
STORIES BY:
Martin Berman-Gorvine, Paige Daniels, George Ebey, Mary Fan, Kimberly G. Giarratano, Valerie Hunter, Evangeline Jennings, Stephen Kozeniewski, Jason Kucharik, Kate Lansing, Tash McAdam, Kate Moretti, Ursula Osborne, Josh Pritchett, Aimie K. Runyan, Davien Thomas, Lisa Toohey, and Leandra Wallace
With a foreword by Lara Hogan, Senior Engineering Manager at Etsy and author of Designing for Performance
Featuring artwork by Hazel Butler, Ken Dawson, Adrian DeFuria, Evelinn Enoksen, Mary Fan, Christopher Godsoe, Kayla Keeton, Jason Kucharik, Jennifer L. Lopez, Tash McAdam, and Josh Pritchett.
