brianhelgerson

Houseplant

The moment she set it on his desk, he looked up from the laptop, glared at it, and said, “Don’t put that there.” She scowled down at him, hand hovering near the plant. “I don’t have anywhere else to put it.” He looked up at her. “You still don’t, now put it somewhere else.” SheContinue reading “Houseplant”

Tree

I thought it was just an ordinary tree. It wasn’t very tall. Just a fair-sized tree, great for sitting under to get out of the sun, or for hiding behind, which is what I thought the instant I saw it. They wouldn’t find me there, at least not right away, or maybe not at all.Continue reading “Tree”

The End

“Becker to LaSalle,” the suit’s communicator blurted. “What’s your status, Jason?” LaSalle tore his gaze off the prisoner and looked at his wrist. “Sorry to report, sir, but you might be leaving without us.” The communicator paused. “We have a few minutes left, Jason,” Becker assured him. “We’ll think of something.” Becker glanced at hisContinue reading “The End”

Conundrum

“Henricksen?” LaSalle urged. His tension was leaking through his calm exterior. He either believed his own story about a collision course with the sun, or he was the best actor ever. While LaSalle edged closer to the young ensign to take a peek at her pad, their prisoner shuffled uneasily from one foot to theContinue reading “Conundrum”

Captured

“You didn’t think it through, did you?” the alien asked smugly. The execution had been flawless. It took some time to psyche himself up, but once he had unscrewed the grille fasteners, his timing was perfect. The moment the grille hit the deck, alerting the aliens of his presence, he gripped the edge of theContinue reading “Captured”

Aliens

“What am I doing?” he demanded, coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the duct. He’d had the brilliant idea to head for the drive deck, figuring that one of those aliens would be easier to capture and interrogate, since the captain or commander, or whatever they called the one in charge, wasContinue reading “Aliens”

Dust

“Why do I have to do everything around here?” he complained as he slid quietly through the duct, kicking up clouds of dust that shouldn’t be there. Where were the maintenance bots that were supposed to prevent this kind of thing? He would need to reprimand the computer for it later, after he took careContinue reading “Dust”

Spaceship

The cryotube hissed open, releasing a gout of steam, and he sat up, blinking groggily. Fortunately, the same computer that had so rudely woken him up was considerate enough to keep the lights dim to give his eyes a chance to adjust, but still, it had interrupted a marvelous dream that now swiftly faded away,Continue reading “Spaceship”

Fan Fiction (unedited)

The Doctor swooned in the middle of spinning the spinny gizmo as his entire life flashed in front of him. As he fell, his companion swooped in and caught him under the arm. “Doctor?” she demanded. “What’s wrong?” The Doctor shook his head to clear the cobwebs. “There was… a disturbance… as if… a dozenContinue reading “Fan Fiction (unedited)”

Blocked

He stared at the screen for a long time, deliberately thinking of nothing, and not even its brilliant glow sparked anything good. It wasn’t writer’s block. There were plenty of ideas pouring into his mind, but all of them were dark and morbid and had no place in either his head or in the book.Continue reading “Blocked”