An artist whose religious-inspired works utilize various materials. A tattooed man who quests to reclaim his art. An ice cream man who is more than just a vendor of sweet treats. What do these characters have in common? Their stories, which first appeared on the FiendMaster's website, have been compiled here to create Fiends, Volume I.Canvas - What is more important? The art, or the medium used to create the art? Where does inspiration come from? Canvas discusses a dark inspiration for the creation of works the artist considers "holy."Tattoo - Scars. They remind us who we are, what we are and where we have been. But when a scar takes away your identity, what would you do to get it back? Jackson, a journalist in Houston, discovers links between several murders that have taken place in his city. His investigation draws him into the world of body art where he discovers an obsession worth killing for.Closet Treats - Reality is a slippery slope for Trey Leger. He's managed to carve out a somewhat normal existence in spite of his mental illness. But when an ice cream truck starts making the rounds of his neighborhood, Trey can no longer tell reality from his delusions.

They came in peace...or so they said. Here are 18 examples of how they lied. This is an exciting collection of First Contact science fiction stories, all completely different! Take a risk - venture into the unknown with us. Who is out there? What will they want from us? Come join is in our adventure to find out how 1st Contact pans out. It will be a great adventure!"Every story in this book has something to appeal to fans of the science fiction genre, especially those who like speculations into space travel and the future tinged with horror. Lovers of Alien and The Twilight Zone will find themselves at home here, and so will anyone who enjoys science fiction for what it promises: the expansion of the mind into unknown and sometimes intimidating places." Virge B., Red Adept Editing, Proofreader

When a Centers for Disease Control quarantine fails at Ben Taub Hospital, a Houston SWAT Team is sent in to secure the facility. What they find is destruction and death. Trapped in the hospital, cut off from the world, a mysterious voice on the radio is all they have to guide them. They're no longer on a mission to quarantine the remaining inhabitants. Instead, they have to destroy a multiplying menace that could infect the world before the Federal Government enacts a final solution. Outbreak is a standalone, parallel story to both the 2015 Parsec Award Winning Novel The Black and The Black: Arrival. A winning mashup of action and horror, Outbreak is a suspenseful thriller that will keep you guessing at what's around the next corner.

From prehistoric time to the present, one blood line has endured. Garaaga's children range from the Indus Valley to Mesopotamia to Jerusalem and beyond, influencing ancient civilizations, mighty crusades, and everyday lives. The stories of the god Garaaga, Its half-human progeny, and their supplicants have been passed down through the generations. Leaving a frightful, lustful, body-strewn trail through the ages, Garaaga's children and worshipers have survived to spread their religion around the world. Ancients revolves around a legend spawned during pre-history that culminates in the burning of the Library of Alexandria, and a chronicle of two generations of Garaaga's deadly nephilim amidst the rise of Judaism.

Fifty years ago, Mira, humanity's last hope to find new resources, exited the solar system bound for Proxima Centauri b. Seven years into her mission, all transmissions ceased without warning. Mira and her crew were presumed lost. Humanity, unified during her construction, splintered into insurgency and rebellion. Now, an outpost orbiting Pluto has detected a distress call from an unpowered object entering Sol space: Mira has returned. When all attempts at communications fail, S&R Black, a Sol Federation Marine Corps search and rescue vessel, is dispatched from Trident Station to intercept, investigate, and tow the beleaguered Mira to Neptune. As the marines prepare for the journey, uncertainty and conspiracy fomented by Trident Station's governing AIs, begin to take their toll. Upon reaching Mira, they discover they've been sent on a mission that will almost certainly end in catastrophe. The Derelict saga is a suspenseful mashup of hard military sci-fi, space opera, and mystery. Some mysteries shouldn't be solved.