This next story is another one where I woke up one morning with it kind of already formed in my head. I think it’s because I’m working on the sequel to Where the Hell is Tesla?, and I’m delving pretty deep into the characters for the second time right now. Anyway, this story is about Horace Cho, the author of the way-too-popular science fiction series The Horatio Chronicles. After over thirty novels in the series, Horatio the Hero begins to take on a life of his own. Harmless, right? . Enjoy!

Listen to the Audio (17 min):

This audio sci-fi short story is now available exclusively in my audiobook, Listen To The Signal: Short Stories Volume 1, available at Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. The stories will continue right here each month or so, so if you’d like, subscribe below to be notified when a new episode is published:

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Read the Story (2,500 words / 9-minute read):

“Horatio Breathed His Last”

Written and narrated by Rob Dircks

Horatio breathed his last. 

That’s what he meant to write. But the words that flowed from his fingers, through the keyboard, and onto the screen were these:

Not on my watch!

He stared at the words, blinking, not believing. It was his hero’s famous catchphrase, always uttered right before the bad guy got sucked into the vacuum of space, or was sent off to the prison mines on Planet Nextor, or was otherwise dispatched. This time, it seemed, the threat was directed at him. He shuddered. Horatio wouldn’t go down easily. He cracked his knuckles and tried again.

Horatio breathed– Not on my watch! 

What was happening?

To read on, check out Listen To The Signal: Short Stories Volume 1 at Amazon.