“MISCARRIAGE,” by James L. Sutter. Read by Jonathan Shockley.

The second time the stick turned blue, it was intentional — they had good jobs, a car, a house, and a strong desire to take the next step. They’d surprised their parents with it on Mother’s Day, and were immediately enveloped in a whirlwind of blue and pink, both grandmothers good-naturedly attempting to outdo each other with baby preparation. Ryan’s father, the paragon of stoicism, had cried and hugged him, tears leaking out from behind Coke-bottle glasses. Annie glowed.

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James Lafond Sutter is the Fiction Editor for Paizo Publishing, creators of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. He is the award-winning author of numerous game products and short stories, and his fiction has appeared in such venues as Black Gate, Catastrophia, and Apex Magazine, as well as been translated into several languages. His anthology Before They Were Giants pairs the first stories of SF greats from William Gibson to China Miéville with new interviews and writing advice from the authors themselves. For more information, visit jameslsutter.com.

Jonathan Shockley is one-half of Travis and Jonathan, creators of the political comedy show Red State Update, a once-regular feature of Salon.com. Originally from Tennessee, he now lives in Los Angeles.

In the book, “MISCARRIAGE” is illustrated by Rene Engström!

“PIANO,” by Rafa Franco. Read by the author.

PIANO, man. Can you believe it? Friggin’ PIANO. You know what the problem was? I did it when I was sixteen. Friggin’ sixteen years old. You don’t do that kind of thing when you’re sixteen. You’re not supposed to know the exact way you’re gonna die when you’re sixteen! You’re supposed to be…friggin’ skinning your knee playing street hockey! Reading comics! Getting laid! Not having a blood test to find out you’re gonna die by PIANO!

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Rafa Franco was born on a wee town in Argentina about 27 years ago. Graphic designer by trade, he has had some art and a couple of articles published where you will never find them, and has managed to unwillingly produce some small-time freelance graphic design work. Like an idiot savant, he roams the muddy slime of mediocrity and has the common sense to let the occasional spark of creativity out to the world. If you feel like traveling fifteen thousand miles south to the city of La Plata near Buenos Aires, you may catch him starring in a play as a 70-year-old backwater whore. Or you can reach him at rfranco81 [at] yahoo.com. It’s okay.

In the book, “PIANO” is illustrated by Kean Soo!

“ANEURYSM,” by Alexander Danner. Read by Kris Straub.

“It’s a new party game,” said Norma, as she pushed a small cart into the living room. The cart was draped with a white bed sheet, keeping the cart’s burden hidden.  The guests all turned to watch as the little mystery wheeled into the room, squeaking slightly, leaving a visible groove in the carpet.  Norma stopped and stood; she made no move to uncover her secret, only smiled at the seven faces around her.  Every guest had a fresh drink in hand and a hot hors d’oeuvre on a toothpick.

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Alexander Danner writes and teaches comics. His most recent series is “Gingerbread Houses,” a retelling of Hansel and Gretel illustrated by Edward J. Grug III. “Gingerbread Houses” and other fairy tales can be found at picturestorytheater.com. More of Danner’s stories and experiments can also be found at twentysevenletters.com. He is co-author of the textbook Character Design for Graphic Novels, and he teaches Writing the Graphic Novel at Emerson College.

Kris Straub is the cartoonist behind the webcomic Chainsawsuit and the sci-fi humor saga Starslip. He’s also co-author of the Harvey Award-nominated How To Make Webcomics, published by Image. Kris has lived in every city in America for at least one second. Hear more of his voice in Webcomics Weekly, Tweet Me Harder, and Blamimations.

In the book, “ANEURYSM” is illustrated by Dorothy Gambrell!

“EXPLODED,” by Tom Francis. Read by Christopher Joseph.

“It’s going to look like we’re profiting from it? Pete, it’s going to look like we did it. You don’t seem to realise how sceptical people are going to be about something like this. You’re the only person in the world who has any idea how this box works, and to the rest of us it looks a hell of a lot like a hoax. And when some small-minded prick with a bag of pipe bombs decided commuters were responsible for all the world’s problems this morning, it became the most vicious hoax in history. We’re going to have protesters on your lawn around the clock, we’re going to get ripped to shreds in the press, we’re going to be hounded by cameras. We’re going to get mail bombs, Pete.” I sat down, and lowered my voice. “They’re gonna try and kill us. Nobody knows yet, but I promise you that at some point in the next eighteen hours, someone Googling the victim names is going to find our prediction list and our lives as they stand will be over.”

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Tom Francis is a writer and editor for PC Gamer magazine and PCGamer.com. He blogs at pentadact.com.

Christopher Joseph is a filmmaker in Los Angeles. His website is palmeralley.com.

In the book, “Exploded” is illustrated by Jesse Reklaw!

“DESPAIR,” by K. M. Lawrence. Read by Clair Lockeyear.

This is the procedure now: A vehicle comes into the bay, paramedics pull a body out on an unfolding trolley, and a nurse meets them and asks them for the card. Sometimes she smiles, and you know that this one might well walk out of the hospital. Sometimes she gets a stony look on her face and you know that her eyes have flicked across to the patient to see who’s going to die. Sometimes — rarely, but sometimes — she frowns. As Nurse Kealing did with that first one.

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K. M. Lawrence may be writing in Ireland, or may be writing in England. Either way, he can be contacted at kludgeco.com.

Clair Lockeyear is an actor and improviser in Los Angeles.

In the book, “Despair” is illustrated by Dean Trippe!