When David first showed me the basement apartment, I fought the clutch in my chest, refusing to cry. David saw my sour expression, then clasped my hands and kissed me in the mold-scented air.

Chee usually spends his days driving aged-care seniors around Darwin, but tonight, he isn’t driving for the living.

Welcome to issue five of Inner Worlds. I’m delighted to present these twelve stories, spanning science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

I stuffed pale diamond-shaped crackers into a newspaper cone, the pointy end of which featured the eye of the teacher who had commented that my dress was too tight, ten years ago when I was nine.

The aluminum shutters were open again, revealing a vast, black void dotted with distant stars. Vash sighed and stepped over to the far side of the room, snapping the metal sheets shut so quickly they rattled.