Short Story by Alexsander Hemon. A nine-year-old Bosnian boy experiences several traumatic events during a family holiday on a Croatian island. The most notable of these, his uncle’s account of the brutal mistreatment and torture of children in Stalin’s prison camps, shatters his innocent view of the world.
Novella by H. G. Wells. A Victorian scientist who invents a time machine and travels over 800,000 years into the future finds a disintegrating world. Mankind has devolved into two subspecies: the care-free, childlike Eloi, and the aggressive, ape-like Morlocks
Short Story by Tim O’Brien. Private First Class Paul Berlin faces three antagonists in this sobering Vietnam War story: the enemy, his fellow soldiers (he will be punished and/or branded as a coward if he fails in his duty), and himself (the ability to control his fear).
Young Adult Story by Ira Sher. A group of children find a man trapped in a well and, despite his pleas, reach an unspoken agreement not to help. There are implications that the narrator’s parents may also have known, and possibly been involved in putting him there.
Short Story by Adam Haslett. After a road trip to visit his son, a mentally ill seventy-three-year-old who refuses to take his medication comes up with an idea for a revolutionary new bicycle. The delusional man’s outrageous behavior promoting this and another idea during the visit leaves his son shattered.