Fiction Vortex: August 2014

We like to think of ourselves as emergency preparedness instructors. Specialized ones. You see, we don't worry about the stuff that other doomsday prognosticators talk about, (government overthrow, rising sea levels, oil shortages, zombie plague, etc.). Instead, we're trying to give examples of what to do and not do in specific scenarios.
Very specific.
For instance, in this issue, we cover things like coping with a pending alien invasion when you've forgotten to feed your cats, or how to deal with loved ones after a ghostly apparition has implied that you will outlive them all, or even how to deal with the ruthless boss of a child mafia ring in a city of magic users.
Don't you feel more prepared already?
As an added bonus all these instructional scenarios have been written as compelling and fascinating narratives. Because why should the painful and horrific end of all we hold dear be a drudgery to read about?
So lift up your chin, dear reader, and enjoy these stories with the full knowledge that while your neighbor might outrun you in the zombie apocalypse, you'll know how to create adequate defense perimeters during an attack from unidentified flying objects.