To my brother, who told me the entire plot of Alien when I was ten years old: You were my first monster-maker. In the pitch-black of your room, the movie I couldn’t legally see unspooled before me. You carved images in my mind: space, vast and empty, and a transport ship, where something scuttled and grew. That first thrill of fear, an electrifying ball of terror, threatened to punch out of my chest . . . and I was hooked. This is what you gave me: the understanding that some stories are worth the sleepless nights, and the best nightmares are better shared.
K. L. Mill is a voice actor who writes fiction that’s short and a little strange. Like herself. linktr.ee/K_L_Mill “First Contact” is the winner of our FRAUGHT FIRSTS contest, part of our 2026 Micromemoir Marathon.