CRYSTAL MOORE: By the Looks of Things
Without a whimper or a whine, the poodle sits through the primping and preening. Clip, snip go the nails. Fluff, puff goes the hair. At last, the pooch’s owner puts down the brush. “Let’s win this...
View ArticleVIRGINIO ROTA: The Lie
“My favourite whisky’s Chivas Regal,” the man said proudly. The bartender silently poured him a glass. The man swallowed it. “Great taste!” he said, and went away. As usual, the bartender quickly...
View ArticleDENNY E MARSHALL: Fishing
Ed is fishing a few miles off the coast of Florida. Suddenly a U.F.O. appears above him. A thin wire rope descends from the flying saucer and wraps around Ed and pulls him up. Moments later, he is...
View ArticleL SOVIERO: It’s Official
At 1:37 PM, Bigfoot was spotted in the dairy aisle of a supermarket holding a tub of organic yogurt as he weighed its pros and cons. After careful examination of his coupons, he decided to go with the...
View ArticlePERRY McDAID: Alien Organ Syndrome
“We have no choice,” the captain sighed as he initiated the release of the toxin. “He was getting too curious.” The biologist’s eyes widened slightly as he died. The organic craft he had always...
View ArticleSARA: Catastrophe
The smoke was so thick that I couldn’t breathe. Pieces of metal were everywhere. The room was covered in red liquid. I looked at my hands and screamed with terror. My whole body was aching. I had never...
View ArticleJOE ROSENBERGER: Not One More Word
It is impossible to tell my story in exactly fifty words. Forty-nine? Yes! Fifty-one? Easily! See, as a young man growing up in Middletown, I witnessed a murder. They did not see me, but I saw them,...
View ArticleCHRISTOPHER GANNON: A Conversation Over Harold
ABIGAIL: What happened to Harold? BEATRIX: He turned into a coffee table. ABIGAIL: He doesn’t really match the decor of your living room. BEATRIX: He never really had any use in this life. ABIGAIL: At...
View ArticleDAVID WING: Hair Today
News from the world of science today; Top researchers at Cambridge University declared they have successfully identified the gene for male pattern baldness. In other news, riots broke out today at...
View ArticleROGER MILLER: King’s Folly
King came running, tail wagging, the carcass of the neighbor’s bunny dangling from his mouth. Quickly, Jonah stuffed it back in the pen beside the neighbor’s patio. When the neighbors returned from...
View ArticleCS JOHNSON: The Honorable Cat Judge
My cat stirred from her nap, stretching herself awake. She walked over and jumped onto the couch beside me. She gazed at me, her eyes apathetic, as she sat there. Judging me. Frowning, I glared back at...
View ArticleJEFF HOLLAND: You Are Standing in My Moonlight
The robots found the poet sleeping in an abandoned car. “You are charged with public drunkenness, tax evasion, and vagrancy. Surrender immediately.” “I will, so long as you answer this question. Why...
View ArticleGW LOVVORN: Teen Life
Karen hated her life. Most teenagers do, but she thought hers was really crappy. The neighbors were loud. Her neighborhood smelled terrible and seemed to be dissolving around her. Her parents had...
View ArticleNICK PULLEN: Real Men Took It Stoically
Real men took it stoically. Others disgraced themselves, behaving like children while the children themselves lay devastated. Women wept silently or became hysterical. Someone called for guns. Another...
View ArticleBILL WATERS: A Taste of Fiction
“I did it! I wrote a story in exactly 50 words!” “Really?” Maxwell snatched the slip of paper from my hand. Crumpling it up, he shoved it into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “You… You ate my story!”...
View ArticleOL HUMPHREYS: Thumbs vs. Pacifiers
“Thumb sucking can cause dry, irritable skin. Using a pacifier is a much healthier choice.” “No. Pacifiers can cause speech impediments in children. Sucking thumbs is better.” “Pacifiers can eventually...
View ArticleRENEE BRADSHAW: Spiders
“Don’t stand too close to the counter, or a spider might come bite your toe,” she tells me as I get ready to wash the dishes. “Are you serious?” She stops and gets that real hard thinking look in her...
View ArticleDAVE COX: The Last One
I transferred the hook to her clumsy hand, my heart pounding in my chest. The lights in the room seemed more sinister reflected in the red glass. Maybe I shouldn’t have entrusted such a delicate...
View ArticleJOHN H DROMEY: Another One Bites the Dust
The vampire stood dead still, just short of his old flame’s threshold. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?” he asked, glancing anxiously at the false dawn. “No,” she said. She didn’t wait to see him...
View ArticleKENNETH HAMNER: Toothbrush, Toothbrush, Toothbrush
and then they quit their jobs and burned their McMansion to the ground. Holding hands, their smiles disappeared as she mentioned they had no toothbrushes. He got a job first. They purchased the...
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