EDDIE D MOORE: Irish Stout
Lights pulsed outside, and the bottles behind the bar clamored as a saucer-shaped spacecraft settled in the parking lot. Connor took a long, slow drink of beer as people ran out the back door and then...
View ArticleHEIDI LOBECKER: Tingle
“Can’t you just look at what the mannequins have on and wear that?” asked Joe with disdain. Shelly’s cold sore was back, a tingle on her lip. Her body’s warning system, telling her this guy was bad...
View ArticleJOEY TO: Washing
Anne held up the t-shirt. The stain still hadn’t come off. As she hung it, she heard footsteps. Anne sighed before turning around. He was wearing the same t-shirt, clean but somewhat creased. “I’m…...
View ArticleDAVID McTIGUE: The Wall
I knew this stupid wall would be trouble. We intercepted intelligence to “Scramble.” By the time I got there it was chaos. Absolute carnage. There were militia everywhere, cavalry included. The rank...
View ArticleCANDACE KUBINEC: A Daily Challenge
My kitchen garbage can questions me as I open its lid. “Is that recyclable?” I search the packages of pasta, spinach, for the magic numbered triangle. I no longer have the ability to determine what to...
View ArticlePATRICK MC LOUGHLIN: Cowboy Builders
The architects studied the plans for the umpteenth time. There was something missing, but what was it? Gabriel turned the drawings upside down and then Michael turned them sideways. “This won’t work....
View ArticleDAVID MARK WILLIAMS: Tea Bags
Her father noticed she was still playing with the pile of tea bags. “Shall we put them away now, darling?” “Leave them. They’re my friends.” She had discovered beings that exactly resembled her true...
View ArticleSUSAN GALE WICKES: Innuendo
You could set your watch by Old Man Haney’s trip to the mailbox. That’s how I knew something was wrong Thursday morning. A sense of foreboding set in. I was about to call 911 when I saw the widow...
View ArticleIAIN YOUNG: And Then There Were Four
Thousands of horsemen we once were, occupying an underappreciated metaphysical niche: the ceaseless minor pains, the unending annoyances. Seasonal allergies. Multiple choice tests. Paper cuts....
View ArticleHANNAH WHITEOAK: Hitchhiker
I’d meant to drive the hitchhiker all the way to Chicago, but she smelled bad, so I kicked her out as soon as we reached Lake Michigan. I was sorry I couldn’t take her home, but my fuel economy...
View ArticlePHIL HUFFY: No Deal
Sara dreamed she had been walking Tippy. Pulling up in a Rolls, an eccentric billionaire had stopped to offer one million dollars for him. The offer was declined. Waking, she mused that five million...
View ArticleSANDRA EBEJER: Anger Management
Water cascaded over the lid and onto the grimy tiles. Lisa dabbled her shoes in the puddles as the tension in her shoulders ebbed. Opening the door, she passed by the barista with barely a glance. “The...
View ArticleBARBARA MENDE: Human Failings
When I submit a customer service request online, I’m told to prove I’m not a robot. To do this I have to look at nine images and pick the ones with cars or trees or traffic lights. I always need a few...
View ArticleJOHN H DROMEY: Maternal Point of View
“Am I a monster, Mum?” “Of course not, Franklin. Don’t be silly. Now comb your fur and brush your fangs. Remember to keep sniffing to a minimum and always retract your claws before shaking hands. You...
View ArticleMAJA SCHELER: The Notorious Mrs. Cook
Every Friday morning patrons packed Mrs. Cook’s study. She’d serve them sponge cake, but not without sharing the ingredients first: Sally’s rejection, Mary’s offer, George’s pauperism. Delicious,...
View ArticleEDDIE D MOORE: It’s Time
A paw tapped Dan’s face, and he cracked open an eye. The clock said 4:30. He waved a hand the cat’s direction and grumbled incoherently. The cat softly meowed. Dan mumbled, “Go away,” and fell back...
View ArticleLEX T LINDSAY: Close
I think your atoms and my atoms were pressed close in that dense, hot ball at the beginning of the universe. Then everything expanded, but not us. Maybe that’s why you annoy me so much: because we’ve...
View ArticleRICHARD DAY GORE: His Best Work
A blizzard of term papers settles onto the oak floor around Professor Taylor’s shattered skull. He’d always known a student would kill him. By gun? Knife? Certainly not by writing a thesis so absorbing...
View ArticleISLEY LOGAN: Avoiding the Fates
Scars cover my body. Small and jagged; thick and bumpy. Scattered across my skin, a constellation of pain. They bind me both to the past and to the person I have become. My scars are a constant...
View ArticleANTHONY WILHOIT: Marian the Weather-Maker
Marian fumed at Todd for knocking over her juice. A storm marched in above them at school. Marian remembered a joke, and the cloud disappeared. “Mommy! I can control the weather with my mind,” Marian...
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