Fiction – Year V – Number 40 – September 2020

Something About July There's something about July here in the Wickenburg valley, something about the warm desert air it brings in sends the town folks into a frenzy. Of course, they themselves don’t notice it....

Chuck’s Diner by Noah Walker The sizzling, smoking sound of the grill combined with the crackling of the meat as Chuck tossed it over or pressed against it with a well-practiced hand, accompanied by otherwise blissful...

FIREBREAK John Tavares When Spirit called the reception desk for the results of blood tests, Dr. Windier insisted on a follow-up appointment at the clinic. The locum doctor said she couldn’t reveal the results of her...

DOJOJI  By David Massey             I am pacing, like a wild animal in a cage, waiting for Mr. Mason.  He will be carrying a gun, and I expect to die and my whole family, too.  And...

Malcolm at Midlife It had been two months, which was longer than usual. She was prettier than some of the others, more interesting. Cassandra. Even her name was interesting. It was more than that, though–she...

                              Conjured                                                             Jamie shivered, and pulled the covers closer around himself. He escaped into his book and illuminated every word with a flashlight. The sounds in the rest of the house...

TEX MOSTLY        It was August, and it was hot. Mom moved my older brother Hank and me from a Lowell triple-decker apartment to our father’s farm hidden deep in the New England woods. With...

The Beginning of an End After returning the pamphlet to where it had lain, Johan shouldered on his jacket, slumped down onto the porch and pulled on his leather shoes – tying the final knot,...