TERRIBLE BLUE by Peter Hoppock
TERRIBLE BLUEBy Peter Hoppock The pure blue sky peals in Barton’s ears like a single note from a church organ; harsh and unrelenting enough to shatter the thick glass of the picture window of his...
THE ELEVENTH INCIDENT by Bruce A. Heap
THE ELEVENTH INCIDENTby Bruce A. Heap
Writers as we know are an odd lot. Rarely are they satisfied with a work and when they are, they are at the whim of the reader who may...
THE BLACK DEATH OF HAPPY HAVEN by A. Elizabeth Herting
THE BLACK DEATH OF HAPPY HAVENby A. Elizabeth Herting
The residents of the Happy Haven Retirement Community had no idea where the cat came from, just that he had been living there for as long...
WILD THINGS by Christina Kapp
WILD THINGSBy Christina Kapp
Nana’s body had been outside for upwards of fifteen hours and was partially frozen before anyone found her. Her discovery might have taken even longer, but one of her ponies pushed...
NEW YORK SOUVENIR by Luke Bandy
NEW YORK SOUVENIRby Luke Bandy
Fred held the copper coin in his fingertips. Its color almost matched his hair and its value matched how he felt about himself. He tightened a grip on the penny...
ALWAYS LOVE by Brandon Abbott
ALWAYS LOVEby Brandon Abbott
The old man sat alone and watched the family from a distance. If they noticed, they didn't seem to care. Four of them picnicked in the center of the park, beneath...
TRYING AGAIN by Fran Turner
TRYING AGAINby Fran Turner
Marcella remembers the shotgun pointed at her face. Like the robber’s third eye, hard and filled with a dull smolder. First, the terror paralyzed her, cold air trapped in her lungs.“Don’t...
THE INTERVIEW by Ken Puddicombe
INTERVIEWby Ken Puddicombe
As I ate my fried rice, I wondered if I should engage him in conversation. Or, would he think I was intruding?I tried breaking the ice. “Are you on lunch?”He wore no...
CAGE by Joshua Sastre
CAGEby Joshua Sastre
My mother stares at me through the wire mesh, not moving, breathing evenly. Taking notes in pencil, I ask her about my childhood, her previous marriage to my father and her current...
THE BLUE HAT by Linda Juliano
THE BLUE HATby Linda Juliano
Allison dragged fear and exhaustion behind her like a steer straining against a yoke as she followed the dirt path around one of several man-made lakes in Golden Gate Park....