Billy didn’t answer the first call, but the second time his cell phone vibrated on the night stand, he reached for it, pushed himself into a sitting position and answered. The room was dark except for a slat of gray light where the curtain fell open slightly, like a loosened bathrobe. Deborah leaned across and… more
Category Archives: Fiction
TWO STORIES
Fiction by Mark KoepkeAfter a night on the phone, I learned two things. First, he was a total mess. Second, it’s extremely difficult to clip your toenails while cradling a cordless handset between your shoulder and neck. Speakerphone seemed too impersonal.… more
Force Equals Mass Times Acceleration
Fiction by Jennifer TodhunterWe talk about death, what it means to lose, but we don’t know how deep a loss can cut yet.… more
Say; Do
Fiction by Marvin ShackelfordClifford wakes and smells it, sickly sweet and wettish, and wonders how come he can’t go to the bathroom and can’t go to the bathroom and then he’s shit his britches. He shifts between the sheets, feels around and takes a peek, discovers he’s okay. But the house reeks. He rolls to the edge of… more
Bogey
Fiction by Zachary LunnOver the last six months Bogey had been to a hundred different VA clinics, but this marked the first time he entered one with the aid of a crowbar.… more
This Is Not A Toy!
Fiction by Kristen M. PloetzIt’s when Mitch brings her to Barry and Minnie’s 14th Annual Grillin’ & Chillin’ Cookout that Barry begins to covet. A childish craving, the kind that happens when another’s new plaything renders yours boring and lame and obsolete. He takes her in from behind mirrored shades. The way she laughs at their dumb jokes, like… more
Animals Maul Me
Fiction by Rebekah MorganSometimes you can watch hearts break in public if you know what you’re lookin’ at. I saw a boy eat spaghetti. He ate like a tiger, like a toad, like a firefly. His eyes bulged out of his head and he held his fork so delicately, it was as if he was scared it might break. … more
All the Birds Scattered
Fiction by Raima Larter“Look here,” he said. “A good hunter knows his weapons.”… more
Losing Will
Fiction by William BurtchThe instant coffee went down like fracking fluid. Sour. Smelled like miners’ socks. Clam chowder, microwaved, and turkey jerky of unknown vintages had been scrounged. Untouched by either of them.
So the duo departed the house. Confronted the dreary morning in silence to try to find the car…
… more
