By Tim Law We just thought that the trees were blowing in the wind. None of us knew that in reality, they were waving to us a goodbye. And then, one by one, they up and left us. They did not die, not in the sense that we as humans died and went away. They … Continue reading The Day That All of The Trees Went Away
Living in the Dark
By Matthew McAyeal Previously published in DM du Jour, cc&d, Scarlet Leaf Review, and Necro Magazine Comrade Song Jin-Kyong awoke with a start. Her eyes were open, but there was nothing to see. It was pitch black. Jin-Kyong lay wide awake on her floor mat, not feeling tired at all. But there was no point … Continue reading Living in the Dark
The Diner
By Mark Mitchell Nobody knew who the boy belonged to. No one had noticed who he walked in with or what he was doing there - besides creating a disturbance that is. The diner was the only restaurant open late at night on a Sunday. The rest of the town had closed shop and rolled … Continue reading The Diner
A Tail of Loyalty
By Pedro Ramirez In the quiet town of Willowbrook, which was between rolling hills and fields of golden wheat, there lived a dog named Max. Max was no ordinary dog; he was a golden retriever with eyes that sparkled like two drops of sunshine and a heart full of love. Max's days were filled with … Continue reading A Tail of Loyalty
The Shannike – The Storyteller
By Michael J. Barrington It all happened because of Dair Dockery. If he hadn’t been in Tulsk that day and if the skies hadn’t opened, forcing him to spend the night at his sister’s house and if he hadn’t met the Shannike, then there would be no story to tell. The Shannike looked old. How … Continue reading The Shannike – The Storyteller
Never Alone
By Fred Krug Story originally appeared in "Unexpected Events" Emma Brooks struggled, trying to lift her suitcase onto the first of four steps that led up into the bus. Paul Harris, the driver, saw she was having trouble. He put down his newspaper and called to her as he went to help. “Hey, there, Emma. That bag’s … Continue reading Never Alone
The Diet-Soda Beast
By Pennell Paugh This story tells how two shortcomings of my friend, Jim, collided to create an unlikely solution to a major social problem. First, like a tone-deaf person singing a song, Jim had a sense of smell that managed to be out-of-sniff with the rest of humanity. Let me give you an example. When … Continue reading The Diet-Soda Beast
A Man From the Missouri Breaks
By Leigh-Anne Burley Nobby notices the dust swirling as a posse emerges from Big Sandy, Montana, pursuing a chicken and farm supply bandit. His third-grade classmates talk about a wild man who leaps over the Missouri Breaks with just one bound after devouring a raw chicken. Nobby wonders if the chicken thief has a proper … Continue reading A Man From the Missouri Breaks
monogamy
By Morgan Larkins He’d bought the ring from a mall kiosk for four-hundred dollars in cash. It’d taken him eighteen shifts at the diner to save the cash, some of it going into other envelopes tucked around the double wide for rent and groceries, for the vacation they’d been trying to plan for four months. … Continue reading monogamy
The Boar
By Vicki Smith She could hear it rooting and grunting in the yard almost every night. She was afraid to go outside because it would savage her if she got too close. Well, if she could kill it, it would provide enough food for a whole winter. But how? She didn’t own a gun. “I’ll … Continue reading The Boar
Academy of the Heart And Mind 