Because of Pictures
“But how do you know?” she said—we were walking the embankment. “Because, “I said, “the images sustain.” “The images?” “Well, there’s the comet,” I said, “that comes in from the side. It’s...
View ArticleThe Night Sweeper
Below sooty chimneys and starling flocks, an old man lived in a tumbledown house. Every morning, he swept the night off the city. While all the servants and nobles still slumbered, he gathered his...
View ArticleThe Last Tequila Stinger
Maybe we expected the sun to rise from the west, or the north or the south. Anything seemed possible. A male cardinal’s song, his proclamation of territory and of his own sexual fitness, dominated the...
View ArticleChris Salis
Chris Salis was a bright young thing. He chewed his way through his school as his thirst for knowledge was insatiable. Studious Chris was fit for bursting, with a massive belly-full of learning. By...
View ArticleGetting It Right
“Hey Buddy. Welcome back. Don’t pull that out, we’ll get it out for you in a minute. I know it sucks but just stay with me here, ok? “Where to begin? Look, I know it’s got to be a shock waking up to...
View ArticleSlimeballs
“It just dropped out of the sky.” Mary said as she looked at the flattened green mass at her feet. The mass began to bubble. It blew up into one big bubble. More balls were dropping from the sky. Mary...
View ArticleAndroid Adoption Day
SWF seeking SM, 40-50, human or android. Looks not important. The blinking type flooded John’s inbox. Delete, delete, del—he paused on the last: Android adoption today, new shipment, Middleton Square....
View ArticleA Casualty of My Own War
The scent of copper from spilled blood mingles with flesh baking in the heat of this summer day, inviting hungry prey to feast on the dead. Sweat cakes strands of hair to my forehead as I pull off the...
View ArticleThe Newcomer
I pushed my way through the bodies shuffling about in front of the warehouse where we held our twelve-step meetings. The place was always packed the night after Halloween. Most holidays presented...
View ArticleSpirit of the Beanstalk
I raise my leaves to the sky. And stretch. My stalk surges from the earth: a rod lengthening towards the clouds. My roots are claws, scrabbling through the dirt, reaching for new purchase. I burst...
View ArticleThe Wrong Old Lady
“This is insane,” Marla screams into her phone. “The war is almost over and yet these assholes are still living in my house!” Her sister’s voice squeaks out of the receiver, far more calm than her own....
View ArticleLegionnaire
The game began. Stationed before Bart, at the foot of the couch, the TV sat perched on the entertainment console. The screen flickered, turning blue, as a logo scrolled across the screen, announcing...
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