The elderly man clutched the phone next to his ear, his face a mask of concern. “How long is he going to be there?” he asked, his voice low to avoid drawing attention from the patrons wandering into the nightclub. He listened, then said “How’s he holding up?” A pause, […]
“Biiip,” echoed the machine in the empty back room by the door as my employee identification card swiped it. “Clocked out: 10:17 p.m. Have a good evening, Anthony.” It was a long walk to my car. The restaurant I worked at was right on the beach—I mean, like, basically on
It appeared just after sunset, as darkness began to permeate the woods around my family’s hunting cabin. I wouldn’t have seen it in time if it weren’t for the silver beams emanating from the full moon, which streamed into the clearing around the cabin and bathed the ground in their
Beneath the Veil of Shadow Read More »
It was a stormy night on Welkes Street. The street sign creaked back and forth as the wind blew past it. Heavy rain water flowed into drains on every corner as debris from trees was picked up and whisked away. Toby Forest sat on his bed, watching the rain beat
The Ghost of Levi Johnson Read More »
I was close to my pops and it hit me hard when he passed. I want to say this before I go any further. He was always good to me and I only have the fondest memories of our time together. Days in the park, playing catch, fishing trips…You know
My grandfather contacted me from the afterlife. It’s not what you think. Read More »
Read part one here I still don’t know how we got here. It doesn’t feel real. This is like a fever dream. How in the hell did Eric Hastings III bag an Oscar nomination? Okay, let’s back up. My name is Valerie Lewis, but you already knew that. I’ve told
Assistant to Mister Hastings: The Academy Awards Read More »
Two years after his passing, my husband’s grave still remained adorned with jewelry and flowers. Sasaki Tomonaga’s final resting place had become so decorated, one may believe him to be a noble instead of a lowly gokenin. He will always and forever be remembered for protecting our village from utter
The Horrors of Kiyohime Read More »
My name is Omar Sanchez and I’m a 17-year-old high school student living in a small town in rural West Virginia. My life over the last number of years was unextraordinary and until recently I considered myself a normal American teenager. Although I’m an only child, I grew up in
The pit, the abyss, it was always there. At least, as far as I can remember. The first time I heard its call, it was subtle, almost unnoticeable. My mother was reading her pick-and-choose verses from the book, looking back up at me after each reading with an expectant look
Those of a certain age who grew up in the UK will remember the old-style, red phone boxes, emblazoned with the Royal Crown and with the motif ‘Telephone’ written above their glass panelled swing doors. In fact, you’ve probably seen photographs of these booths which are regarded as quintessentially British,
Toby’s JournalEntry 1April 5th, 1990 So, I asked my daddy to buy me this journal. He’s always been a great father, even though he isn’t the same after my mom died. He was always big on teaching me how to write, and stuff. He said words are the most important
The Bridge Outside My Bedroom Window Read More »
I called to her through the darkness and the shadow and the void and on and on, and what I got back was beyond horror. I called to my daughter, once young and free, suddenly shrouded in a blackness that extended further than sight. Things echoed back from the void.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Janowska/Yanivsky was an actual concentration camp in Ukraine during WWII. Its commandant Fritz Gebauer, AKA “the Choker,” and his torture methods were also real. As are the books I mention here. All else is fictional. Perhaps they [both the Aztecs and the Nazis] were mistaken altogether. Or perhaps
God’s Accursed Share Read More »
“You never let me have anything or go anywhere or do what I want! I always have to follow your stupid rules! You don’t even know what it’s like to be a kid anymore. They didn’t even HAVE cell phones when you were 13!” Janie yelled, stomping up the steps
Winter is a brutal child of mother nature. It acts like a tyrant as it lays siege all over the land, claiming multiple casualties in its wake. That’s why many animals run in fear for their lives. They will burrow underneath the earth and sleep until the cold has left,
The Spider and the Orange Read More »
I inched forward on my belly, trying not to inhale any more of the musty, stagnant air than necessary. The darkness was so complete that it snuffed out the frail, yellow beam of my Dollar General flashlight just a couple of feet in front of me. Something skittered to my
In the Event of My Death Read More »
A child’s laughter bubbled in the air. A little girl was lost in play, twirling and dancing with a toy bear swinging from her grasp when she unknowingly wandered out onto the street. The whine of the breaks led in a grating shriek; it was all that she would hear
Every grave holds a person, their life, and their legacy. It reminds you that you have only one shot at this life, and to live it to the fullest, but is this true? I have experienced something in my life that most people haven’t; it’s so bizarre that even you
The fear has been with me for as long as I can remember. I don’t know if I was born scared, or whether the fear first came to me during my childhood. Nature or nurture? Or perhaps it’s something deeper and more difficult to comprehend. In a way, it doesn’t
If I timed the 911 call just right, the paramedics could revive me before I kicked the bucket for good. At least, that was the hope. Any number of things could go wrong, especially when it came to asphyxiation. I didn’t want to die, per se; I just needed a
Heaven Is Not a Friendly Place Read More »
A few years back, I worked as a nurse in the geriatric unit of the hospital in my hometown. There was one old woman there with pale blue eyes whose mind was still fantastically sharp, and her desire to socialize and make new friends set her apart from most others
No Eyes, No Tongue, No Fingertips Read More »
The red lights are only making the pain worse. It is an immense, earth-shattering pain, in my midsection and in my head. I try to move, but I can’t; I try to speak, but I can’t do that either. It hurts too much, and my voice obeys me no more
What Happens When the Stars Go Out Read More »
I remember Alice. It was the summer of 2004 when the two of us first met. I’d just started at university. I was a dorky, somewhat awkward-looking girl, too skinny, too flat-chested and with hair that was basically uncontrollable. I was neither particularly athletic or the first one to come
In the spring of 1953, when I was nine years old I saw my brother die. I’ll remember that day for the rest of my life. The memory has never left me and it never will. Part of it is the trauma, the slow, insidious realization that he was gone, that crept into my life afterward. But there is more to it that I don’t talk about. I’ve held onto it for years, and I don’t want to hold onto it any longer.
