They put up a tall fence covered with black tarp and topped by barbed wire, surrounding Lake Collette at the center of Juniper Valley, so that no one could see what they were doing. Two of the three local cop cars were stationed 24/7 at either end – one to […]
The Cats of Juniper Valley Read More »
I was fourteen when I went into The Tunnels for the first time eleven years ago. It was almost the end of summer vacation, a few weeks before school started. There were five of us, six if you counted Chaz, a junior at Pace Middleton. He was going into his
Their world was white. For as long as they could remember, the world had been white. Perfectly white snow was all around. Even when the snow had ceased falling from the sky, it was still cold. It was always cold. Cold enough that the snow wouldn’t melt, forever collecting on
Their World Was White Read More »
It had been an unseasonably mild November day, and my lounge was flooded with the kind of beautiful caramel light that only seems particular to bright Autumn days. My fiancé, a Sports Coach at a local Secondary School, had left that morning for a tour with his rugby team. “Are
From the Mouths of Lambs Read More »
Most people don’t believe me when I tell them this, but I grew up in haunted house. Well, at least for the first few years of my life, I believed this to be true. My mom and I stayed for about a year in the house until things got too
The House on First Street Read More »
I am not a person who is scared easily. I don’t let fear control me. I have had bullets wiz by my head. I have had rocket-propelled grenades explode less than ten yards from me. I know what it is like to jump from an airplane under gunfire. I know
Night In A Tree Stand Read More »
My mother loved me. From my first memory she was always there, pulling me out of harm’s way. I was a curious child, and was constantly reaching for the hot stove or wandering outside unsupervised. Sometimes the harm she protected me from was my own father. Everything I said and
Tiger can’t change his stripes, tiger can’t change his stripes. That was the motto Jo chanted in her head as she slowly rode over to 7 Brook Street. She found herself circling the block a couple times even after she had located the place, too nervous to act. It was
Knock Twice For Murder Read More »
Coming from the Appalachian foothills of West Virginia, where driving to town was a big to-do, I realized at a young age that people tend to lean toward the supernatural for things that they cannot understand. The women in my family were particularly guilty of this kind of superstition –
Delia jogged into the forest, smiling as she listened to her mother’s cry to be careful. She was going to play with the fairies, they would keep her safe! Running over upturned roots and thick underbrush, Delia’s slipper-clad feet barely touched the ground as she sprinted past the tall Elms,
The flawless white of the perfect snow stretched ambitiously towards the amber horizon. The immense glass walls seemed to amplify the majesty of the Norstu desert. I’d have been struck down by awe if perfection were not now a staple aspect of everyday life. The ochre support panels of the
Publisher’s Note: If you enjoy this story, the author encourages you to read its companion piece, Sniff. My first job was at a 24-hour restaurant called Flavi’s, on Third and Burlington in Westlake. It was a real hole-in-the-wall place, the type where patrons line up beneath the menu board; specializing
JayJay suspected herself of having a mild form of ADHD to balance out her high IQ. It was undiagnosed, if so; she had better things to spend her money on than psychoanalysis. Still, there were the occasional days like today, when her concentration was shot, and whatever was in her
My grandfather was an inventor. All his life he’s be tinkering with something, either taking something that existed and changing it, making it into something brand new (Or at the very least different) or inventing something entirely from spare parts. And while nothing he invented was ever earth shaking it
My Grandfather’s Final Invention Read More »
“Everybody ready?” Our tour guide called out from the front of the bus. All of us let out a collective, “mmhm,” in agreement. “Great, because we’ll be there in ten minutes.” He said back to us. I stared out the window at the beautiful white landscape, it was like something
During the summer of 2014, when I had just turned 17, I left my home in a Northern European country to live with a host family and study at a high school in the province of BC in Western Canada. I unfortunately cannot tell you the name of the village
I’m a bit of a light sleeper, so any noise at all will wake me up. It’s part of the reason I live alone. I don’t want some roommate waking me up in the middle of the night. But because of that night, I wish I had one. I was
It had taken only a few seconds but the old lamp-lit street you were walking on suddenly melts away, and you stand in a crowded thrum of bodies and shouting. Looking around you notice the things around you are far from human. Goblinoid creatures with silver-white flesh, Amphibious bipedal creatures
Melvin Maudley’s Malevolent Market: The Tale of Gregory Stonewall Read More »
There is nothing quite as unsettling as being lost. It’s an oppressive feeling where the world seems to stare down from the sky, maliciously following your sad progress like a kid with a magnifying glass. For Lucile Bradle it was her first encounter with hell on earth. She was sixteen
Shadows of Shallowbrooke – The Singing of Crows Read More »
Even from the far end of the platform, seeing the whole of the lower station at 190th Street, Harold noticed only one other person waiting for the train. Granted, it was quite late, around 2:30am, on (what day was it?) a weeknight, but still, it seemed unusually quiet. Harold could
Within The Carcass Of Lunar Rot I have been sending this distress call repeatedly, and I have been trapped on this moon for what I hope to have only been the past two sidereal days. Can anyone hear this message? Can anyone send help? I do not know what to
All Driven Into The Yearning Arms Of Amobolaa Read More »
It was your standard blue collar work day—in at 9, work for eight hours, out by 5. My dad was on his way home to have a standard blue collar evening when something not-so-standard happened. Driving home from work, his car was hit by some douchebag pickup truck driver on
The Little Wooden Box Read More »
The whole thing started with Davey Stein. His mother, already on her morning chores, had told him that if he was insistent on going outside, to take care, so he was just playing ball and jacks on the front lawn when it happened. Suddenly, a big, green truck drove right
The Ashwood Kids Aren’t Allowed Outside Read More »
I remember the first time I ever saw Grandpa’s hand…I was a little kid at the time, and I didn’t know the story behind it. Nobody did, as I found out. It was…just a skeleton hand he’d picked up somewhere. When I first saw it, of course, I was frightened.
