That’s what we called it. The idiot mile. We used to think it sounded cool, but the adults talked about it and hyped it up so much that we just got a bit sick of the idea, and started calling it that. I grew up in a small village, secluded […]
I don’t have much time. It may be monitoring everything.My name is Dr. Clara Culpa, but I was part of a black-budget military operation called Project Deep Red. It was supposed to be a revolutionary training program: a full neural-immersion system to push soldiers past their psychological limits using simulated
Read part one here “Hey Pat check this out!” Kyle exclaimed.We had just gotten back to Kyle’s house, and he was already checking his live stream. Somehow, I’d let him talk me into streaming our little adventure, though by now I’ve come to know it as a personal quest. It
After the night I just had, I do not know whether I should call the cops, roll up in a ball and cry myself to sleep, or call my therapist. I am still trying to decide the best course of action. I already talked to my friend Kyle, and we
You’ve heard of the Mandela Effect, right? It’s that weird phenomenon where a bunch of people collectively misremember something. Like how some people swear up and down that the Monopoly Man used to have a monocle. (He didn’t.) Or how others vividly recall Ed McMahon handing out big checks for
My family has an odd history of tragedy—at least, that’s what my grandma would always say.“It comes in waves; it comes when it wants to,” she would ominously say, but we all knew she was superstitious and generally odd. According to my mom, who has a much-strained relationship with her,
It screams when it doesn’t whisper Read More »
The Nevada heat rippled off the asphalt, distorting the long, empty road ahead. I wiped sweat from my brow and adjusted the camera strap around my neck, squinting at the horizon. No sign of the fox. No sign of anything, really. I should’ve been writing a real story—something that actually
If You Ever Stop in Ashbrook, Don’t Ask About the Children Read More »
Every flashlight in Moreau Bay scoured the forest for my missing wife, Jemma. All except his. His light pointed to the open water and lit a path to his strange little island about a kilometer from the coast. Two weeks passed with no signs of her and all I thought
I Went Undercover to a Body Farm Read More »
The Advertisement“Lookout wanted. For more information, call 1-800-200-2230” My eyes scanned the sentence thoroughly. The ad intrigued me, I never was one meant for city life. However, for the past four years that’s exactly what my life had been. Just another cog in the machine, wasting away at a desk
Mike and his mother Sarah lived in a sharply white two-story house about eight miles from the city and half a mile away from a red diner which worked throughout the week and the weekend. The house was adjacent to naught else but the road and the forest. Mike was
The Man in the Attic Read More »
”They are down there in the water. I saw several glimpses of bright yellow popping up from and then retreating down below the surface, only to pop up again in a rhythmic fashion. Like a dance routine. Brightly yellow and deadly. Are they mocking us? The rotting, sweet stench of
The bright yellow terror Read More »
When I first moved out on my own, my mom handed me a small, weathered recipe book. Its cover was cracked and faded, the pages yellowed with age. She held it out to me with both hands, her expression soft and serious. “Take care of this,” she said, her voice
All things have a soul, from the stray rats that scamper through the streets to the swaying lanterns stifled by smog. Even the city itself is well and truly alive. Yet, to a foreigner like Edward, such wisdom was a mystery, and not one he had any interest in until
The Sixth Building Read More »
“You think you can win on talent alone? You don’t have enough talent to win on talent alone.” – Kurt Russell, “Miracle” * * * “WHERE’S MY STORY?” “I don’t have it yet. Sorry. I’ll send it soon.” “Have you even started?” “Yeah. I’ll get right on it.” “You’d better.”
Talent, Right on Time Read More »
The room had a strange frozen quality to it. What the room held did not readily explain it. There was a desk and two chairs, and three bookshelves that rose high and disappeared into gloom. A fabulously diverse array of books filled the shelves; but their colours seemed faded, like
“Mmm…” my hand slid over to my phone, attempting to tap the “dismiss” tab as the alarm blared in my apartment room. After missing it twice, I sat up and glared at the phone. My heart spiked. “Five-twenty-five!” I shrieked, jumping into the air and sprinting over to the shower.
HELLO. My name is Max Regnier. My story begins at the end – if there is an end. I’ve been consigned to the fourth circle of Hell. If you’ve ever read Dante’s “Inferno,” or even if not, you might remember that it punishes greed. Misers and spenders toil on opposite
“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
A MAN’S HOME is his castle. That’s what they say. Do you know what a castle is? A fortress that’s supposed to be impenetrable. It’s my job to penetrate them. Yeah, I’m a burglar. I challenge you to judge me on that fact alone. How many of you have ever
HAVE YOU EVER bargained with a ghost? We’re going to. We’re not supposed to be here, but none of us could resist the chance to sneak into the Durgee House on Halloween. At 3 AM, no less. It helps that Alex’s father is the caretaker. All Alex had to do
Lives in the Balance Read More »
“Are you ok!?” Rachel yelled out as she ran toward me through the storm, trying not to laugh. It figures that moving day would find lightning, thunder, and rain attacking us from above, but it had been completely clear when we headed this way with a truckload of all our
The Door in the Attic Floor Read More »
Mabel Crudup basked in the May sunshine as she worked in her garden. Grinning, she inhaled the fresh scent of soil mixed with last night’s rain. Days like this were made for going outdoors and getting one’s hands dirty. Mabel stabbed the tip of her trowel into the ground, digging
What the Left Eye Sees Read More »
There was nothing special about that morning. The sun was warm, and the breeze was cool, one of the first hints that spring was here to stay. It started off as a simple thought, just an idea. But I never could have imagined what that idea was capable of causing.
Behind the Curtain Read More »
Liam looked down, shaking as he glared at the blood encrusted on his hands. It was not his own. The infernos of the destruction before him were nailed into his brain. He felt lost and confused. He did not mean to do it; he was just tired of the pain
