October 3rd The police are calling it a “behavioral crisis cluster,” because they don’t have a better word for a statistical impossibility.It landed on my desk at the Federal Center for Disease Control this morning. I’ve spent fifteen years as a senior epidemiologist dealing with outbreaks that make people bleed, […]
Where the World Gets Quiet Read More »
My thumb repeatedly pressed into the remote, changing the channels on the television. The motion was almost pointless as I unconsciously knew that I’d never land on a channel that could hold my attention. I had already seen all the movies I wanted to see and watched the same commercials
The Snow Falls on Deaf Ears Read More »
I do not tell this story to people anymore because nobody believes the story about the fire lookout tower. Even the friends who were with me that night at the fire lookout tower refuse to talk about what happened at the fire lookout tower. It is one of those things
The Last Fire Watcher Read More »
The bulb hung from a wire that didn’t seem to lead anywhere. Above it, darkness. Below, a circle of yellow light, and inside it, a man on his knees, hands braced against the floor, his chest rising and falling as if he had been running his whole life. Maybe he
The campfire crackled, sending orange sparks up into the heavy canopy of pines. The night was thick and dark, smelling of pine needles, river mud, and burnt marshmallows. Five boys sat on rotting log benches, huddled close to the heat. They were deep in the woods at Camp Whispering Shadows—a
The Best Father’s Day Catch Read More »
There are very few opportunities to share an experience as absurd as mine. And who would believe it was not just another one of the fantasy stories I usually write? Not even psychologists are open-minded enough to listen to such an irrational confession. I hope that some of you, at
The sky had been normal again for a good amount of time, but Jacob still caught people looking up at it sometimes, just checking to make sure it hadn’t gone crimson again. He had watched the broadcast like everyone else. Sitting in his apartment in Chicago, he was eating reheated
A Prophet Of The Truth Read More »
Subject: Internal Memo, Project “LULLABY” (Classified Level 5)Source: Leaked from servers of Stellar Streaming, 3 hours before their global shutdown. TO: Content Acquisition & AI Ethics BoardFROM: Dr. Aris Thorne, Algorithmic PsychologyRE: The “Lullaby Loop” – Immediate Termination Required I am writing this against direct orders. In 48 hours, Stellar
The Final Optimization Read More »
The first tooth arrived in the heart of a pear. Years later, whenever Adeline tried to explain everything that had happened, she always found herself returning to that afternoon, though she knew the true beginning might have been much earlier. Perhaps it began in the graveyard behind her grandmother’s house,
The Girl Who Kept Finding Teeth Read More »
For around three years, I worked as a freelance school caretaker across the UK. Whenever a school was short-staffed or waiting to hire a permanent caretaker, I’d be sent in to cover the role. Some assignments lasted a few days. Others lasted several months. Once a permanent replacement was hired,
The one who writes back Read More »
I keep hearing them. The Whispers. The voices deep within people’s minds, speaking their true thoughts. I don’t really know when this started. I remember one day just waking up, and hearing the whispers.God he’s so annoying. Doesn’t he ever shut up?Why the hell doesn’t this kid speak? Is there
The leather chair in Dr. Mitchell’s office always squeaked when I shifted my weight. I stared at the geometric patterns on his rug, trying to find the words. “It’s the same dream, Dr. Mitchell.” I said, my voice barely a whisper. “Every single night. It always starts the same way.”
The Oakridge Field Trip Read More »
I work for the county sheriff’s office up in NorCal. I received a call in the predawn hours on May the 23rd, 2020 telling me to investigate the collapse of a residence on the street I grew up on. It was hardly surprising to see my friend’s house had gone
The Grimoire of Leonard Hopkins Read More »
It’s been about seven months since I signed my year long lease for this shithole apartment. I don’t think I’ll be making it another five months. I’m not sure if I’ll even make it another night. My cheapness might’ve cost me my life. I was going to make this a
I Found an Extra Light Switch in My Apartment Read More »
My name is Joseph. I’m a 25-year-old living in Wisconsin. Around three years ago, when I was about to turn 22, I had a free evening after work and texted my two best friends, Ben and Max, to see if they wanted to play something. We started pretty late, around
Something is Imitating My Friends Read More »
According to the official police reports, there was never a rescue team searching Blackridge Forest the night my friends disappeared. No park rangers. No volunteers. No emergency dispatch calls. Nothing. But something found us out there. And it knew exactly how humans were supposed to look. My name is Jason
I Followed the Wrong Rescue Team in Blackridge Forest Read More »
They call her the queen of mischief at King City High School—a title she earned with little effort. No one matched her audacious, rule-breaking nature. Fear held everyone back, for good reason. She didn’t dread getting caught, being exposed, or facing what terrified others. The absence of fear was what
Don’t Trust the Ones Who Protect You Read More »
I — THE GREAT AWAKENING HAS ARRIVED “Where do you live, man?” I asked, reaching out to grab the Skol can left by the window. “Cuiabá.” “Man… that’s a beautiful city.” “You’ve been there?” “Yeah. Made a lot of deliveries in the capital.” “So why do you want to go
I am certain that my fascination with the gone and forgotten stems from my own fear of impermanence. Leaving something behind when I am gone is of utmost importance to me, so I have dedicated my life to preserving and sharing the legacies and lives of others who have passed.
Mr Conrad’s Final Tale Read More »
The highway above groaned with morning traffic, and Greg woke to it the way most people wake to an alarm, grudgingly and with his whole body fighting the process. His tent was a single-person backpacking model with a broken zipper, held shut with a braid of zip ties he’d threaded
A Needle In The Vein Read More »
I have been lucky enough to have lived a relatively full life. I have travelled far and wide – from the rainy cobbled streets of London to the jagged peaks of northern Thailand. Along the way, I made many friends and enjoyed careless flings with temporary lovers before they all
I Found My Friend in the Woods Read More »
The fluorescent hum was the first thing to burrow into John’s skull. It wasn’t just a sound; it was a physical sensation, a microscopic vibration against the membrane of his eardrum that signaled the end of a fourteen-hour shift. The Sterling-Hallows Financial Tower was a monolith of glass and steel,
The Concrete Helix Read More »
It was summer 1997 when I moved to Evansville, Colorado. It was supposed to be a pit stop, a cheap place along my route, hopefully to make some money to take me the rest of the way to California. I had some friends living in San Francisco that I’d planned
I had not known initially what to make of the pile of mucus and flesh that befell my doorstep as winter arrived. Snow had yet to begin, but cutting gusts of frigid air whalloped my front door to be let in, only allowed to when the mail went too long
