I had been friends on Facebook with a girl for many years. We hardly talked but it was always fun to see her content. Her posts would center around her trips to the beach, which was a weekend ritual. I won’t lie, she was pretty—no, wait, beautiful. Okay, I was […]
My Strange Ability Read More »
The buzzing of my phone pulled my eyes away from the road. An image of a smirking dark haired woman and the words HeartBreaker filled the phone’s screen. I thought about answering it and screaming at her to call Dylan. “He’ll keep you warm at night while I’m working. Dylan
There was once a story my mother used to tell me, in hopes I wouldn’t turn out like my father. “Treat your children right, Tommy or the Windwhisper will come to punish you.” A boogeyman from my childhood, something I thought was just a myth, turned out to be quite
“Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”– Friedrich Nietzsche There’s something looking at me in the corner of my room. I throw one bleary half-opened eye toward my ancient alarm clock in an attempt to
Terror in the mind of the Abyss Read More »
All she wanted was to enjoy some soup while reading her new book; she didn’t prepare anything else, just plain tomato soup. She went to “drink” her soup when she felt something solid and moving in her mouth. She felt little, hairy legs brushing up against her gums and dancing
“Why aren’t you writing?” “I’m getting there. I just, um, I just haven’t figured out a good starting point yet.” “Excuses…” “I’m not making excuses! You want this done right, don’t you?” “I want it done! Period!” “You can’t rush the process, man. It’s not as if writing your story
Writer’s Block is a Bitch Read More »
When she first brought home the iron skillet, no one questioned her sudden culinaryskills. Except for maybe, her mother. “Honestly Katrina, I don’t understand what’s gotten into you. I’ve never seen you express one wit of interest in food.” It was also her mother who commented on her weight. “Honestly
The Transfiguration of Consumption Read More »
“I want you to know I’m not crazy. What I tell you in this office today is just to clear my head so I can get past all the damn nightmares. Past the demons” Joshua stated. Dr. Hugh listened but did not acknowledge as he read over the man’s handwritten
The man in the window Read More »
Driving late at night was never something I enjoyed. There were too many variables that could go wrong. A headlight could go out, I could get lost, maybe even fall asleep at the wheel, and worst of all break down with no one else awake to help fix the car.
“This shit always happens. First no service, and now no food,” Teresa said, brow furrowed and pointing across the campfire before burying her face into her hands. “It’s not my fault! I swear!” David yelled, raising his arms with his palms facing forward. “I know this looks bad but I
We’re all a little weird Read More »
My family and I live on a farm in the middle of nowhere. When I say “middle of nowhere” I mean it literally. There are no signs of civilization for miles around. Me, and my wife, Kathrine, wanted a safe place to raise our son. We had previously lived in
The Red Eyed Intruder Read More »
The tears are impossible to hold back as she watches this… this thing, eat away at all the corpses. The corpses of her co-pilots. Her… closest friends. With clawed, kaiju sized hands, it shovels their remains into its gaping maw, not stopping even for a second. For the past few
Under This Thing’s Maw Read More »
“Hi, D”. The voice was familiar, perhaps even too familiar for her liking. As she rolled her eyes he briskly walked over to her desk, almost as if her eyes were a hook and she’d caught the most annoying fish amongst the sea of miserable sods in the precinct. “I
“…so in conclusion: the classic gray aliens do exist. As a fellow critical thinker, I’m sure you see I’ve made an excellent case,” Maury said, grinning. Things like Maury’s conspiracy theories were one of the reasons I was going on vacation. I needed a break from things like this. I’ve
I’m never going on a cruise again Read More »
Hell is real. The only people who’ll try to convince you of this are street preachers and Jehovah’s Witnesses. And I get that, I really do. Their belief in themselves and their cause is almost admirable. Almost. The bigotry and fundamentalism kind of turns me off the idea. Plus, you
The time was 12:55pm, Friday August 4th, 2028. It was a hot day in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as all days are in the middle of Summer. That didn’t stop the party though. Legions of people were celebrating this momentous occasion. The wealthy chase It, while the less fortunate wait in anticipation
Persephone Syndrome Read More »
The Clements Agricultural Space Crew, planting division, was ready for launch. Rex and Silas were strapped in tight. The weather was clear, and all systems go. The germ rate of the seed was 99.9 percent — excellent numbers. The redesigned plot planter had been field-tested in the best simulation environment
Ever since I was a small child, we were never allowed in a certain section of my grandparents’ home. My sister and I were told that it was just a large library full of books we would find too boring or long to find interesting and that the shelves were
Grandfather’s Library Read More »
Have you ever felt your whole existence pivot around a single idea? An idea that starts as nothing, a mere passing thought, one of thousands experienced every day. An idea that returns to your stream of consciousness with increasing frequency. You think it’ll fade with time, as everything eventually does.
The Call of Two Waterslides Read More »
The bell in the antique grandfather clock of the rec room of the psych ward struck twelve. It was time for your appointment. That was good. You actually liked your visits with Dr. Ophelia (officially, she was Dr. Ophelia Garten, but she preferred “Dr. Ophelia”). She was a very attentive
For the past five years, it’s just been Ian and me. My wife’s pregnancy with him wasn’t easy. There were a number of scares and close calls due to health issues that she had experienced all her life. Every doctor she had ever been to had told her that she
I’m writing this story as a warning, if you ever find a floppy disk with the words The Maze written on it in marker, I implore you to throw it away. Don’t insert it and certainly don’t run it. It all started a few months ago. My friend Nick’s father
I’ll be honest, I’m not much of a family man. My career kept me away from my family for most of my daughters childhood, and once my wife died-absentee would be a generous description of me. Emotionally that is. It had been so sudden, and the love of my life,
My daughter was attacked on FaceTime Read More »
[Auctioneer] Greetings! Welcome to the Sweet Mercy Web Auction! I hope everyone is having a wonderful night – or day, pending your time zone. Thank you for joining us! Please, do not be alarmed by our costumes – it’s important to conceal our identities in order to continue helping good
