“…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
Today was a weird day. It was another long day at the office. Piles of paperwork stood a mile high on my desk, and it’d taken hours to even make a dent in it. I couldn’t have been more relieved when the clock finally hit 5:00. I hightailed it out
He won’t stop staring Read More »
I used to have an older sister. Her name was ‘Eileen,’ though she always preferred to be called by her first two initials: ‘E.V,” or “Evie,” as we’d often spell it. Evie was a fine sister—on one day she might have stood up for me against our father’s slurred contempt,
My Sister Never Came Back From Her Film Convention; I’m The Only One Who Remembers Her. Read More »
I remember the day, not too long ago, that I stood in front of my brand new home. After the year-long headache of the over-budget and over-delayed build process, I finally held the keys to the castle of my 11.4-acre Kingdom. The exhaust note from the contractor’s truck finally faded,
New Houses can be Haunted Too, Here’s My Story Read More »
The ball flew towards the boy. With a cry of alarm, the boy dropped to the floor. “Damnit Jimmy, you’re supposed to catch the ball not hide from it!” a fat kid with a glove on one hand cried. A skinny boy with glasses turned from the pitcher’s mound to
I’m no hero – that much will become obvious as you read my account. In fact, I’m a coward…the type who always takes the easiest path. Left to my own devices, I would never reach my full potential. In all honesty I’m an average guy with a dull life, but
I walked the Labyrinth and lived to tell the tale Read More »
My wife had always been a sound sleeper. She never snored, talked in her sleep, nor was she particularly restless. Oftentimes, she’d wake up in the same position she passed out in with barely a wrinkle in the sheets around her. When the singing in the middle of the night
In the middle of nowhere, under a sky of darkness filled with unrecognizable stars, there is a crossroads. Its roads are made of rocks and dirt, and walking along them fills the cold air with dust. Brown brittle grass covers the sides, making it difficult to see where the road
Don’t knock on wood. Ever again. I know that sounds crazy. But trust me. It’s not worth it. It’s not worth it because you might not be ready for what you’re inviting into your life… I definitely wasn’t. About a month ago, I packed up what few possessions I owned
DON’T KNOCK ON WOOD Read More »
My alarm clock went off at 11:30 AM, signaling the start of my day. I got up and made myself a pot of coffee as I normally did and began my day. I lived in a small town, and worked from home, so, given that I got to set my
My heart was already racing when I sat down in the passenger seat of the filthy and foul-smelling land yacht of an ancient Cadillac. The large man who was to be my chauffeur for the night barely spoke a word as we sped from one downtown city road to the
Have you ever heard of urban spelunking, or maybe urban exploration? It’s really awesome, like modern day adventuring. You explore cool old buildings that no one has been in forever. It can be kinda like playing an online MMORPG in that you can run into all sorts of danger. Sometimes
“’sup?” They looked at each other, neither really sure what to say or how to say it. It had been a long time. The whole house felt strange, certainly stranger than it should. It had been maybe five years since he’d set foot inside. Not the longest time but considering
For Old Times Sake Read More »
The lanky man rolled a blunt with one hand, a trick only the most committed stoners can manage. After pinching the two ends together he lit up in his car. Smoke saturated the claustrophobic space, filling the car with a dim haze. He leaned his seat back watching the freshly
