It all started about twelve years ago, when Yuki and I were climbing in the Colorado mountains, near the Grizzly Peaks. It was summer, and the snow was melting in a slow but determined fashion, creating a warm, if not misty, view of the valleys below us. The mists billowed …
If You Find An Old Temple In The Grizzly Peaks, Leave It Alone! Read More »
When I turned sixteen, my Dad gave me a book. The leather cover was so old and worn that I couldn’t even read the title. “This was given to me by your grandpa,” he said. “Forgot to go out and get you something, so I thought I’d just give you …
My name is Katherine Mallory. I’m a police detective with the Chicago PD’s Criminal Intelligence Unit, the CIU. I usually handle your run-of-the-mill cases: Drug trafficking, black markets, and Kingpins of hidden syndicates; these were my jurisdiction. Admittedly, our networks haven’t been as stacked lately, crime was unusually low. That …
“Deputies have confirmed that accused spree killer Jason Urban was transferred to the Akron Detention Center in the dead of night two days ago and has been held there in segregation in a highly secure wing of the prison since then. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a representative of the …
…I give up.…This is my eighth day in quarantine. More like solitary confinement, because I have lost track of time and I live alone in a bachelor apartment. I am stuck ordering groceries online, getting food delivery—even succumbed to having my brother deliver some wine for me to get me …
It did not dawn on me for an eternity that it was my fault it happened. It seemed unconnected, unimportant, something not even to waste my lonely time to think about. Now it is the only thing I can think about because I am reminded every time I see him. …
For months, I caught glimpses of Claira from the safety of my cubical. So beautiful, faultless. Through innocent eavesdropping and pattern recall, I unknowingly learned almost every detail of her life; when she had lunch, who her friends were, and where she would be at any given moment of the …
Jobs come and go. That’s part of the beauty of living in America – you can change jobs freely if you aren’t happy. It’s a luxury not everyone in the world has. For years and years, my life was consumed by business – retail, specifically. It wasn’t my plan…I sort …
“The water is perfect at this time of night.” Shana lifted her long, white dress over her thin shoulders and dipped under the cool depths of Lake Diamond. “Don’t be such a baby, Freeman. We didn’t come out here at two AM for nothing.“ She smiled when she spoke. I …
There I was, scratching my ninth scratch-off ticket in a row at my local convenience store. My eyes widened with hope, but also sank in with the anticipation of disappointment. The other eight representations of my gambling fuel rested in pieces inside the store’s waste bin. Revealing each number using …
We were at the bar for Connor’s twenty-second birthday when the world first began to fall apart. It started with an absurdly small detail; I ordered two Blue Moons for us like always, but he picked the orange slice off the rim of his glass with a frown. I looked …
Dating sucks as an adult. The only way to meet new people is either on the internet or in a bar, and I’m not comfortable trying to start a relationship with someone I’ve come across in either of those scenarios. At 28 years old, not being romantically interested in any …
Every city claims to have them, and every city will tell you that theirs is the best. Most larger places will lay claim to having quite a few. I am of course speaking of secret bars. The kind of bars with no name out front, where a secret password is …
When I joined the case at 47 County Street, I didn’t know what to expect. As a social worker, I see all kinds of screwed up things from child abuse, to children abusing their parents. Yet, when I got the reports from that household, I wasn’t expecting much. The initial …
The swirl of voices awoke Jared from his troubled sleep. Vera, his wife, was disturbed only by his tossing and turning, she couldn’t hear the voices. They were in his head. A senseless drone of overlapping whispers, faint but present, troubled his mind. He could discern no sense or message, …
There are few left alive who remember the Song and Dance Man. Time has claimed the ones that survived the long night and I’m sure they went willingly to meet their maker. Life takes on a strange tint after a night like that. The ones still left – Bill Parker, …
When the leaves began to fall that first week in October so many years ago, I could not have been less prepared for what would ultimately alter the course of my life and any foreseeable future linked to it. Autumn was the time of year that I would spring to …
“No, Mama! Mama, no! Please, Mama, don’t let them take me! I’ll be good, I swear!” the girl screamed. Tears flowed from her eyes as she thrashed against the two-adult woman dressed in black. They held her arms firm and pulled her deliberately up a small set of stairs. “Now, …
“Donde Esta Santa Claus” was blaring on the radio as Gary crossed over state lines into…somewhere. He lost track of where he was hours ago. Somewhere… midwesty. He was driving back East for Christmas. Too cheap to fly, he thought he’d take the opportunity to get to see America, the …
You have been given a chance; one single opportunity. Just for you, little one. You don’t have to endure the tribulations about to be unleashed. You can escape all of that misery. All you have to do is listen to my voice. As before, it begins the same. A faint …
Mayuko’s Gameboy suddenly turned off. She rolled her eyes and let out a loud sigh: the stupid thing ran out of batteries, again. Mayuko shoved it inside her backpack and looked around. Surprisingly enough, the wagon was completely empty, aside from herself. Usually, the train would be full of exhausted …
My first love was Misty from Pokémon. Those legs, that sass, she was absolutely perfect. No one else could ever compare. When I played the games, I’d hang around her gym and pretend that we were on a date. I built my team to be strong against her weaknesses so I could always protect her. I used to fantasize that she’d become intrigued by me when I had beaten her. That she’d become obsessed and fallen head over heels in love with me. It was just a silly fantasy, but I enjoyed it when I was younger.
Part 1 “So I’m in the cosmetics aisle, right? And I’m standing there reading this bottle of lotion. ‘Not tested on animals,’ it says. And I’m thinking: Really? Like, who the hell is rubbing lotion on animals? Anyone?” A modest amount of laughter from the audience. About as much as …
The alarm was horribly loud in his left ear, a persistent high pitched beep forcing him from his dreamless, alcohol-soaked slumber into a hangover-heavy wakefulness. Jim groaned, rolling away from the insistent machine and negligently silencing it with a lucky swipe of his arm. His head felt thick and fuzzy, …
