There was nothing strange about Amber. She wasn’t too tall or too short. She was of average height and weight. She wasn’t ugly but she wasn’t pretty either and her grades, although passing, were never top marks. She lived in an average house, with an average family, in an average …
The top half of Councilman Jones’ body hung by a steel cable looped around his neck and tied off to an old oak tree on one end. It was still dripping blood, bones and veins and torn bits of intestines dangling down where the legs should start. The cable was stretched through the air, over to an ash tree ten yards away from where the other half of the body was hanging by the legs.
I usually like to watch TV with my little sister, Kimberly. She was only five, so of course, she watched all the cutesy kids’ shows. I didn’t really mind, though. They made her happy and I liked spending time with her. She watched shows like Dora, Blue’s Clues, and Arthur. …
Yvangela raised herself slowly from her bed, still covered in heavy blankets, after a sudden, excruciating pain in her head disturbed her from her deep sleep. She knew exactly what this meant.
My grandfather on my dad’s side passed away from cancer back in 2018 at the age of 75. Unlike my mom’s parents and my dad’s mom, my two brothers, my sister and I knew very little about “Grandpa Henry”. All that we knew about him was that he was born …
You know those people who you tell the time of events to 15 minutes early because you know they would be late? The ones who would be late to their own funerals, as the saying goes? Well, that’s me. Prepare as I might. I can never seem to get anywhere …
Mark is not my real name. I’m changing the names for others’ privacy too. I’ll tell you why I can’t sleep. You’ll find this a bit strange but I swear it’s all true. I’m friends with a guy, call him Bill, I worked with at the Crab House back in …
The bell above the door rang noisily as I entered the bookshop. My hopes of just browsing through the books without attracting the attention of a well-intentioned but usually annoying clerk were immediately dashed. I hate to be bothered while perusing the shelves. But upon closing the door and getting …
Moving day. A chance to start fresh in a new place. New opportunities, new community, new home. Home. Not just a house. To Eric Sherman, this was a place he could finally call home. No ex-wives to hound him for alimony. No disapproving parents to question his absence of faith …
I sat on the wide ledge looking down at the people walking by on the sidewalk far below. They really did look like ants when viewed from so far away. I hope I don’t land on anyone. That would royally suck, for them. I wasn’t too worried about it because if it did happen, I’d be seconds away from never having to worry about anything ever again.
The taxi drove off, leaving Funk on the Hoddeston lawn, surrounded by valises. Funk was thinking it more than merely odd that Barclay, for whose coaching he had come prepared to spend a month, had not met him as planned. He tried the screen door; it was hooked inside. “Hello, …
Publisher’s Note: This story is a prequel and takes place before all of the previously released Father Cooke and Magister Alexander stories, which you can find here. The author invites you to read the other tales in the series after completing this one. Oh shit, I thought as I walked …
Publisher’s Note: This story is part of the author’s Father Cooke series of interrelated stories. If you enjoy it, the author invites you to click here to read the other tales in the series. “1…2…3…4…5…6…7.” I flicked the light in the bathroom off and then on again seven times, counting every …
Everyone has their fears, whether they are rational or irrational. Mine has always been dolls. Not all dolls, mainly just the ones that are a bit too human. I think it’s mainly the eyes that get to me. So I’m sure you can imagine I was ecstatic to find out …
My son is 2 years old and does. Not. Sleep. So when I saw an ad online for Goodnight Precious: the only book GUARANTEED put your child to sleep, I clicked. I was skeptical — but there was a video demonstration on the website. “I’m going to show you how this works. …
“So… what are we doing here?” “We’re uh… appreciating art.” “How do you appreciate art?” “I think you just stand there and look at it.” “That’s it?” “Yeah, pretty much.” “Danny we’re staring at a nine foot painting of a triangle. No offense, but even your hipster girlfriend knew this …
Deacon loved yard sales, yet despite the size of the ‘neighborhood’ sale he’d found on his way home from work, nothing had caught his eye. Disappointed, but glad he’d stopped anyway, Deacon turned away from the table he’d been going through and tripped over something at his feet. With a …
