I frantically threw my shirt off my head, covering my bare chest and staring down at the fabric on the ground as my heart played a tune. I had felt the bugs inside the shirt as I was putting it on, but none emerged from its openings. My skin still […]
It is truly amazing just how much pain the human body is able to endure with the proper motivation. For weightlifters and athletes, it’s the goal of looking better and becoming stronger that helps them push through the pain of exercise. For those trapped in the monotony of everyday office
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
The body of the tramp had lain in the cellar of the house on Burgundy Street for several weeks now. He had finally shuffled off the mortal coil less than forty-eight hours after having sought refuge from the chill London winter. A half-empty bottle of cider stood going to waste
The Way of All Flesh Read More »
“Bone is lightweight, durable, and responsive. A bridge made of steel cannot double its length, but bone both grows and responds to stresses. Furthermore, bone mends itself. A shattered brick cannot do that. Bone has much to teach us about Earth’s history and the course of life on the planet.
Cracks in the Cavern Read More »
The rats scurried and clawed inside the walls. It was one of the few things that frustrated Elizabeth about working nightshift. During the day the rats were smart enough to hide themselves. During the day, she could pretend they weren’t there. Scratching, gnawing, murmuring, constantly out of sight. During the
The King’s Marionette Read More »
The first thing I felt when I hit the water, was fear. It had been months since I’d last dived, hell, I even got nervous when I took showers. But this…guilt, this pain in my chest, I had to go back. I started to swim, arms cutting through the water
I dove to depths uncharted. The ocean isn’t safe anymore Read More »
“Dang!” Eleanor’s husband cried. “The damn thing bit me!” He grabbed his triceps and looked at her with an expression that mingled pain with surprise. Eleanor was as surprised as he was. Jonathan, her husband, was not the type to whine about an insect bite. He was the muscular type
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
“Did you hear about Sal?” Jimmy lifted his eyes from his work, looked at George’s reflection and replied, “Sal, no, what’s up with him?” He probably spent more time hovering over people, talking to their reflections in the large mirror on the wall than he did conversing with them face
Scratching an itch on my back, I found a hollow the size of a tack head. At my bathroom mirror I rolled my shoulder forward. Next to my shoulder blade, on my upper middle back, was a tiny hole. No plug, like a normal blackhead, but a deep hole. I watched my finger in the mirror, prodding it.
I was playing with my hospital badge as I stood in line ‘Jonathan Villanueva’ Johnny V that’s me. I had just finished my shift as an emergency room nurse. Not my usual spot, but it was the Fourth of July, they were understaffed. So after ten-hour overnight shift of
My long, spindly legs silently clamber across the crumbling wall of the basement wall as I stalk my prey. A few more strides, and I sink my fangs deep into the side of my helpless victim’s abdomen as it uselessly struggles to free itself from my grip. But I haven’t
