Godless Acres
I don’t know what I saw in that damn chapel. I don’t even know if it was real or not. I sure as hell hope not. So, I came here to tell my story. Maybe someone could help me. Maybe just telling it will make me feel better – help […]
Isolation
Flyover Country
Ever since I was a child, I’ve dreamed of flying. Soaring high above the world, a thousand feet from any other person, with no limits or obstacles in my way, seemed like the ultimate form of freedom. When my parents would send me out to play with friends, I preferred
AT NIGHTFALL
The sun was slowly setting behind us, painting the sky in dull shades of gray and yellow, as the cold wind blew. Teresa walked with her head down, silent, right behind me. Mathias Santiago walked beside me, holding his AK-47 as if it were an extension of his own body.
Isolated
In childhood, Ryan’s body never made noise. Not in the normal way—he had a talent for holding his breath, for moving in such a manner that the floorboards and the radiator and the old dog under the kitchen table never registered his existence. When he passed through rooms, it was
Seven Turns Road
If you ever find yourself driving alone at night, maybe after a night drinking with friends, getting off work late, or pushing yourself to reach a distant destination, refusing to stop for rest, and suddenly you’re on a road that doesn’t appear on your GPS or map, unsure how you
Let it Be
Read part one here “Hey Pat check this out!” Kyle exclaimed.We had just gotten back to Kyle’s house, and he was already checking his live stream. Somehow, I’d let him talk me into streaming our little adventure, though by now I’ve come to know it as a personal quest. It
Leaves of Three
After the night I just had, I do not know whether I should call the cops, roll up in a ball and cry myself to sleep, or call my therapist. I am still trying to decide the best course of action. I already talked to my friend Kyle, and we
Blackout – 8/15/14
8/16 I was home alone when the blackout hit my house. I was sitting on my back patio reading a book when I heard the air unit to my left slowly power down until it ticked to a complete stop. The lights in the house abruptly shut off, the emergency
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Just the flu
I put on my running shoes with springs, designed to cushion the impact on the ground. It was my nightly ritual, something I did every single day without fail: running to the neighboring town, keeping my body busy and my mind free of thoughts. It was almost five o’clock, and
Are You Ready to Board?
It was an hour before Edgar’s alarm was set to go off when a series of rapid thumps on the roof jolted him awake. He shot up from the small, hard bed, eyes shooting around the old trailer home as the bombardment continued, like the contents of a butcher’s shop
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ADM & REM
“Mmm…” my hand slid over to my phone, attempting to tap the “dismiss” tab as the alarm blared in my apartment room. After missing it twice, I sat up and glared at the phone. My heart spiked. “Five-twenty-five!” I shrieked, jumping into the air and sprinting over to the shower.
Relax FM
“Biiip,” echoed the machine in the empty back room by the door as my employee identification card swiped it. “Clocked out: 10:17 p.m. Have a good evening, Anthony.” It was a long walk to my car. The restaurant I worked at was right on the beach—I mean, like, basically on
By a Lake
Truth be told, I’m still not sure how or when I came to this place. I have the memories, the whole chain of factors is all there, it’s just buried and muddled and I find my head swimming trying to piece it together. Which is why I don’t bother. I
Sometimes It’s Better to Leave Survivors Behind
They said it was nothing. A routine rescue op at a facility known as the Tantalus Site. But that quickly proved untrue. Terribly, horrifically untrue. The report said we’d be flying into the Baghlan Province of Northern Afghanistan where rugged mountains cut through a remote and arid wilderness. According to
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What Lies Beneath
My name is Herman Fontaine. I am 29 years old and live in Ocala Florida with my girlfriend of three years, Sylvia Ramsey, several dogs, cats, turtles, and a couple of capybaras. I am running out of time, and there’s no one left on the research vessel Hidden Minnow. Everyone
Demented Marionette
I watched the fog creep along the ground and through the treeline at the edge of the property in a daze. I had been staring for a while, slowly realizing that I was still tightly gripping a mug. My hand trembled as I brought the tepid coffee to my lips,
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The Bottle
As I sit here now beside my pond and watch the autumn fog dance along the water, and as the leaves whisper and chatter to one another as the wind lets them, I think of my wife, and how sorry I am I can’t live the rest of my days
I Went Camping With a Bog Monster
To be honest, it was all about delay. Maura was going to Rhode Island School of Design, there had never been any question of that. Goodie still wasn’t sure he wanted to go to University of Boston, but he was. Arnie was going to M. I. T., and I was taking
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The Snow Against my Window
I was born in Florida, and lived there for most of my life. I always loved talking with and helping others, and all my friends agreed that I would make an excellent therapist. I always got good grades, and decided to apply to study abroad for my PhD in psychology.
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Shelter
My alarm clock awakens me at 6 a.m. as it does every morning. I sit up with a yawn and take inventory of myself and my surroundings — as I do every morning. The bunker where I spend my life is cement-floored with cinder block walls a bleak gray color.
The Sewer Under The Lighthouse
You were always against moving away from your family and friends. You didn’t want to leave the city, the coast never appealed to you anyway. You didn’t want to move from a place with a population of one hundred thousand to one with a population of five. It didn’t matter,
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Everyone Else Saw It
Jonathan Lynch’s Skype session with his mother was in five minutes. He had to admit he missed her; he hadn’t been able to visit his tiny hometown in years. In fact, he missed contact with anyone, seeing as his current city had been under lockdown for fourteen consecutive months. Fortunately,
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Room With No Windows
As his aged, wrinkled fingers weaved through the long beard flowing from his face, that noise came again. Only this time, it was louder. There he sat, hunched over the stained oak table that had arrived years ago with no explanation. It had come whilst he slept; absent one night,
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The House on Kipling Street
I like to take walks around my neighborhood. It’s nice. Reminds me of while I was growing up, every street a recollection, every sign a memory. The town you grow up in changes as time goes on, storefronts open and close, the schools get expanded, the rec centers remodeled. But
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