Fiction
The Day the Zoo Stood Still by Jedd Cole
Hugh remembers how the sunrise had been tinged with red the day all the animals stopped. He says he remembers it like it was yesterday.
Fiction
Something Wicked by M. E. Garber
Scent wafted from the tube where the perfume had steeped with magic essences. Kallia leaned forward, anticipating the first ethereal, ephemeral notes--
Fiction
Not Exactly by John B. Rosenman
not-exactlyShe wanted to scream. In her worst moments, she wanted to die. Eliza Edwards was eighty-three years old and in constant pain. She lay in a hospital bed trying to ignore her misery and the mocking beauty of a spring day.
Fiction
Where They Came Out by Holly Day
They came out of nowhere, and everywhere at once, an explosion of shimmering wings and soft bodies.
Fiction
Bernard's favorite slippers were chestnut moccasins, exteriors shaggy, soles warped and thin. Unfortunately, they no longer kept his feet warm.
Fiction
“You are afraid of needles?” “Yes.” Maggie squirmed under the tattoo artist’s steady gaze, but did not turn away. “I need to do this.”
Flash
Chase McPaulson and his wife Franny sat at the rectangular, hand-crafted cherry wood table, each holding a half-empty Riedel port glass. As he sipped the twenty-year-old tawny, Chase considered his dinner’s remains. Pebbles of meatloaf dotted the bright yellow butterfly motif of the Villeroy & Bosch plate. A few limp green beans and a wisp [...]
Flash
So… You’re Dead. Now What? by Steven Young
More of you already? I’ve only just processed the last batch! Okay then, quieten down and we’ll get on. Hi everyone and welcome to the afterlife! Do you all have a coloured badge? You should have received one from Carol at reception when you handed in your questionnaire. I’m sorry. I know there were lots [...]
Flash
I was in the barn patting down Old George when the thunder sounded; it was an unexpected storm on the summer solstice. Through the planks of the wooden gate, I saw dark clouds gathering, and moments later a jagged strand of light appeared on the horizon. Again came the drum of thunder. I shouldn’t have [...]
Poetry
Berserkergang by James Frederick William Rowe
Narrated by James Frederick William Rose A cold wind shakes A cold wind shakes my body My bones shake my body My bones are a cold wind A drum thumps A drum thumps within my chest My heart thumps within my chest My heart is a drum A fire burns A fire burns my [...]
Poetry
Changeling Whistler’s Mother by WC Roberts
The yellow mud-brick walls of the ghetto long for the banks of a river back in the old country where the roots of trees held back the scourge of earth, lifting her veil and I, in my childhood, fished for answers with lore for my bait, dreaming of the cowbird-hobgoblin whose child I was. Tunnels [...]
Poetry
The Garden of Secrets by Dr. Mel Waldman
I remember the beginning of my journey, my innocence, as pristine as a child’s vision, and the luxurious landscape, and the soothing scents of sumptuous flowers in all the gardens I visited. I taste nostalgia and the longing of youth and inhale the intoxicating smell of the past. And instantly, I summon yesterday. On the [...]
Poetry
Transformations and Other Tails by Charles Leggett
Narrated by Charles Leggett A theatrical adaptation of the Anne Sexton poems was conceived and directed by Sheila Daniels, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle WA, 1999. George the stuffed black leopard’s on his side On top of Sheila’s print of the Bouguereau— The peasant girl with pitcher—gazing wide At the wall in [...]
Flash
The Monster Maker by Adam Gaylord
A shuffle in the darkness, then a click and a blinding light filled the room. Leather straps kept me pinned to the exam table, unable to turn toward the sound.
Fiction
Introduction to Issue 21 Fiction by Perry Mc Daid
Emancipation trails its fingers through May’s issue. Sometimes Gothic in style, sometimes arcane or alien, it whispers in our ears as we read of mysterious spite; sigils of power; witchcraft; time-travel; horrific invasion and influence from beyond what is termed ‘The Veil’.