Early that morning, they boarded a plane that would fly them to their daughter’s college graduation in Spokane, Washington. They carefully stowed their carry-ons in an overhead compartment and slid down their row. He eased himself into the middle seat… Continue Reading
Maggie was more confused than jealous. They had clicked at the bar. Then after, at the diner, the chemistry was undeniable, electric even. She found herself liking him more and more, and couldn’t stop the possibilities from spinning in her… Continue Reading
Furious and cloaked in the silvery light, I change. With an itch that grows to a burn, coarse hairs push their way up through my skin like worms in a flooded graveyard. I dare not scratch, for unbidden keratin oozes… Continue Reading
Listen to “The Pale Farmer” by Rich Matrunick, read by Folly Blaine: [display_podcast] Rich Matrunick was born a few years back in western Pennsylvania, a feat which he largely credits to his parents. He has since migrated to the center… Continue Reading
At first you run on, warm sweat trickling between your breasts. It doesn’t register. Then one day, you notice something out of the corner of your eye. But it flashes by in a blur so quickly you must have imagined… Continue Reading
“Why won’t you tell me why you’re here? Why you’re no longer a man?” Ekaterina whispered from her perch on the wall of the elephant enclosure, her matted, blond hair occasionally getting tangled in her emphatic gestures. What does it… Continue Reading
The aliens served us twice. The first time I read up on in law school. A solid iridium disk the size of a manhole-cover fell from the sky, embedding itself deep in the great Ziggurat of Ur in southern Iraq.… Continue Reading
Elliot Kane lived in a harmless fantasy world — or so he thought. “Guten morgen!” he said to his wife, leaping out of bed the day before the anniversary of D-Day. “Good morning,” Mrs Kane replied in English. She refused… Continue Reading
Scipio’s siege on our city will end today. We are all in agreement, even as Roman ballista balls and crossbow bolts continue to smash the last of the thatched roofs of our houses, to pound Numantia into dust. No more… Continue Reading
Of course, he didn’t want to linger in the tunnel, but Alice needed to know what was under all that green. Alice called it “verdigris,” as if it were cryptic, as if a genie might burst forth from the leak.… Continue Reading