As Brian struggles with the condom, there’s a creaking outside the cabin. His hands freeze. He and Natalie lock eyes, their breath smoking. They listen for several seconds — wind scattering leaves across the wraparound porch, branches shivering. Brian slides… Continue Reading
The procedure would begin in three minutes. Edyth had already said her goodbyes — some touching, some tedious — to a throng of family members, old friends, and colleagues in the facility waiting room. The old woman chose to spend… Continue Reading
The Reverend Max Walker and his wife, Elizabeth, live a happy, contented life in Pleasant Junction, New Hampshire. Every Sunday, Reverend Max, as his parishioners affectionately call him, delivers a modest sermon in a small white church. Max is an… Continue Reading
He’d wondered, when he started the job, why he needed a belt with so many holes. Now he knew — it fitted around him twice and felt like it needed tightening again. It took months to visit every home in… Continue Reading
“Hi Linda! It’s Ralph again, from ‘New Life Start!’ calling to remind you: your very own ‘New Life Start!’ begins today! Just as soon as you mail us that check—” “Ralph?” said the voice on the other end, flatly. “This… Continue Reading
The mournful wailing froze Conn O’Neill’s blood, as it always did. People said the sound the stuka dive-bombers made came from sirens the Germans fitted to their planes. Well, maybe. But Conn, fighting for Allied forces in northern France, knew… Continue Reading
Amy Ford woke up dead. It was immediately obvious she was dead. Her mind went through a number of distinct memories: driving high on methamphetamine, wrapping her car around a tree, and being flung onto the road. She remembered thinking,… Continue Reading
At night, the sulphurous fog grew thicker, and the women took their usual positions under the doorways and gas lamps of Whitechapel. Molly’s shoes clicked against the cobblestones as she tried to catch the eye of any passing male. She… Continue Reading
Something brought her out of sleep. A scream, she thought. It was guttural, near inhuman, and seemed to stretch out into the expanse of night and recede into the dark. She couldn’t tell if it had been real. She didn’t… Continue Reading
Laura was on the phone with her boyfriend when the baby let out a sharp wail. She rushed down the hall, picked up her crying daughter from the crib, cooed “There, sweetie, it’s okay.” Then she saw blood dripping from… Continue Reading