It was a dark and stormy night. Mummy Pig tucked her piglet Percy into bed and started her bedtime story: “The Three Little Pigs: Penny, Paul and Peter,” Mummy Pig smiled sweetly, as she turned the page. “All leave their… Continue Reading
“Excuse me, sir. Is this your shoe?” The woman was dressed in a loose hibiscus-orange gown, sitting on a stone bench, beneath a matching orange umbrella. I hadn’t seen her at first when turning the corner in the path, but… Continue Reading
The new kiosk opened in the mall last month, between my booth and the one full of phone cases. Retailers rent the spaces every holiday season. Most of them have a whiff of desperation: unlucky people selling mediocre doodads. This… Continue Reading
Cherry Peters, commander of the American Sector’s moon base, was considering disobeying orders. “A Halloween get together?” she raged. “What kind of publicity stunt is that?” “It’s a secret, UN-sponsored meeting, Ma’am,” replied Peters’ communications officer. “Conducted under a radio… Continue Reading
The doorbell rings. It’s Halloween, which probably means the Trick or Treaters are here. Living alone means I’ll be up and down a lot tonight. I open the door, and sure enough I’m confronted with three kids. We have a… Continue Reading
Malcolm ‘Stakeman’ Gribble didn’t look like a vampire hunter. He looks like someone who lives in their mother’s basement, thought Aneira, as she watched him eat through the roadside diner’s misted window. He had long, greasy brown hair, milk bottle… Continue Reading
Rain thrashes against the window of Kay’s office. Her phone vibrates, clattering on the polished wood of the desk. Text from Brett. “Survive the rain?” The corner of her mouth twitches. She looks out towards the window, trying to remember… Continue Reading
We march forward, just the three of us, winding through the endless maze of the toxic jungle. My brother’s boots squelch in the sucking mud, pools of dark liquid earth cast with a purple, oily sheen. Unnatural, and yet completely… Continue Reading
It was approaching midnight as Marsha, an ER nurse, piloted the Toyota sedan along the winding country road. Today’s rain had left the air misty, with steam rising from the warm road. The temperature was falling. Marsha just wanted to… Continue Reading
It was the teardrop, as it hit the page, that brought her around. It blotted the paper, expanding over the words: “Get out.” “Get out?” she asked herself. Her voice felt dull — muted, and a little drowned. She was… Continue Reading