ZERO IS THE SUM • by Rebecca Roland
Four is the number of gunmen who enter the library where she’s taken her son for story time. Four is the age of her son, who will soon be five, if he lives through this day. Four is the number… Continue Reading
Mystery / Suspense
CRANKING THE WHEEL • by Rex Caleval
“Sorry, buddy,” said a gray-haired man in a suit, bumping me as he tried to reach the bar. “Fridays are always crowded here. Everybody ducks out of work early for a pint before they head home.” He noticed that he’d… Continue Reading
THE SUNRISE • by Gene Hart
Smoke started coming out of the Corolla’s vents on the freeway and I was still in my costume. To make matters worse, I couldn’t fly. Since Mom kicked me out I had been living at the Sunrise Motel and spending… Continue Reading
A FAN • by Andrew King
It’s a lot like it is on TV. I hoped it would be. Only, in real life, no one glows green. That happens from the night-vision cameras they use. The cameras make everyone look like phosphorescent, sea-foam demons. In real… Continue Reading
TAKE ONE ONLY • by Hank Shepherd
The kids were running up and down the street like crackheads jacked up after their latest fix. It was that worst night of the year, the one before All Saints Day. For the past three years, two little shits had… Continue Reading
LIFE, JAZZ, AND A SMOKING GUN • by Brett Kaplan
The door chimed and Carl watched a gunman walk in and turn the OPEN sign to CLOSED. He moved towards the countertop, wielding his .38, and said, “I wanna know what you live for.” That sent Carl’s heart off to… Continue Reading
RING OF TRUTH • by Nancy Brewka-Clark
“Are you serious?” Amanda hoped the scorn in her voice would disguise her excitement. “I’ve never heard of La Rana.” David laughed. “The Suedos family isn’t exactly into tourism. The last time anybody dropped in on them it was probably… Continue Reading
LAST RITES • by Jonathan Edelstein
Abydos, Egypt Second year of the Pharaoh Khasekhemwy 2704 BC Merit-Ptah heard the shouting first, and then the struggle as two guards pushed a man through the door-flap of her house. “I’m with a patient,” she began in anger, but… Continue Reading
KNIVES • by Rebecca Mae Hill
It is dark when you leave class today: twenty minutes late out of what is already a night class, having stopped to ask the professor a question about Murphy’s Law. The campus is empty in a way that you’ve only… Continue Reading
A TRICK AND A TREAT • by Abigail Stuart
I paint a line of blood down his face. “Thanks, Kate,” Ricky says. “How do I look?” “Like you’re too old to go trick or treating.” I suggest we begin at the Bennetts’, notorious for king-sized candy bars. “But everyone… Continue Reading