“Doin’ it myself,” Chris said, lighting a cigarette and inhaling. These are going to kill you. “Yeah?” he said, trying to pay attention to his task over the sound of distant voices. “So can drinking sodas.” Chris looked at his… Continue Reading
Stan tries to skip out of the way, but the speeding bicycle passes so close behind him that a pedal clips his ankle, hard. He stammers an apology, even though the bike-messenger is already powering off into the rain. Stan… Continue Reading
Grandma’s cell phone was full of dead people when I found it. I suppose that’s the way things work out over time, though. I’ve got one in my phone now too, although it wasn’t always like that. It started two… Continue Reading
Today, Ash Wednesday, has been declared No Smoking Day to help those giving up for Lent. There is no Mass in our little hamlet because the local priest looks after seventeen parishes. At reception I check in as a visitor… Continue Reading
My world is a gun pressed against my forehead. The pressure is committed, lethal. My reality is details: Nickel plated precision cocooned by knuckles tattooed with H A T E. A bare arm with ropey muscles writhing under tattoos and… Continue Reading
Jandwat knew he was going to copulate tonight. No matter what his wife said. “If we aren’t home for the latest holo-episode of Galactic Crime Investigators, there’ll be no mating ritual,” she said. Jandwat rolled his eyes as he set… Continue Reading
An old man named Lester lived at the same nursing home as my grandfather back in the late 1970s. I still cringe when I think of that place. The smell of stale urine dominated the bleak institution like a horrid,… Continue Reading
Alex stood on the edge of a rooftop fifteen stories high, staring at an exit sign that led to nowhere. His unlit cigarette was perched precariously between his lips, momentarily forgotten. He walked around the exit sign, looking at it… Continue Reading
The director cursed under his breath for the fourth time. “Goddamnit! He’s shaking again.” He turned to his assistant. “Does our star have a problem that I don’t know about? Is he taking something?” “Not that I know of, seems… Continue Reading
The January sky, with its waning moon, was a glistening onyx dome, hard polished and pin-pricked with the light of faraway suns. The young woman sat within shadow upon the wide concrete steps of the church; clutching a woolen blanket… Continue Reading