Isaac strikes the axe head into the stump we’re using for the beheadings. The bit stays wedged into the hardwood. He holds the wiggling carcass. It’s weird how chickens do that after they’re dead. I’m still plucking the bird he… Continue Reading
Silence dripped from the maples in the back yard, drifted down like snow, was stirred by a passing breeze and pooled around the feet of the boy, slowly climbing his ankles, trying to hang on. He shuffled his feet, trying… Continue Reading
The small soggy furry lump had lodged itself firmly in the crack between tiles. Shannon stood silently watching over it. She had recently been watching a lot of spaghetti westerns and had been struck with the idea of becoming a… Continue Reading
When I heard Mom in the hall, I scrambled away from the window, knocking over my model of the solar system. Mars’s tin foil body shot across the room, and I ran after it. But I froze when Mom rushed… Continue Reading
Cutting away the bad parts is important. Mama takes the shears and snips-snips-snips.I take a note in my head to cut close to the bone, avoid wastage, and not let the scrapsgo unused. She cuts further, gliding her knife along… Continue Reading
Lila heard a sigh on the other end of the line. “How did it happen?” her mother asked. “The usual way,” said Lila. “Lila. You know what I mean. Do you two not use protection?” “Mom. It happened.” “And you’re… Continue Reading
Mom had all but thrown us in the backseat of the station wagon, her rage boiling up front, as we sat in a gathering twilight and watched the Ferris wheel spin its rainbow jewels around the sky. No cotton candy,… Continue Reading
Isla paints her nails, one finger at a time, each a vibrant petal of pink, coral, or peach. It’s a contrast to her skin, the color of a dull stem. Her veins, blue surface roots sprouting on her arms, pallid… Continue Reading
The thing about dipping a headless chicken in a vat of boiling water is you have to get the temperature just right. Too cold and the feathers won’t come off; too hot and the skin starts to peel. You sort… Continue Reading
As Mica walked along the shore, he picked up pebbles with streaks through the middle. Following a path of driftwood led him to a gray cliff veined with white and a streak of gold. Mica knew it was probably pyrite.… Continue Reading