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
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BOWLING IN THE 9TH WARD • by Micah Stack
So I’m a couple blocks from the crib, kicking it on the corner of Louisa St. at that spot in front of the house that used to be a restaurant — that yellow two-story thing. It got the sign up… Continue Reading
MIDWINTER MEDDLING • by Ben Nein
Constable Gil Hadrian leaned against the side of a building, taking a break from his weaving walk through the alley somewhere in the Priesthorpe district of Ashford. All these temples looked alike after seven drinks. Or was it eight? He… Continue Reading
THE CORNER • by L Flewin
It was the dead of night, when everything good and clean went to bed and everything else came out to play. This wasn’t the choicest part of town but there were worse places to be. She was all legs and… Continue Reading
THREE DRINKS AND AN EXPLANATION • by Jay Lee Ellis
Russell Briggs drove long haul, only one time he ever told me about it though. Drove a big rig three years, until he come down a pass in West Virginia thank god no other cars on the road and out… Continue Reading
TWO GUYS WALK INTO A ROOM… • by Andrew Hart
The lawman tapped his steel-toed boot lightly against the door. It swung open, revealing two couches facing one another. The room itself was modestly clean besides a few beer bottles lying neatly in a pile in the corner of the… Continue Reading
THE OTHER SIDE OF PEPPER • by Kip Hanson
There’s a dog in the street. A cocker spaniel, I think. His head is flat and a tire track runs down the middle of his back. When Marilyn and I were first married, we rescued a cocker spaniel from the… Continue Reading
INTERROGATION CUPCAKES • by Alexander Burns
AR-D6 was first on the scene, bursting through the door to find a little girl and a corpse smeared with blood. The girl looked up with a tear-streaked face and asked if mommy was okay. Her name was Tallulah, age… Continue Reading
PAID • by Christine Rains
The bastards knocked first. Of course, they knew they had us by the balls. “Backup’s still ten minutes away.” Ferguson said through clenched teeth. His jaw twitched, nearly white as his knuckles which gripped his gun. “I don’t get paid… Continue Reading
CROW’S FEET IN THE SNOW • by Deven D Atkinson
The deputy said the snow where Uncle Jake had broken his neck is interesting. Over by Harper’s cabin a jay is harping and there are flashing red and blue LED lights on top of all of the sheriff cars and… Continue Reading