“Join hands for prayers,” said Grandma Mercy. Little Thomas cringed. He hated saying prayers before meals, especially in public. Worse, the server had put the steaming pepperoni pizza with extra cheese right under his nose. How could anyone pray with… Continue Reading
Listen up, children. You too, Shannon. Derrick, no pushing. Class, we only get one field trip to the space elevator. Don’t ruin it with misbehavior. Leon, grab Susan before she floats back up the hatch. Maintenance is working on the… Continue Reading
Sensei Kove filled the west wall of his dojo with photographs of the families of the people he had killed. When he taught, he stood in front of this gallery. This forced us would-be-assassins to practice under their accusing eyes.… Continue Reading
Martha White sat tied to a folding chair in her pink pajamas and kitty slippers. She passed the morning by licking off the sticky of her duct tape gag and planning her revenge. There was no need to involve the… Continue Reading
Theodore Brooks couldn’t believe his luck. A large white Victorian house located near downtown, and the owner was offering it at fifty percent off its appraised value. The wraparound porch, the turrets and the slate roof blew him away. If… Continue Reading
Honey, this story’s been passed down from mother to daughter for six generations, and it’s done right by me more than once. Now that you’re getting married, maybe it’ll do right by you, too. So put your Billy Boy out… Continue Reading
Thad sat in the attorney’s office, proud of the way he’d handled his wife’s funeral. He had followed Bunny’s instruction to the letter. Still, his three stepchildren, all older than he, glared at him as if he were some kind… Continue Reading
The instant the Crawford gang entered the Farr Creek Savings Loan and interrupted his transaction at gun point, Bud Tucker knew the carnival fortuneteller was right; he was going to inherit young. Dicky Crawford, the gang’s leader, had vowed to the… Continue Reading
A teenage girl is home alone at night for the first time when a storm knocks out the lights. She calls her father. “Are the lights on in the neighborhood?” he asks. She looks out the window. “Yes.” “Then it’s… Continue Reading