Fiction

"And Contributions from Viewers Like You"

What if the end of the world happened years ago, decades even, but we missed it because we’d stopped paying attention? If any lifeform on Earth was stubborn enough to persist and persevere in the face of oblivion, I’d put my money on humankind. Sorry, cockroaches and tardigrades!

"While You Sleep"

Steve Rasnic Tem

While you sleep I will take one. Did she hear those words, or did she think them? Olivia wasn’t sure…

"Flowers for Mommy"

Tanya Pell

Child-sized footprints snaked through the house from the backdoor. Red clay looked far too much like blood in certain lighting. Tabitha followed the footprints…

"The Wolf"

Eric Raglin

Most people don’t bother Hunter while he’s slouched over his notebook, drawing in the back of class. But today’s guest speaker—a military recruiter—hones in on the boy, perhaps captivated by his camo jacket. Hunter looks up from the wolf-headed beast he’s spent three days drawing and accidentally makes eye contact with the man…

"Give Me English"

Ai Jiang

I traded my last coffee for a coffee. How ironic. My finger jabbed at the ordering machine. The Langbase implanted in my brain popped up in front of my eyes, and I watched as the word disappeared. A heavy breath escaped my lips. I would have to trade my teas next…

"Likeness"

Adam Godfrey

Hearing one’s own voice is always just a little strange. No doubt about it. Hearing another’s words spoken in your own voice is another thing all together. Surreal. Unsettling. I don’t know. I don’t believe the proper word even exists for such a feeling. It’s the bizarre, unpalatable substance of bad dreams…

"Killer Company"

Eric Raglin

My client failed to mention the broken elevator, so I’m lugging this corpse in a cardboard box up five flights of stairs. If I had someone to come home to, I’d complain to them about it over dinner. Maybe they’d joke about the good workout I got, and my bad mood would dissolve into laughter…

"The Gathering"

Lyndsey Croal

The ghosts gather on the burnt trees like a murder of crows, hungry-eyed and conspiratorial. Black feathery wisps dance around them, while talon-like hands grip to charred branches. They can see me, but they don’t yet know I can see them…

"Season of Change"

Adam Godfrey

My wife left me last year. I’ve spent my life floundering between chronic skepticism and cautious optimism, the latter complements of my Cathy these last 22 years. My unyielding light. The missing element that guided me through a lifetime of fearful irrationalities…

"Given"

Joe Koch

You forfeit your name, the price of entry. Mere months ago, you were attached to its suggestion of ephemeral beauty, your name like a delicate flower, too precious to be plucked. You let them, though. Those who seemed worthy…

"The Baby Monitor"

David Worn

The stomping came first. Michelle knew it well. The sound of her daughter getting out of bed, probably coming to ask for a glass of water or another tuck-in. But then the wailing started, long and plaintive, growing louder and louder as her daughter fled from her bedroom…