Blood in the Water by John J. Staughton

THE SECOND TIME a black bag was pulled over my head, I knew they were going to kill me. However, the first time it happened, six months earlier, the abduction held the uncertain charm of a new experience. This all began shortly after the release

The Island of Lost Cause by Bobby Minelli

There is a thunder at the center of the multiverse, like the heartbeat of a thousand horses who are pouring over the crest of a wave at dawn, stampeding their way over the water to someone’s salvation. The heartbeat, the hooves, the waves, they are

The Death of Rocker by Janek Ambros

I’M FINALLY MEETING HIM, Rocker thought. The snow fell from the pitch black sky, falling atop the large Rhode Island pinewood trees, the ground already packed with snow, and a long narrow road illuminated by heritage lamp posts. A pre-1930s Bugatti Royale drove towards a

New World City by Ryan Andrej Lough

KOSTYA HAS BEEN MISSING now for nearly two weeks. My love, gone. I am all alone in this land. I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again, and I have no idea why he was taken away. I cannot go to the police because

Fish Baby by Jade Wolf

I DID NOT KNOW that I was pregnant with two huge twins; actually, one was huge and the other one was tiny, which is why no one knew there were twins in there.  The little one was hiding behind the big one. We were spending

Squares and Circles by Anthony Bravo

WE HAVE EXPECTATIONS and they seldom are met. “It”, our fantasy, is not delivered as one might think it will be prior to the event. That is not to discredit the power of visualization, which has always been a token totem for most of my

The Sixth and Final by Mark Minelli

I WAS TWELVE YEARS OLD when I fired the first bullet. The gun in my hand felt strange and cold and heavy, a foreign rock plucked deep from outer space. I am from a state that you only think of once every four years, from

While the Neo-Cons Slept by Janek Ambros

  IN THE MID 1970s, the neo-conservatives started to move away from the Democratic Party in lieu of Henry Jackson’s multiple failed presidential bids and the rise of the anti-war left taking control of the Democrats, with George McGovern leading the charge. With too much

On An Open Fire by John J. Staughton

It was a sullen gray evening in early October and I was smoking outside the airport, mentally preparing for a journey that would soon land me on the other side of the ocean and the wrong side of sleep. As I rolled a second cigarette,

Oh, Christmas Tree by Ellie Reed

The girls are not the last to arrive at the farm, but they’re certainly cutting it close. It’s after dark on December 23rd, and I have to admit I was starting to worry that it wouldn’t happen for me this year. That’s been the case

Subject: Waterman Family Christmas by Allison Lynch

Subject: Waterman Family Christmas From: Pam Waterman-Chase <pwatermanchase@gmail.com> To: WatermanFamily@googlegroups.com Date: Fri, November 24, 2017 at 7:13 AM Good morning, Watermans! I hope you all are digesting peacefully after last night’s Thanksgiving feast. Thank you again to Jonathan, Carrie and kids for hosting. I would

The Lavender Room by Bobby Minelli

I suppose, when it comes down to it, what everyone really wants is a simple answer as to why I was out on the fire escape in the first place. They’ve all been treating me like a goddamn deviant or a lunatic or something, and

The Nathaniel Chronicles by Janek Ambros

November 13th, 1998. New York City. What a cesspool. I came here on a redeye, coked out my skull, wearing a striped navy blue suit, a bow tie, and tandem brown leather shoes and belt. Barry Levinson bought the shoes and belt for me as

Where Only Air Had Hung Before by Aaron Golden

We finished the treehouse on Saturday night, our hands riddled with blisters and our throats seared from the aggressive treatment of spliffs we had prescribed ourselves since the morning. It was a marvelous sight: a spacious wooden den built on the carcass of a redwood,

The Mat by A.W. Greene

My name is Patricia, but I go by Pat, or at least that’s what I’ve taken to calling myself. It’s funny, me writing a preface in my own little 280-page journal. It’s a bit too long, really. Dr.Ew tells me that I’ve been carrying this