by Mackenzie Bodily “Rat-a-Tat” placed fifth in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2023 Fall Fiction Contest. Marlyle watched the words “BEACON ACTIVE” slide over the walls of his one-man cruiser. The cabin was dark, illuminated only by the stars outside the window and those words projected in bright red by his…
by Michael McGrath When awakened by a telephone call at some ungodly hour, I’d like to think I’m not alone in my reaction to it. Throwing back the covers, I scramble out of bed, and when I finally locate my phone I’m hesitant to pick it up, automatically assuming that…
by Brittney Cray In the small, picturesque town of Cresthaven, a shadow loomed beneath the façade of tranquility. It was a place where creativity flourished, where artists found solace in their craft, and where the written word held an esteemed place in the hearts of its inhabitants. But amidst the…
by Kevin Jones (This story contains murder and dark fantasy-horror elements.) I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve been there — to the graveyard. How many times I’ve felt the bone-chilling stares of the headstones as I walked through the raven-black gates. Every time, I gripped my flowers, my…
by S.E. Denny Fri, Apr 20, 10:52 AM (20 minutes ago) Dear Archer, When we first started this project, it was just you and me standing around your parent’s garage playing at being engineers. All the greats start that way: Bill Gates and Allen, Jobs, Wozniak, and Wayne. There must…
by Kevin M. Folliard (This story contains drugs and violence.) Principal Prentis left Burlsbury Elementary promptly, after students had served their weekday detention. Halfway home, she pulled her blue Buick into the corner Safeway to fuel up. She parked alongside pump 3, behind a beat-up pickup. The truck hadn’t pulled…
by Bill Kitcher I My dad made me go to the play at the school he was working at for a year. I didn’t like plays in those days. I generally didn’t like things that forced me to go outside. I liked reading and TV. I didn’t like going to…
by Abbie Doll A meditation— Picture a thicket of bamboo. A towering emerald forest. Nice and dense. Sunlight speckling the stalks. Embrace the serenity, and breathe. Deep. She listened, allowing the calming imagery’s swift delivery of reee…lax…ayshun, RSVP’ing yes to the bamboo’s cordial invite into this thriving garden of contemplation….
by Jess Earl Mama told me that thunder is just the sound of angels bowling. The angel outside my window doesn’t have hands but maybe it just can’t bowl, like how Katie can’t eat peanut butter. The angel doesn’t look like the ones in Mama’s paintings; it looks like a…
by Joshua Snyder One thinks, usually, that with effort comes reward. Duke and Lian expected a reward to befall them after their first summer, but success was not instantaneous. The reward for Duke and Lian, as it was with most people of the nation, was financial. They hoped and wished…