by Amy Southard I walked into the room, The hardwood floors creaking Beneath my feet. I thought I was alone again, As I gracefully stepped over My fluffy white feline friend. The air felt a little chilled And there was a draft Blowing the sheer turquoise curtains Into a beautiful…
by Shane Plassenthal Everything had to go. All of it. Those were the rules. So, I put it all out in the driveway. I put the stuff she left in the spot where she used to park. I figured that would be best. Besides, there wasn’t a whole lot left….
by Tammy Ayers A gunshot, followed immediately by screaming and arguing in the alley, woke Krystal up in the middle of the night. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, but her heart beat as hard as it did the first time she heard it. She sat up, clutching…
by Sarah Marquez Dear, you are a fuzzy image on surveillance cameras, in a black skullcap, a hollow-mask. We stand close in clogged checkout aisles, suck hot air. You pay cash, rub a flat silver clip, coins jingle & jangle in your pocket. I want to be them, tucked away….
by Derek Reimers It was dark and pouring. Jeffrey increased the speed of the wiper blades to keep up with the rain, but they continued to lose ground. In the passenger seat Jeffrey’s father, Arthur, his sweater dimly lit by the by the LED lights of the center console, sat…
by Khristy L. Knudtson Willfully strong-willed, your hair is a field; stalks of tangled straw you force from your head freeing the strands from your fingersover and over and over. They eclipse the tile floor of the juvie centeryou’ve lost it, your center. You are a lit match—tossed.An apocalyptic comet of…
by Ben Jackson “Love in the Cheap Seats” placed first in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2019 Fall Fiction Contest. On the last day of October, Al Fine sat with his wife in the shadow of the Budweiser sign. He had first purchased these tickets, high in the bleachers of Fenway…
by E. M. Francisco “The Thing in My Closet” placed second in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2019 Fall Fiction Contest. It’s like this every night. First, I open my closet to get my pajamas. I ignore the inhuman corpse hanging from the bar in between my shirts, despite the fact…
by Destiny Rinder “The Houses on the Sea” placed third in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2019 Fall Fiction Contest. “Where’s your mother, Mia?” “She went to the houses on the sea.” * * * Greyson Beach hasn’t changed much over the last ten years. Fiery red crabs still scurry across the large,…
by Clover Autrey “Forgotten Promise” placed fourth in Southern New Hampshire University’s 2019 Fall Fiction Contest. A grandfather should not outlive his grandchild. Hans squeezed the tiny stuffed lamb, no larger than his age-spotted hand, and brought it to his lips. Nadine’s scent of strawberry shampoo lingered in the plush…