Shots Ring Out

By Matthew Senn My daddy was a paranoid man. Had every right to be too, ‘course. He’d always figgered someone would come lookin’ for ‘im one day. Never went into much more detail than that. One mornin’, he hears some shots ring out. He was a corn farmer then, our patch a land went fromContinue reading “Shots Ring Out”

The Face Keeper

By Gratia Serpento Kenan watches his wife as she moves about the bathroom, brushing her teeth and readying herself for bed, quietly humming a Black Eyed Peas song as she always does. His wife is wearing old pajamas that have stains and holes, her dark hair tied up in a ratty bun, and she hasContinue reading “The Face Keeper”

A Drive to the Park

By Carl Bluesy “Why did you let me die daddy?” Cindy asked. I was stunned and at a loss for words. An oncoming Honda Civic swerved into my lane. My windshield filled with light. I was in pain as the seat belt tightened across my chest. The light vanished along with my vision. I thoughtContinue reading “A Drive to the Park”

Immeasurable Acts of Violence

By Cullen Corkery At some point, the noise and rhythmic thumping of a bass-boosted stereo became too much, despite the coke we’d snorted earlier in the bathroom upon arriving, and despite the vodka cranberries I’d been guzzling half the night. I focused my eyes and found Ray a couple yards down from the balcony whereContinue reading “Immeasurable Acts of Violence”

Worms

by Tyler Grant Worms… There’s so many different kinds: threadworms, roundworms, whipworms, and hookworms, just to name a few. Often, people carry these little parasites for years without even knowing they’re inside them. But they are. And they’re feeding off of us. If enlightened, you might say that’s normal, that there’s medicine for them, butContinue reading “Worms”

Doldrums

By Eve Taft Journal recovered from the CS Dolores, found empty and dead in the water on July 9, 2005. The crew, including Ben Hawthorne, author of the journal, remain missing and presumed dead. July 6, 2005I’m sober again. I took a job on a container ship as an “Ordinary Seaman.” My brother didn’t evenContinue reading “Doldrums”

Santa Cruz 1970

By Carl Boon I live over on Collier in a duplex with a Mexican girl who’s studying to be a nurse’s aid. She wants to work in a mental hospital after watching some documentary about schizophrenics on Channel 6. I tell her some of those people would just as soon stick a fork through herContinue reading “Santa Cruz 1970”