By Dick Johnson Carl awoke. His head hurt and the light was bright. His memory flooded back to him, and he realized where he was. He was in his underwear, and lying on a concrete bunk in a room with almost zero features. There were fluorescent lights in mesh glass above, grey rubber walls, aContinue reading “Drunk Tank”
Category Archives: Noir
Death by Innocence
by Dan Cardoza Infestations of Fire Ants are everywhere. Onyx-eyed, Insect aliens, dressed in antennae, oversized mandibles, and swollen abdomens. They exist in the shadows of cracks, in vast armies on the march, and in the darkest corners of our minds. The neighborhood is pulsing. Neil Armstrong is stepping onto the moon, right now, inContinue reading “Death by Innocence”
Izzy’s Demise
By John Haymaker Rain crashed a late night frat party. Just after one, Alex stumbled back to the student ghetto and up the rickety stairs to his loft. Once inside he misplaced his keys. He pat himself up and down but forgot about the keys the moment he found the dime bag he scored atContinue reading “Izzy’s Demise”
Dirty Blog 8
(The Dirty Blog is based upon the idea of “What if” a career criminal decided to write a blog, just like anyone else.) I was at Manny’s bar, where I had previously gotten a couple of jobs. One was collecting some gambling debts, and the other was following a guy’s girlfriend, and then beating upContinue reading “Dirty Blog 8”
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”
The Exit
By Dylan Todd “Take a seat, son.” The old man pointed at a chair directly across from himself. Tommy obliged. Tommy had been to several sit downs just like this, but never the focus of said sit down. Nervous, he fought every instinct to run, but he knew that to run would mean that heContinue reading “The Exit”
Octavia
By Pablo Agrio We arrived late afternoon, after stops at several different penitentiaries in the immediate area. CDC bus rides in handcuffs and leg chains were always a nightmare. There was still the matter of processing but at least I could use the restroom without having to deal with all the restraints. It is theContinue reading “Octavia”
The Bear Paw Beat
By Marco Etheridge A black low-rider beetled down the potholed road towards a glaring cloud of neon that illuminated the Electric Sewer. Pulses of garish color spilled from ancient glass tubes that buzzed and hummed down the length of the bar’s crumbling facade. Reds, pinks, and blues mixed with putrid fog, acrid exhaust, and aContinue reading “The Bear Paw Beat”
Sad Day
By Dick Johnson It was a sad day in a house full of assholes, and I was dying. It wasn’t always sad, like it wasn’t always daytime, but they were probably always assholes. It was a house in St. Louis. It was one of those slum houses. I’d tell you where, but no one reallyContinue reading “Sad Day”
Just To Get High
By Mathew Serback i.I bought weed from the white girl who lived next door to me. She was a child-monster whose face was full of freckles that were mopped up by her brown hair, which obfuscated her eyes and never let her make eye contact with someone she must’ve consider to be a loser. ii.TheContinue reading “Just To Get High”
