By Pablo Agrio He was ready to go, but terribly afraid. Death was knocking at the door and he knew it. He used to be big a man, but old age had shrunk him. White hair with a touch of gray. Liver spots covered his face. A new arrival he was. Hospice the best option.Continue reading “The Butcher”
Tag Archives: Short Story
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”
Hit 50
by Chris Bunton I was locked up in Menard prison, at the medium security joint on the hill; serving time for stabbing a guy in a bar fight, when I got a letter from my cousin in Chicago.The letter read: “Hey cuz, How are you? Things are going good up here. Just working and stayingContinue reading “Hit 50”
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”
Thursday, 10:52 P.M.
by Harold Hoss Part 1 Wednesday, 7:45pm 1 day, 3 hours, and 7 minutes Cassie wanted to cancel her zoom date fifteen minutes before it started, but she couldn’t think of an excuse. Excuses were another thing Covid had taken from everyone without warning last year. Now all she could do was text him andContinue reading “Thursday, 10:52 P.M.”
Best Served Cold
by Krystal Mossbarger “What do you have?” Detective Loughty asks when he enters the room. What I have is a stomach threatening to ruin my career. The grotesque scene surrounding us is my first case since being promoted to detective. I attempt to adopt Loughty’s casual attitude; he looks as if he’s attending a partyContinue reading “Best Served Cold”
The Wrong Name
By Marco Etheridge The woman saw her face reflected in a thick pane of security glass smudged with the ghostly imprints of forgotten kisses. Her reflection was serious, nervous, pretty: Margaret Kayner, a young graduate student waiting to meet a monster.Beyond the glass barrier was a worn counter bare of anything except a dirty phone.Continue reading “The Wrong Name”
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”
Dead Flies
By Lindsay Fudim By the time my swatter cracks down on the porch railing like a court gavel the fly is a pancake. Again, I lift the swatter to the air and mercilessly bring it down on the dead fly’s companion, sending sawdust and splintered wood into the air as I do so. “By God,Continue reading “Dead Flies”
Nightfall
By Kevin Reigle Red and blue police lights reflected off the frosted store windows. The snow glowed from the moonlight as it fell on the city park. Onlookers stood behind the yellow police tape near the gazebo, intently watching the officers examine the body. Flashes from the crime photographer’s camera made the crowd uneasy asContinue reading “Nightfall”
