The Beginning of A Bad Thing
**The Beginning of a Bad Thing** Shannon's walk was brisk and determined as she marched down the hall, clinically white, holding the yellow package tightly to her breast. Her formal purple dress clung to her like November frost to a car...
The Old Man
**The Old Man** "Do not leave me alone." I stared hard at these words, written in decorative cursive that the old man had given to me on a paper that had been torn out of his notepad. I was flabbergasted, knowing full well...
Shadows Dance: Part II and Conclusion
**Shadows Dance Part II and Conclusion** _ The lens pans up to the top of the Durer Mountains, which are so high and jagged that they seem to be stabbing the sky itself. A finger appears in the image, tapping the spiny ridge of the dark...
Shadows Dance: Part I
**Shadows Dance** "No. No, this isn't right." But it was right, the evidence was staring Nathan in the face. The thin red fox read the letter again, hardly believing the typed Tahoma-style words. He hoped that reading the...
Pick Me Up
**Pick Me Up** There was no call for it. This thought stuck in Jacob's mind like a fly in a wedding cake. He trudged forward through the morning mist, the heavy smell of pine invading his nostrils, somehow pushing him back...
Trenchcoat Warfare
**Trenchcoat Warfare** Caleb grabbed another Dr. Pepper and flicked the tab open. The instant after the popping sound filled the basement, he shouted angrily as a jet of carbonized soda splattered his face and shot him directly in the...
The Bad Seed
The Bad Seed It stood there in a dark, secluded part of the farm, towering over the other trees like a fat old vulture. To Apple Bloom, it looked more like a squash that had been left outside to decay through the winter rather than a tree. Its base...
No Popcorn for the Movie
Not a Popcorn Movie I looked up at the marquis above the movie theater entrance, shuffling my feet nervously against the pavement. The evening was a cold one, though it hadn't snowed in a couple weeks now, and in the sky, the sun had fallen below the...
Shockstars
Tank Girl looked around, surveying the town that used to be so flourishing. She saw the bakery at the far end of the street, illuminated from the inside by glowing fire. The deli just beside it was pouring greyish black smoke out of the doorway before...
Let's Get Lucky
Let's Get Lucky Pros: an astute, intelligent man; willingly helps people when they are in need; keeps healthy on a regular basis; doesn't complain when things are too tough. Cons: a pernicious, self-obsessed wife-beater; chronic rapist; only helps...
Snowbomb
Snowbomb I looked outside my window; snow had been steadily piling up over the past three days, adding a new inch of white powder every eight hours or so. Beyond the glass it was as white as a forest could get, pure blinding white-out conditions. It...
Black Widow and The Tarantula Ten
Black Widow and the Tarantula Ten I loaded up my six-shooter, putting in the bullets one by one, knowing that the gun wasn't nearly big enough for what was coming. Jason cleared his throat, a clear sign of nervousness that I never liked. He was...