He’d kept a full head of hair, barely any gray. Switched from Brylcreem to mousse because Gran bitched about him staining the pillowcases, but that night in his Burning Down the House suit, you could tell from the slickness and pungency he still had a tube of Brylcreem hidden somewhere and was going heavy with it for his big afternoon out.… more
Category Archives: FICTION
MEET ME AT THE QUARTERDECK
FICTION by Matt EidsonThat’s what so many civilians don’t seem to understand. We’re not all gun-toting, dip-spitting, far right fuckheads who want to kill somebody and talk shit to ‘Lib-tards’ and collect American flag tattoos. Some of us, the vast majority of us, are just kids who wanted to go to college, to travel the world, to support our families.… more
Canastota
FICTION by Michael CostarisThe back of the fat man’s shirt is splotched and looks like one of those ink tests they gave Bobby back in Arizona. “What do you see?” the shrink asked. Bobby saw two hairy pussies and the devil, but he only said he saw a goat when she asked because he knew what these tests were about.… more
Back Then
FICTION by Ferenc Gaspar, Translated by Agnes MegyeriHe looked around on the empty street and wanted to scream at the top of his voice, he wondered how many people would jump out of their armchairs, from in front of the TV. Blue light was cast onto the streets, the bluish-grey light of the era before colour TVs. Everyone was watching it. The light penetrated their bodies, and their souls did their dance of death on its rays.… more
How to Hit a Woman
FICTION by Kelly KurtzhalsThat’s like a teacher on syllabus day going, here’s the textbook and by the way, I will stab you a couple of times throughout the semester with this knife. Post your responses to the discussion board. … more
Home Instead
FICTION by Terese SvobodaSmash the front door in with the pickup, says Dad. I considers it: a cement step, the sunken garden next to it, the brick around the frame, the new pickup. How about a locksmith? I built it sixty years ago, he says. It’s pretty strong. But you’re driving, he concedes.… more
The Well of Hidden Dreams
FICTION by Areej QuraishiWhat had followed was a cycle, an expulsion of amassed pain. It could not be dispelled nor evaporated, it had to be unleashed the way clouds poured the rains they harbored, rather than condensed into the buried recesses of wells. Despite her sins, she has suffered plenty.… more
more secret wars
FICTION by tony rauchI thought maybe they were canceling operations. Or maybe terminating my contract. For good this time. Real good. Maybe they wanted to do it in public, make a big show of it. I’d rather they handle these matters in private, in some musty old brick warehouse somewhere, in some back alley, on a secret plane to nowheresville, maybe tossing my body out over a swamp. There is a dignity to that, a flair to it.… more
Clint
FICTION by J. Thomas MurphyClint preferred showing over telling, the width of his shoulders, the location of his feet. He invited the clients to watch him, to learn from his form, his steady, even reps, balanced sets that worked each muscle group. Clint was a specimen of physical human potential. We all had something to learn.… more
The 99 Days of Hell
FICTION by Stuart M. RossThe couple said, “it will get better.” They said, “let’s do that tomorrow.” They said, “we got through today and it could’ve been worse.” They said, “God willing,” and they said, “from your mouth to God’s ears.” The husband said, “that’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul,” and death rattled inside him.… more
