Joan looked different in the dark. Her shadow-self manifested savagery and lust. Neal imagined her as queen of the demon army, feeding off the dark energy generated by the adoration of her legions.… more
Tag Archives: Coming of Age
Man of Ten Years
FICTION by Gary FinneganI turned ten the weekend we left Dad in a mad rush, before Christmas, before I’d ever robbed a house. Now I share a bed in the grey-walled box room where Mam slept when she was my age. I talk to meself in the mirror sometimes now. Always tellin’ meself I’ll forever respect ten-year-olds. Most people grow up and forget important things like talkin’ to ten-year-olds and looking them in the eye.… more
Life Would be Perfect If My Teeth Were Like The Boss’s Boys
FLASH FICTION by Jeff HarveyA Christmas card from Dad’s boss arrived with a picture of his family, all of them gleaming, with the dad and three sons with matching blue-velvet bow ties and straight teeth with no gaps. If my teeth were like theirs, I’d smile for pictures too.… more
Swivel
FLASH FICTION by Kathryn KulpaWhen I ask Danny what the poster means he says it’s like all the other stupid school posters and they all mean the same thing. “But what is it?” I ask. “Don’t do drugs,” Danny says.… more
PRACTICE
FICTION by Jack SullivanMonday night, judo class. Ishaan is on top of me, struggling with his grip. Though sensei Frank just demonstrated the choke for us, slowly, thoroughly, Ishaan’s already forgotten the hand work. His thin fingers grasp and re-grasp on my lapels, his knuckles grazing my face.… more
Quarters, Pasos, Arabians
FICTION by Chris SheehanThis was nothing like how I knew the ditch water reason for Lobo’s summer sores, how every summer he got the sores and every summer the ditches filled with water. I knew about that now.… more
Whatever Happened Next
FICTION by Charlie KondekInto the ecosystem had recently been injected another species of working poor high school kids. On the minds of all of them that summer – when was Kacie’s old boyfriend going to fight Kacie’s new boyfriend?… more
The Genie
FICTION by R.M. CooperJesus, I thought. Treasure. Real treasure. I didn’t say a word to the neighbor kid. All I thought about was his snot hands and my lamp. I knew what I had to do. I picked up a clump of dirt, and I thew it at his head.… more
The Seasons of Gilly Black
FICTION by Katy GoforthMole heard his mama talk about Gilly and how he hadn’t been the same since coming back from the war. Looked like she wanted to spit talking about their neighbor. No compassion. And his mama would never spit. … more
Anchor Detail
FICTION by Kristy BellI lifted a quick prayer for that fisherman, even as I watched him throw his back into reversing his course. What chance does a little guy have in this world, you know?… more
