Whatever It Takes by Matthew C. Funk
We dug in the weeds for the body of Baby Dawkins until full moons of dirt opened under our fingernails and our skin wore quilts of sweat. Even traffic cops dug. Amos Dawkins stared through a nailed-shut window. I couldn’t tell if he was looking for his missing daughter or watching to see if we’d […]
Interview: Chris F. Holm
Last week saw the release of Chris F. Holm’s first novel DEAD HARVEST, a multi-genre mash-up that walks the line between Heaven and Hell, literally. With an engaging protagonist, Sam Thornton, attempting to unravel the complexities of a job gone wrong and not get in too deep with the boss, it looks as though Holm […]
Yella Haired Girls by Jim Wilsky
“Not a whole helluva lot of time left Missus Jupe.” Bev waits like she should and then finally turns the key again. The car whines, sputters and coughs twice. She taps the pedal in and out with an even rhythm. Her eyes are closed and she’s gritting her teeth so hard I think she’s gonna […]
Bring It On by Michelle Ann King
Excitement and anxiety feel almost identical to the body, so you might as well tell your brain it’s the former and just say, ‘bring it on.’ Nifty little observation, that. Insightful. It’s not mine, of course — I totally cribbed it from Emily, who’s a dab hand at the whole philosophy thing. But even though […]
It’s Over Now In Saturday’s Asylum by LA Sykes
Saturday night, quarter to twelve, last stop The Rat’s Haven at the top of Market Street opposite the sandstone obelisk. That’s what it’s known as locally. Not it’s real name, obviously. Not rat as in James Cagney either. Rat as in filthy sewer dweller with a tail. A proper dive. The kind of place you […]
Toni by KJ Emslie
“Your old boy will no shaft me again. Must think I’m zipped up at the back.” They’re the first words Dave’s said since I picked them up. “What are you going to do with me? You hurt me, he’ll come after you. He’ll fucking kill you,” Toni says. “Don’t worry, princess, you’re safe with us. […]
Infrared Dead by Rob Kitchin
‘This is where it starts to get interesting. You’ll like this bit,’ Jimmy Kiley said, staring at the flat screen television. Maureen Bailey glanced over at him. She’d been on edge ever since he’d bustled unexpectedly into the house with two of his men. Kiley had a well earned reputation as a calm, collected psychopath […]
Spare Change by Don Lafferty
Mom was high on Percs or something when she told me about one of my father’s stashes of cash. “Daddy has two bags of quarters in here,” she motioned to a large Tupperware container in the middle of a stack of identical containers that went from floor to ceiling in their unused bedroom. “I think […]
Lost Places by Matthew C. Funk
Otis stood on the same corner as ever, eyes like a man lost in a whole new city. I watched him from the roof of the Mini-Mart. His feet shuffled into empty spaces, looking for friends in the cement cracks with the lost coins. I watched him and traced my handcuffs. His ear found an […]
Ghouls by Jen Conley
She was a pretty girl, fourteen, romantic in her thoughts, still a kid. The house she lived in backed up to a line of scrub pines and skinny oaks before opening into an endless beige desert of abandoned gravel pits. Fire trails and narrow paths ran along the perimeter of the forgotten excavation, with dirt […]
Day of the Dead by Hector Acosta
The baby sized skulls adorned the foot of the grave, packed so tightly that they almost hid the name of the buried from view. They all faced the front of the cemetery, their broad grins etched in black, blue, and red icing. Sprinkled among the skulls laid other offerings- a plate of tamales and red […]
The Day Traders – Part Two by Peter Farris
REPOSSESSED I can see a lot from my window The drunks driving home And the repo trucks not far behind The cats crossing the street Looking for love But I can’t shake the sight Of a cop leaving the scene Of a crime With a smile on his face And a bag in his […]