The Aucilla Sinks by Julien Dykes Devane
Neither said a word on the drive to the Aucilla Sinks. Marvin drove so fast down the highway, the wind didn’t whirl so much as buzz like static on a 4AM channel. He made sharp turns down dirt roads and stomped the brakes more often than was necessary. Marvin knew he liked Abbey. Cute. Funny. […]
Cheating by Trey R Barker
He shoved his fingers deep inside her, dug for evidence. Her skin crawled. “Find anything?” “Eighty percent of women cheat.” He looked at his fingers, wiped them on her shirt. “And one hundred percent of men.” She jerked her shorts up. He glared. “You’re cheating. Why else would you ignore my Kingsnake?” His voice softened […]
McDojo by Gerard Brennan
“Tony, mate, what the hell are you doing?” “Just a second.” “You’re going to hurt yourself.” “Shut up, I’m concentrating.” “Would that not be easier if you put out the joint?” “Ach… this is impossible. The guy on the video told me to get loose and relaxed before attempting the moves.” “He probably meant you […]
Dark-Adapted Eye by Katherine Tomlinson
Everybody looks but nobody sees. Or if they see, they don’t understand. Or if they understand, they don’t react. When I was just little, I saw a woman push her daughter off a playground swing and then scold her for crying when she fell. This betrayal terrified me so much I immediately ran to my […]
Somnambulist by Chris Rhatigan
Terry awoke on his neighbor’s porch swing. He was cold and confused and the first thing he saw was Brad Monarch’s shit-eating grin. Aw, fuck. “Jesus, Brad, I am so sorry.” Brad folded his massive, tattooed arms. “You were snoring so loud you woke the whole house up.” “Like I said, I’m so sorry.” “You […]
Every Deviance, Damnation by Matthew C. Funk
The Abby Normal Case was my first true Red Ball — the kind of case where you can’t resist putting in overtime at the office and you can’t sit still in your chair. One raw-eyed night those weeks, Andsell stared at our photo spread. “Seems like it should be simpler,” I said. “It is. We […]
To Cut A Long Story Short by Rob Kitchin
‘To cut a long story short, Billy Mac did it.’ ‘Billy Mac?’ ‘He murdered Harry H.’ The man raised a pint of Guinness and took a sup. ‘Billy Mac stabbed Harry seventeen times?’ The woman replied, her voice rising an octave. ‘They were engaged to be married!’ ‘Exactly! If you’d been engaged to Harry, you’d […]
Scrapbook by Joe Myers
Blair calls to let me know Smilin’ Jackie’s back in town. Her voice is all silk stockings and razorblades, but right now it’s trembling so bad I can hardly tell what she’s saying. Even a razorblade’ll snap if you shake it up enough. She asks if she can stay at my apartment. Of course she […]
T-Bone’s Girl by Edward Vaughn
Dennis hauled himself out of the hole, stabbed the earth with his shovel and lit a cigarette. “Why we diggin’ this hole again?” he said peeling off his sweat soaked t-shirt. “Because T-Bone said so.” “Yeah, but why?” “T-Bone says dig a hole. We dig a hole. You don’t ask questions.” “We?” Dennis said, “I’m […]
Jonas Turley by Liam Sweeny
Jonas Turley spent his last breath in a frayed easy chair, listening to a vacuum that reverberated with the sounds he grew up to. In the early morning hour, the north wing of the Phoenix had exhausted its revelry, hallway empty except for old Barney Ellis, a down-town drunk who squatted every night when the […]
Albatross by R Thomas Brown
The wooden rolling pin and promotional pamphlet, spotted with blood, landed in the trash with a thud. James Smith slipped off the gloves and tossed them in as well. He’d burn them tomorrow. He tossed the clothes into the lower unit of his top and bottom washer/dryer and stepped into the shower. He stood beneath […]
Faggot by Thomas Pluck
In study hall Brandon sat like a little faggot so I said “Hey faggot.” “That’s right, faggot. Don’t look at me. I don’t like faggots looking at me. I don’t want their faggot eyes on me, faggot.” Bell rang and he walked like a faggot and held his books like a faggot so I knocked […]
