No coverage, not even one bar. The battery was dead anyway. It was still daytime, but it was overcast, and the sky had a perfectly even dullness so there was no way to tell what time of day it was, much less which direction was...
I found the place one night after an especially heated argument with my ex. Now, I’ve never actually been the type for guns, but something about the venue interested me when I passed it by. I think it was the privacy. Open 24 hours, the bright glimmering...
“Summer homes are for rich people, Allen.” I’ve been known to spend money on things that I don’t need. Sometimes it can be hard to determine which products are necessities and which are simply desires. My wife Brittany is usually the one who keeps my head on straight,...
“Imagine you were alive in the 1980s, and you were told that computers would soon control everything related to life. From shopping to dating, to even supercomputers in the palm of your hand or an international invisible network that connected you to literally anyone on...
Technology is changing at a rapid pace, so fast that some even say it’s frightening. I got a chance to experience this nightmare firsthand just a few weeks back when I was given the opportunity to test out a new autonomous vehicle for my company. At first,...
Would you believe that three simple gold tokens changed my life? They clattered to the bottom of the arcade machine, and the screen in front of me turned from dark blue to a splash of pixelated orange and yellow. Rhythmic sounds beat out from the speakers on...
“Dr. Annelise Fowler,” “Annie, no one calls me Annelise.” “Alright then, Annie.” “You can call me Dr. Fowler.” Agent Romero slips a cigarette out of his pack, “You mind if I smoke, Doctor? Would you like one?” “I would mind, and no, I would not like a cigarette. Let’s just...
1978 With headlights off and through the rain-lashed windscreen and blackness of the night, Don didn't see the tree across his side of the road until it was nearly upon him. He put his foot hard on the brake and instinctively yanked the steering wheel, sending...
I’m not sure if he knows how little respect I have for him. He leans back in his chair, slowly placing his hands behind his head—making a meal of it—as though what is to follow is going to bring him great pleasure. The two rings under...
“Once upon a time, there was a big bad wolf–” “Mom!” Heather cried out loudly, cutting her twin sister off. “She’s doing it again!” The girls’ mother, Tracy, appeared at the door, flicking on the light and mock-glaring at the two beds across the room. Heather was...
Who else could’ve asked for a more perfect Christmas morning? The skies not quite dark yet not quite bright, snowflakes gently pelting against the windows, the fireplace giving a warm, comforting glow, and the tree itself sparkling with glitter and multi-colored lights (in this case,...
Aggie circled the address and folded up the paper. It had taken almost seven years for the Pittsburgh Observer to return listing real estate in their Saturday edition. Luckily with the recession having decreased enough to beckon a mini housing boom back to the Pittsburgh...
My great aunt Mildred absolutely adored yard sales. That woman could haggle a tortoise from its shell. I tagged along a lot because she kept me while my parents were at work. She'd let me pick random junk, and she was an expert haggler when...
I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want to sleep. Sleep has eluded me for several days at this point, but to sleep is to give up and let guilt destroy me. That’s what I call it anyway, guilt. It was as plausible an explanation as any...
My grandfather would tell me stories when I was young about the time before when the world was large and the mists had yet to come. He would tell me about animals that were larger than humans and buildings that stretched into the sky. There...
Last week I was alone in my bed. I’m not alone tonight. He’s right next to me. He’s not supposed to be here, though. Last week I was a senior in high school and completely in love with Steven Hooverson. Truth be told, I’ve been in...
“Breaker one-nine, breaker one-nine.” BOOLEEP. Nothing. “Breaker one-nine. Anyone copy?” BOOLEEP. Glen took a swipe at my hand as I attempted to key up the base station radio mic once more. “Give it up,” he belched. “You lost another one, man.” He crumpled his empty can of MGD onto...
There was roadkill all up and down the highway this morning. It is nine AM and sunlight is sifting through the treetops. The lake is still and black and crawling with bugs. Thin grass grows beside it, tamped down by the boots of men I’ve never...
John began working in my office in late October. He started on a Thursday. He sat at the desk opposite mine, which had been empty since Julia had gone on maternity leave. He turned on the computer and slid his satchel, which had the name ‘John...
I used to think everyone had an inner voice. A little disembodied narrator that, when unfocused, sounded familiar yet not. But something we could take from our own voice and turn into that of a celebrity, a cartoon character or whatever we wished. So it was...
