"Yea, buddy," Jason Biggs shouted, smiled, and then gulped down the rest of his brewski as Bon Scott fabulously articulated that he was on the highway to Hell. He crushed the can and tossed it out of his open window. His gray chest hair fluttered...
"A bit of a lemon, isn't it?" Sheila asked as she hefted the first box out of the moving van. A short, high chuckle responded to her question as she turned around to see Matt, her husband, striking a superhero pose with his fists at...
The small town lay still in the wake of its most eventful annual celebration, St. Patrick's Day. Every year on the anniversary of the Saint's death, all the local residents from miles around fill the square and line the streets, clad in their tackiest emerald...
It is the smell that Dachery notices first. A sour odor, not quite spoiled but somewhat acidic, wafts through the air. It joins the thick artificial popcorn butter and the sucrose of cotton candy to make a nauseating maelstrom of humidity that permeates through the...
I need to clarify before I go any further: I DID NOT push him! I didn’t push him off the ledge. I don’t give a damn what’s being said. Even if I had, however… we’re all about to find out soon just how little it would...
“Have you come to relieve your burden unto the Lord?” asked the elder priest from behind the blind of the confession booth. Silence hung to answer the offer. Rather than immediately persist, the elder priest decided to let him take his time. For in the...
Part I I have never been a superstitious man, and can honestly say that I do not believe in vampires, ghouls, demons, or anything else that those youngsters with their vivid imaginations and smartphones like to dream up. But there is one thing that happened a very...
Danny was always afraid of the dark. The kind of kid who'd slept with a nightlight until he was way too old. One who’d never dare to step out of his room if the hallway light was off. I remember our first sleepover, when tucked away beneath...
“No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.” John 3:13 CHAPTER 1 Devon, England. October 1991 The Duke’s Head pub had been derelict for two years now; boarded up, condemned; but no one missed it. It had never been a...
“With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries?” – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein Detective John McCarthy stood in the ankle-deep snow. Blowing hot air into his cupped hands while examining the scene. Christ. Why’d he...
His name was Connor. Dustin Connor, but he never went by that name. Some called him Con or Connor. I called him Mr. Connor. Mr. Connor was the bravest and most imposing man that I and many have ever known. He stood well over six feet...
Dak and Chadwick each lit up a smoke and cracked their windows, the excitement of a good day fishing warming their spirits despite the cold wind that suddenly filled the cab of Chadwick’s truck. The sporadic raindrops that began to fall as they left the...
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...
I was always told not to look out a window at night, because you might not like what’s looking back at you. They call this an “old wives’ tale” or something like that, but for me, it was just a bunch of silly crap, so...
My first love was Misty from Pokémon. Those legs, that sass, she was absolutely perfect. No one else could ever compare. When I played the games, I’d hang around her gym and pretend that we were on a date. I built my team to be...
“Daddy, why is mommy so cold?” She was dead. Maurice knew that much, but why was she so cold? His father, a stout man named Gregory, was silent. Everyone knows we die. Not even children deny it. Yet knowing a fact and believing it are different....
Prejudice has always required three main ingredients: One, lots of people with one or more common traits. Two, other people that don’t share those traits. Three, enough people upset over it. Silverkey Crossing has always been predominantly white like any small town of the Midwest. Said...
My mother and I live in a relatively small Midwest town of approximately 10,000 people. In a town this small, it’s common to run into many of the same people during your daily routine, as people tend to take the same roads and have the...
I didn’t plan on staying at a motel that night. My apartment is normally a perfectly nice, pleasant, and comfortable place to stay. Unfortunately, the notice on the door of the building said we had to make other arrangements for the next two days. Why,...
When I was growing up my family had issues with trespassers. Not something you expect to deal with when your home sits along the shores of a secluded lake hidden deep within the woods. Even more surprising when your neighbors are all members of your...
