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...
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...
“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...
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...
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...
I’ll say it plain; The acquisition of Nazi party member Wernher von Braun was not the most heinous action NASA committed. Not by a long shot. By the time I’m done here, you will not look up at the sky in the same way. I want to...
I should preface this by stating that I’m not much of a smoker. Wow, amazing tone to set on a 4/20 experience, right? I just don’t wanna lie to you, not when discussing the shit that went down. I’ve finally focused enough to talk, I...
I’ve lived in this town all my life, I know all the weird traditions that come with living in a place as remote as mine. But nothing explains what happens at our Deer Park. I used to come out here most evenings during the pandemic, park...
It is as it sounds. Incredulous as it may be, I promise there is an explanation within. I’ve been the Sheriff of a little town called Sturgeon for nearly 23 years. In that time, I’ve seen many a horrific incident descend upon our town, fall out...
“We’ve been out here all day. I don’t understand how we haven’t so much as seen the beast,” William said from his seat on a fallen tree. Birds cawed from somewhere off in the distance, but the woods were otherwise silent. He sipped the ale...
There was a time once when my life was more like what most would call normal. I don’t remember when that was, but it’s only logical to assume that before pills, punk rock and pussy, there was a bout of normalcy for Mister Gillean Rush. ...
In between the mozzarella sticks and the second course, I’m thinking about dying. I don’t think of anyone or anything in particular, and I most especially am not thinking about myself. I happen to like life most of the time, and as far as I know,...
“Are you sure there’s buried treasure here?” “Yeah, I have heard strange tales about this place. Ghosts and zombies and shit.” I resisted rolling my eyes as the small skipper boat we were on slid up against the sands of the island. “It’s not like a treasure map,...
It started with a call from a friend, Luke. “Rob, are you awake?” he asked in a panic as I groggily searched for my glasses. “I am now,” I remarked dryly as I checked the time. Three fucking thirty in the morning. “This had better be good,”...
I knew my time at the Rossetti University was going to be something special the minute I learned of its intriguing history. Originally used as a battle fortress during the last years of a strange land war amid pioneers of the Northwest, the last remaining soldiers...
Part 1 Sol ran the red light at the intersection of Main and Marigold and tore down the road to Marigold Court. He’d outstayed his welcome at the poker game, and since the Dominicans knew where he lived, he’d outstayed his welcome at his own apartment....
It was a small village, a hamlet far off of the beaten path of the major towns and cities, but the people there were hard-working and friendly. They never required walls because there was nothing to guard against. They had nothing of value, there was...
