The lavish banquet that had been so expertly laid out on the long, elegant refractory table before me could only be described as perfect. Truly, utterly, perfect. It was the most sublimely archetypical Thanksgiving Dinner that I could imagine. The table was draped in a...
The painted gray metal door leading from the reception area to the mechanics’ bays banged open. “Hey … we got a hot one!” “Yeah?” Nigel asked. Larry nodded and winked, “Oh, yeah!” Nigel smiled. “Do we have some time?” “All day, Nige. Guy’s wife came in, rushing him around, nagging him...
Chapter 1 If you want to know just how unimportant you are, get a job at the biggest company you can. The bigger the outfit, the smaller the cog you’ll be in that cascading clockwork that makes the thing move. You’d be more significant as the sole...
I still get flashes before I open my eyes in the morning. We went ice skating; Hannah was laughing one minute, then the next...
Chapter 1: The Beginning Loretta could see two versions of the mockingbird in the tree outside her window. One with ugly gray and black feathers, the other with beautiful aqua feathers. The aqua bird was so much more pleasing to Loretta’s sight. The black and gray...
“I don’t want the cops up here snooping in my stuff.” Brian’s voice told me he was angry almost as much as he was worried. Things were out of his control, and he never liked that. “Your wife and daughter are missing. Now isn’t the best...
“I don’t know, man, the cabin is really far out there and you’d be alone until Sunday.” “Alright, If it’ll help you get over this thing with Sam you can stay at the cabin for the weekend. Just, you know, you remember what it’s like. Things...
I know he is there—the man who lives in the forest. I am yet to see him directly, but I feel his presence nonetheless. He flows as a shifting shadow between the boughs and branches of the trees — a dancer in the darkness unheard...
The Crocodile House stands alone in the scrubland; old, abandoned and overgrown. And I use the term ‘stands’ in the loosest possible sense. It must have been a grand place, once, but the building is now a dilapidated wreck. The council put some fences up around...
When there was a chill in the air and there were more jack-o-lanterns than plain pumpkins on every doorstep, I got called out to investigate a fresh crime scene. Somebody thought that it would be real cute to firebomb a Catholic church. Now this wasn’t one...
Let me start out by saying that I am not a people person. When the pandemic hit North America it was probably the best damn thing to happen to me. Most of my time is spent online anyway seeing as I work in data collection for an...
Like everyone else, the pandemic had me sitting inside, bored out of my mind. My job was considered non-essential, so for a while I was just sitting on the couch watching videos or playing video games. I think what makes those activities so enjoyable, though,...
I was always so afraid of the dark as a kid. I used to think that there was something wrong with me, the way I would tense up when I could no longer distinguish my bedroom’s wall from the floor, when it all became a...
I am the one that the world left behind—at least until you finish reading this. It wasn’t that I was unremarkable. Everyone has something about them that is uniquely their own. It just so happened that my thing was floating through foster families, schools, and social...
I was skeptical when my online friends first linked me to the supposed “evil Kickstarter” that was going viral on the less-than-wholesome forums we frequented. We were an unmoderated haven for trolls, weirdos, and radicals, sure, but this Kickstarter was something else entirely. It seemed...
Woodard Hall was empty. All the university workers were gone for the day, but it didn’t matter whether the building was occupied or not; it always felt empty. The long corridors sprinkled with muted orange lights drained all the energy out of the building, like...
Mr. Vanhin had a wonderful day. He woke up at 5 am, said his morning prayers, and cooked himself a full breakfast, complete with fried eggs, sausages, and bacon. At 10 am, after a short nap in his favorite armchair, he grabbed his cane, put...
I hate Friday nights. Lately, I just hate them. I rolled a six this time, so I can breathe easily for another week. I turn away from the poor suckers still rolling the dice. I can't watch. The only sound in the room is the small crack...
“Sorry, new kid, but you’re last in today so you’re our candidate this year!” The kid in front of our classroom door relaying this to me looked a mixture of pity and relief, his nose taped over and a black eye, an immediate standout feature....
A few seconds. I looked down for just a few seconds, and I ended up being treated to an experience that has permanently warped my sense of reality. I was driving home after work. I’d had to stay late to help clean up, and the sun...
