Addiction

She couldn’t stop. Another addiction but nothing like alcohol.

Stuck like glue. Not to the bottle. Stuck to the computer. Playing the game night after night. There must be subliminal messages on the screen, “play me, play me.” They were just dots. Lines of dots. Five in a row. Again.

by Lydia Velarde

Untitled

Falling had always been his biggest fear, but now that he was fifty stories
up and rapidly dropping, it didn’t seem so bad.

‘I wonder if I turned the oven off?’ was his last thought and as it turns
out, he hadn’t. He would have been glad to know this.

by Trevor Mullis

Snatches of Life 01: Forever

Lying on the bed, the two figures were facing each other, both with smiles on their faces. The
long-haired raven beauty whispered loving words to her partner.

The short-haired one leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. Then she covered them both with the soft, white blankets.

by Stefannie Tan

The Language of Men

The bartender brought them fresh drinks. It was
Frank’s round.

Joe said, “So what’d she say?”

“She gave me one of her looks.”

“What look is that?”

Frank shoved a dollar tip at the bartender.

“The one that says get lost.” he said.

“And then?”

“Here I am.”

They drank.

by Charles Deemer

Untitled

The old gumshoe showed the slyness of a fox and the quickness of a cat as he pulled the derringer from his underwear. "Ya know, my mentor told me there'd be days like this and dames like you."
Then he slowly and with purpose pulled the trigger of the small gun.

by Ken Jones

Eliza

He critiqued her choice of books (“Novels,” he sniffed) and friends. She tried exotic fare, instead of McDonald’s, he turned off her television, took her to art galleries. “The East Coast was better,” he
sighed, “Nothing like it is here in the Midwest.” One day, she realized he hadn’t changed.


EDIT: Apologies to Marci V., who wrote this.

Bite Me

She picked up the apple. The worm inside was looking out. As her fingers clutched the fruit, the worm waited. She brought it to her open mouth, he spit his juices into the back of her throat. In an instant, she was apple dumpling, the worm was a country bumpkin.

by T.C. Conner

Untitled

I brushed his eternally sleeping eyelids, gently cleaning off the ashes that had settled there. His
skin crackled like dried leaves. I recoiled. I cried. My tears disappeared into the thirsty membranes of his cheek. I did not know him but my tears were heartfelt just the same.

by Daisy

Baseball

Looking up at the sky, the ball came into view. This was the last time. No more baseball games. The dark fuzzy clouds told of a coming storm. The ball grew larger, the crowd yelled stronger. Cream color and brown stitches blocked the sun. Swirling, heat, sweat, softening sounds. . . "YOU'RE OUT!"

by Kami J.

Auburn

The anticipation of seeing old friends (and enemies), meeting new, will I return changed? Time ripped away to bare the past and open the future. How will the present unfold? A folly or an experience to cherish - most likely a shade of gray, like my hair under the auburn coloring.

by Roz

Into the Light

What an odd dream. One of those floating dreams I only had when I was young.
I see my wife of twenty two years, she looks so peaceful as she sleeps. How can
she sleep with that stupid bright light. Stop calling me, I want to stay in my bed.

by daniel brower

Untitled

Starlight sparkled on Princess Gertrude’s chrome breastplate.
Her Flaming Sword was, temporarily sheathed.
The hyper-drive was at full blast.
New worlds to conquer awaited, plundered worlds were smoking
behind her.
Her holds were stuffed with plunder.
Somewhere in the distance the prince of the universe awaited,
Life was good.

by Bryant

Untitled

She sat on the cold chair in her doctor's office. Her mind replayed images of events in the past week. The symptoms and the examinations. The way her little boy caught that important flyball. The way her little girl smelled.
Her doctor said the word "Cancer." Now begins her fight.

by Delia Fonseca

The Note

He kept the folded note she had written him in his drawer, buried
beneath random clutter.

Randy hadn't revisited it in years but now as he packs up, it stares
at him, in hand.

After all this time, he opens it. "Loaf of Bread, quart of milk,
pound of butter."


by R.J.L.

Monkey

There was once a monkey; he had a big head and very little ears. The monkey was very happy and he lived in a tree. The monkey had sex and ate a lot of bananas.

Alas, this all changed, when the monkey was shot dead in the head!
48 words

by Carl Carey

Stay

What an odd dream. One of those floating dreams I only had when I was young.
I see my wife of twenty two years, she looks so peaceful as she sleeps. How can
she sleep with that stupid bright light. Stop calling me, I want to stay.

by daniel brower

Untitled

Lost and stranded somewhere in the Doldrums, Columbus in despair, sent off an email from his flagship’s Macintosh asking for help, to Terra Incognita and when he received a useful reply, was able to continue on to discover not Cathay but the New World.

by Yosef Bar-On

Thrilling Days

He came back to the cave behind the waterfall.

I shot him dead like he done my pa.

He was fast like in the stories. Got two of those silver bullets in my gut.

I crawled over and don't it beat all?

That mask was part of his face.

The thrilling final episode of the trilogy.
by Christopher (www.cwmurphy.com)

Trick Pony

"You seen a horse that smart?"

He's blubbering. Going into shock.

"He put something in her ears. Poor mare flopped over on her belly, klacking, like to chewed through her tongue."

He clutches at his bloody chest, wheezes.

"I tried to put her down twice. He wouldn't abide me."

Part 2 of the trilogy.
by Christopher (www.cwmurphy.com)

And Solitude My Guide

"He'll kill you," says the Indian.

He doesn't turn around or stop drinking.

"You don't know that. I'm fast."

"He's faster."

"I got the damned drop on you, didn't I?"

"Don't matter none."

"You tell me where he is, you live. I mean it."

"Go talk to the farrier."

Bang.

Part 1 of the trilogy.
by Christopher Murphy (www.cwmurphy.com)

Untitled

It was the beginning of an end. Last day of work tomorrow. Anxious, scared, apprehensive, excited. And where from here? Better job, new city, new life, new chances to screw up - everywhere she looked. Known hell to unknown hell. All in all, she'd rather stay in her cave, disappearing.

by Jennifer Paige

The Breakup

The breakup was long overdue. I’d wanted to spare his feelings waiting for the precise moment to arrive. My bags were packed, ticket purchased. At the last moment he decided to go, not consulting me. His mother watched while he packed everything but condoms. She was born nine months later.

by Susan of Pudlin

Untitled

There was an angel sitting at the window, looking out into the darkness. He
must have heard me stir, because he turned, and I saw a tear running down
his face.

"I thought angels couldn't cry," I said.

"We can't cry for the living," he answered, as he turned away.

by Willa at Willa.com.

Answers

Corn would have been an acceptable answer. In fact,
it was the only acceptable answer.
He said lettuce, and claimed that was a solution to
the riddle.
That somehow one discarded its outside, cooked the
inside, and then ate the outside.
The answer was corn.
He obviously had no clue.

by R. Snurkle

Fate

"Groceries, then the kids," she thought as she approached the train crossing. She shifted gears to slow and her bottled water, previously on the dash, splashed on the floor. "Shit!" she gasped leaning down to retrieve the bottle. Just in that instant, her car was hit by the oncoming train.

by Jennifer Lee at injennuity.

Growth

She stared off into the distance, long after he had gone. Was that it? Could it be over that quickly, that quietly? Like everything in her life, she questioned its purpose. What reason had it served. And then as quickly as the friendship had ended, she realized its purpose. Growth.

by Tracy

The Flirt

They had been eyeing each other for some time.
He gathered his courage and offered her a smile, a carefree, lopsided grin.
She smiled back seductively and surreptitiously winked.
Oh yeah, she likes me, he thought.
She smiled again as she placidly engaged her oblivious boyfriend's hand and walked away.

by Nicole at Shi Designs

In His Wake

She observed him slowly disentangling himself from her life, with more care than he had shown railroading into it. Strange, she thought. He had never asked her what she thought of the wonderful mess he left behind.
She whispered with a sigh, "I guess, we're not soulmates after all."

by Nicole at Shi Designs