General Fiction, Short Fiction

Bird by Danielle Burke

We are gathered here. Waiting for the opportunity. The younger one thinks we are loathsome, ignorant creatures, but the old woman knows better. 

***

Ava Nash finally possessed almost everything she knew she deserved. 

She thought back to the winter, to the morning her landlord, Philip, had accosted her. 

“Don’t think I’m going to be persuaded once again by you blinking those pretty blue eyes at me, unless there’s going to be more to follow,” he leered. “Rent’s due by tomorrow at 3:00. If it’s not in my hand by then, we’re going to have to work out another arrangement.” 

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All Stories, Crime/Mystery/Thriller

A Nobel Ending by Steven French

Frank paused as he left the hotel and looked up and down Skomakargatan. With the sky shading into a deeper blue, lights were already coming on along the narrow street. To the left was Stortorget Square and Stockholm’s famous Christmas Market which he and Ellen had strolled around earlier that day. Exhausted from the jetlag and needing some rest from the bustle of the crowds, she was fast asleep in their room but Frank had too much nervous energy still and had decided to burn some off with a brisk walk.

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All Stories, General Fiction

Swindled by Seth Bleuer

“I’ll need his name, something of his, and payment upfront, of course,” I say. The young brunette sitting across from me forces a half smile.

“Of course,” she replies. “His name is,” She pauses and her lower lip trembles slightly. “His name was Theodore,” she corrects herself. She reaches into her Dior purse and pulls out a pair of cufflinks. She then pulls out a matching wallet and pauses. “You said cash only, right?” She inquires. She slides her Gucci sunglasses off to see better in the dim lighting. Even from across the table, her eyes look red and puffy, presumably from crying.

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All Stories, Horror

Suspicious Minds by A. Elizabeth Herting

The clouds were moving. If Harvey closed one eye, he could see them as they drifted above him. He didn’t know when dental offices began putting relaxing pictures in their light fixtures, but he was damned grateful for it. It could have been the numbing stuff they jammed into his gums or that he had been in this chair for an hour and was starting to hallucinate, but those clouds were definitely moving.

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