Category Archives: Odd

VANESSA HENDERSON: Dark Kisses

Odd, Submissions, , , , , ,

The umbrella’s plastic penetrated darkness through the girl’s clammy fingers, hissing wicked commands. Nora’s eyes adjusted; she was now aware of the undead body she greedily consumed.

Desperate for rain’s icy kiss, she tossed the umbrella and started running.

Her voice echoed, “I’m coming my love,” down the hollow alleyway.

Vanessa Henderson is a freelance writer and graphic designer living in Seattle with her husband and dog. Most days you will find her feeding a caffeine addiction while chasing after characters she can swoon over. She writes young adult fiction and blogs from www.youngatink.wordpress.com.

JENNIFER K. OLIVER: The Thinning

Odd, Submissions, , ,

Lee noticed the thinning during halftime—a fuzz of movement to the left of the TV, colour desaturated, like something was pushing against the air.

The pusher came through during penalty shootout, a sunken, watery stare from behind the plasma screen. Only then did Lee find breath enough to scream.

Jennifer K. Oliver is a British writer and web designer who requires regular doses of speculative fiction to function properly.

LIDIYA EMILE: Jars

Odd, Submissions, , ,

Flushing my neighbor’s toilet, I eyed the pus colored soap on the sink. Ew, lemon citrus.

I opened the cupboard, scanning for something else. My eyes collided with jars. Jars with eyes, meat and tongues.

The door opened, letting the crisp barbeque smell waft in. “Are you done in there?”

Lidiya lives in London, spending her free time reading and writing. She runs a blog at http://www.lascarletcat.wordpress.com.

JASON WIRADHARMA: Poor Sunflower

Amusing, Odd, Submissions, , , ,

The key suspect in the case was Mrs. Kee, an old granny, always angry and grumpy. Homicide had taken place; an innocent sunflower had been stepped on. She had the perfect motive: she hated anything happy and colourful.

The foot smashing had a perfect imprint of her silk slippers, size 6.

Today’s story was submitted by Jason Wiradharma.

ALEX GROVER: 01001100 01101111 01110110 01100101

Odd, Submissions, Touching, , ,

He and she became they on a warm and gentle autumn afternoon. They were lucky it wasn’t raining.

Dressed in black and white, surrounded by fax machines, computers, televisions, all close friends in their lives, they beeped in love when the minister told the laptop he could plug the printer.

Alex Grover is a third-year student at Rowan University. He has been published in Outrageous Fortune, Postcard Shorts, Trapeze Magazine, and Linguistic Erosion. He is editor-in-chief of Yorick Magazine, an online venture he began with Cody Steinhauer in 2011.

The Endless Fall

Odd, ,

He’d been falling for longer than he could remember.

Boredom was the real problem. The hunger was annoying, but he always got hungry when he was bored. What he needed, then, was some entertainment.

He tried nibbling the flesh of his forearm. Amusingly tasty…

Masochannibalism? Two birds with one stone.

This story was based on a title suggested by @Strange_Fellow.

TIM SEVENHUYSEN: Waitering Woes

Amusing, Odd, Puns and Wordplay, , , ,

“I won’t recommend seafood dishes anymore,” the waiter explains. “It has landed me in hot water too many times before.”

“Oh?” I say. “Do people really get upset with you when they don’t like your suggestions?”

“I mean literal hot water,” he says sardonically, clicking his lobster claws.

This story was based on the prompt “won’t recommend” at TypeTrigger.

Found/Made

Amusing, Odd, ,

He toddles up to me, hands cupped. “I made this, Daddy!”

I drop my briefcase. “What is it?”

His hands open and there goes the frog. We scramble after it, laughing.

I didn’t realize then that his statement had been literal. I still don’t know what he uses as materials.

This story was based on the prompt “for you” at TypeTrigger.

The Stump

Odd, , , ,

They gathered around the stump, some eyes wet, some eyes hard.

“This tree,” said the eldest, “meant many different things to each of us. We all have reason to mourn it.”

There were some sniffles.

“Now,” said the eldest, “auction’s open! Who wants to bring this hunk o’ wood home?”

This story was based on the prompt “the stump” at TypeTrigger.

While You Were At It

Amusing, Odd, , ,

You ripped out my heart. That wasn’t very nice.

I do appreciate your thoughtfulness in replacing it and stitching me up afterwards, and my new eyeballs work great, thanks, but would it have been too much trouble to remove these huge bolts from my neck, while you were at it?

This story was based on the prompt “ripped out” at TypeTrigger.