She waits, in ambush…
Her DNA matches an amber-enveloped relative, one who drew blood from the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
She is of the Clan Culicidae, razor proboscis, a highlander’s blade.
Sweating, hiding undercover, I fall asleep, exposing an ankle. She launches, a creature from a Bram Stoker novel.
Bloodlust… Ectoparasite prevails.
Paul Hock is an author, illustrator, and storyteller. See more of his writing at paulhock.com.
He killed fifty people in cold blood. Shock. Outrage. Mourning. Tears. Calls for gun control legislation. Seven days of commentary. Change the subject.
He killed twenty-six people in cold blood. Outrage. Analysis. Gun control! Three days of commentary. Change the subject.
He killed nine people. Not again! Change the channel.
Israela Margalit wrote this story. See more at israelamargalit.com.
The story of the week for July 2 to 6 is…
Too Late by Kiran Kaur Saini
Stare all you want, I think. It’s not happening.
I walk past without looking. I am young, beautiful, entering the ceramics shop. He is invisible.
Leaving, I am struck
by the sound of a vase smashing, by blood at my temple.
My bag!
“I need a description,” says the officer.
Natasha de Carvalho, a British writer, is a newbie to flash fiction, a genre discovered at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival. This is her first published piece, but hopefully not her last.
Married to her prince at last, Cinderella was presented with a glass crown, in honour of her famous slipper. A week later, after the courtiers had laughed merrily at gifts of a glass throne, a glass dining table, and a matching set of glass cutlery, Cinders bought herself a sledgehammer.
Mark Farley writes novels, flash fiction and the occasional poem. See more at mumbletoes.blogspot.com.
The Ferris wheel’s gigantic blue neon star looms. Waiting in line I feign delight, but I shudder when the bar clicks shut, locking us in our swaying rickety seats.
He hugs me. “I’d better tell you now,” he says, “heights make me queasy…”
Before I can answer, we swing skyward.
Miriam N. Kotzin teaches creative writing and literature at Drexel University. Her collection of short fiction, Country Music (Spuyten Duyvil Press 2017), joins a novel, The Real Deal (Brick House Press 2012), and a collection of flash fiction, Just Desserts (Star Cloud Press 2010). She is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently, Debris Field (David Robert Books 2017).
You explained her as a wild, last craze
In a desperate, lost Lothario haze
And I dismissed her as a mid-life phase
But the heart clots when a partner strays
So you’ll find for our remaining days
I will spite you in a thousand ways
Like “forgetting” to buy mayonnaise.
Jo Withers would like to reassure everyone that she remains very happily married with a plentiful supply of condiments. You can follow Jo on Twitter.
“Remember,” she said to her client, “just because you can’t think of anything new to write this moment doesn’t mean the world is going to end.”
The poet agreed and wished his agent a good night as she walked to the garden gate.
She didn’t make it.
No one did.
Harris Coverley wrote this story.
The dog barked, too late. She stumbled to the kitchen, dropped her towel over the puddle. He nosed his bowl into its folds.
She returned to the couch.
The interview was in an hour, but she was naked, too raw.
He followed, whimpering.
“Shhh,” she said.
They were both hungry.
Kiran Kaur Saini’s work has appeared in Glimmer Train, Pleiades, and elsewhere. See more at kirankaursaini.com
Bob was dreaming that he couldn’t sleep but didn’t know he was dreaming, and so, on waking, he imagined he was exhausted yet he wasn’t really awake.
When the beast came, he didn’t know if he’d sunk into its dream or it into his.
When he woke, the beast followed.
Patrick Mc Loughlin is an English Language Teacher in Ireland and dabbles in writing. He also dabbles in painting and music and some day hopes to do more than dabble. He lives in the west of Ireland, where it’s hard to concentrate.