JEDIDIAH SHEPLER: Jacob’s Last Message to Me (Note Affixed to the Console)

Adventure, Odd, Submissions, , ,

April 10:

The stone was polished so smooth it seemed almost without an edge. Its reflective surface simply dissolved into the image of the background.

April 29:

Once you see the stone you can’t pry it from your thoughts if you want to. The trouble will begin soon. Good luck.

Jedidiah Shepler believes varied interests build a strong and plastic mind. He completed a degree in Anthropology from the University of Houston, Texas (summa cum laude) and is fascinated at how difficult it is to “get a real job” with a social sciences degree. Luckily he doesn’t want a real job. Simply: a job. He occasionally writes crappy movie reviews at downthemoviehole.blogspot.com. This is his first fiction submission.

CONNELL WAYNE REGNER: The Elderly Housekeeper

Amusing, Submissions, , , , ,

“You’re a naughty boy, Dr. Frankenstein, leaving all those body parts on the floor for me to trip over. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you wanted me to trip and kill myself.”

“Then you’d better count yourself lucky I’m building a car down here and not a monster.”

Connell Wayne Regner wrote this story as inspired by Alex Sinclair’s The Disgruntled Housekeeper. Connell’s other dabblings can be found at paragraphplanet and wtdmagazine.wordpress.com.

JOE MALONE: Donors

Amusing, Submissions, ,

I am a very fortunate young man. I have the heart of an Olympic athlete and the kidneys of a vibrant young woman.

It is sad that these precious organs are available only through the tragedy of early death.

I keep them on my mantle next to an autographed baseball.

Joe Malone is living in a mud hut in South Sudan. Read more from him at http://joem18b.wordpress.com/.

ANDREW PATCH: The Last Rider

Artistic, Odd, Submissions, , , , ,

The carousel spun, frozen horses galloping within the abandoned funfair.

She clung to her mount, fingers prying flaking paint away. Dreaming of a heartbeat, the rhythm between hooves and breath.

Tears tracked down her face. She missed horses the most, yet like everything they were gone.

Lost to the plague.

Andrew originates from the UK but lately finds himself drinking black coffee and dodging possums in Brisbane.

JOHN B. SINCLAIR: Payback

Amusing, Submissions, , , , ,

Registration class with Miss Stone forty years ago created scars mental and physical.

“Rogers?” she would call, aware of his impediment. “Enunciate!”

“P-P-Present,” he stuttered.

Now the twisted face of the stroke patient in emergency looked familiar.

“I’m Doctor Rogers. When did you suffer the stroke? Enunciate, Miss Stone.”

Silence.

John B Sinclair is a much-travelled Scot who has now returned to Scotland, where he enjoys freelance writing on a variety of subjects.

Editor’s Note: Read the sequel, Payback (Part Two).

DEVIN HUBBARD: Autopilot

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

If Bunny didn’t get off here, she never would. She would stay on this same road for the rest of her life.

This road would bring her happiness. “Happiness, nothing more,” she thought. Screw that.

She jerked the steering wheel hard, just catching the exit to the road less travelled…

Devin Hubbard is a neuroscientist by dawn, moonlighting writer by dusk.

CAROLYN MAINARDI: Fish Mourning

Submissions, Touching, , , , ,

I couldn’t flush my dead goldfish. Instead, I left him in the bowl in the kitchen and I cry as I mix a tuna salad for lunch. My dishtowels smell like low tide. I keep his plastic toy squid on my bedside table and I dream of a heaven, underwater.

Carolyn Mainardi, a graduate of Boston University, lives and writes all around New England. Her short fiction appears in Danse Macabre and is forthcoming in Burn Magazine. 

SAMUEL BEST: Milk

Amusing, Submissions, ,

Stan poured himself a tall glass of milk.

Sometimes he got to thinking about the stuff that’s in milk. Blood, pus, artificial hormones. Sometimes that made him feel sick and put him off drinking it. But most times he just smacked his lips and knocked it back without a care.

Samuel Best is a Glasgow-based writer and also runs Octavius, a literary magazine for students studying in Scotland. Samuel is currently writing two novels based on different blends of Scottish national identity, violence and running away. He tweets at @spbbest and has more stories available on his website: samuelbest.weebly.com.

DAVID RAWDING: Cracks in the Skin

Submissions, Touching, , , ,

“Terry isn’t right for you, Melissa.”

“Dad, he’s perfect…”

“He’s crippled.”

“There’s nothing wrong with him, believe me.” Melissa  pointed at her father’s chest. “You’re being intolerant.”

“I really wish the problem was just me acting ignorant, but I’ve seen Terry when he’s angry. It’s his rage that cripples him.”

David Rawding has a BA in English from The University of New Hampshire and an MFA in Fiction from Southern New Hampshire University where he teaches English as an adjunct professor. His fiction has been published in numerous literary journals and magazines. David is searching for a home for his completed mystery novel “Taking on Water.” In addition to his professor work, David works as a fly-drift boat fly-fishing guide in Alaska. Keep up with David at davidrawding.com.

LAURA CHESTER: True Love

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

It was love at first sight and it was everything he’d ever dreamed of, his sun, his moon, and his stars. He wanted them to grow old together. The apple of his eye, his everything. His heart had been taken hostage.

His wife wished she’d never bought him that Xbox.

Laura Chester is studying creative writing at university, hoping to go on to make a living doing what she loves.