MICHELLE WILSON: A.I.

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

He made a smart toy. One that talked to him; played chess with him; cooked, cleaned, and did his taxes for him.

One that built a 3D-printed cabin with a secure room to keep its own special toy: a not-as-smart-as-he-thought human who played Solitaire and did his own stupid taxes.

Michelle Wilson’s words have appeared in Potato Soup Journal’s Best of 2021 Anthology, Rejection Letters, Maudlin House, Litro Magazine, The Drabble, 50-Word Stories, Literally Stories, Flash Fiction Magazine, and Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, among others. Her story ‘Fish Brain’ has been nominated for a Best of the Net 2022 Award. She lives in Miami Beach, Florida, with her partner, two feral cats, and a thousand tiny reptiles.

JAMES HANCOCK: Bullet

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

My name was engraved on a nine millimetre bullet and fixed to a gold chain. I wore it around my neck at all times. “Somewhere, there’s a bullet with your name on it,” my father had said.

In my line of business, better I have that bullet than my enemies.

James Hancock is a writer/screenwriter of comedy, thriller, horror, sci-fi and twisted fairy tales. A few of his short screenplays have been made into films, and he has been published in print magazines, online, and in anthology books. He lives in England, with his wife and two daughters (and a bunch of pets he insisted his girls could NOT have).

ANTHEA JONES: Boxed In

Adventure, Artistic, Submissions, , ,

You mustn’t open it.
We’ll be doomed.
Forever.

The box wasn’t pretty, but…

He wouldn’t let her work.
Or do much of anything, really.
The locking mechanism intrigued her.
Cured her boredom.

She released his doom. Not hers.
The wells of her power filled.

She wished she’d done it sooner.

Anthea lives in sunny Queensland, Australia. In her day job she works with teenagers and her writing inevitably features quirky characters getting up to mischief. When she’s not writing fiction or screenplays, Anthea can be found deep in the yard, carrying out complicated gardening battle manoeuvres against her family’s four sneaky chickens. Her writing has been recognised by Furious Fiction (Australian Writers’ Centre) and NYC Midnight. Find her online at @WriterAnthea.

HANA S ELYSIA: Pest Control

Amusing, Submissions, , , ,

“So tell me about your line of work. What kind of pests do you get called for most?”

“Oh, you name it. Catcallers, thigh-touchers, bra strap snappers. We got it all. I even had a pest tell me I should smile more.”

“And did you?”

“…Yes. After he was exterminated.”

Hana S. Elysia is a graduate student of the Master of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences program at San Diego State University. Her short fiction has appeared in pacificREVIEW’s Atlantis and Other Lost Places, as well as The Horror Tree’s Trembling With Fear. She aspires to write a fantastical series someday that she can pair alongside her own artwork and create an immersive space where readers can find a second home.

LARINA WARNOCK: Last Resort

Artistic, Submissions, , , , ,

Prayers clung to her throat, a hot lump of hope and hopelessness. She’d prayed before, years ago, but she’d given up on gods and goddesses and grand plans for the universe.

She swallowed hard, forcing the prayer into her center where somebody’s–anybody’s–deity might take it seriously.

“Please, just let him live.”

A one-time teen mother and high school dropout, Larina Warnock holds a doctorate degree and is an educator in rural Oregon where she lives with her husband, three dogs, and a turtle older than she is.

RAN WALKER: The Ghost

Adventure, Submissions, , ,

Only Arthur could see the outline of the girl standing by the window. He wanted to tell his parents, but he knew they wouldn’t believe him.

Nancy saw the outline of the boy standing by the door. She wanted to tell her parents, but she knew they wouldn’t believe her.

Ran Walker is the author of 28 books, the most recent of which is GLOKAT AND THE ART OF TIMING: A NOVEL IN 100-WORD STORIES (Worldspark Studios). He teaches creative writing at Hampton University and lives in Virginia with his wife and daughter.

PATRICK YU: Us and Them

Artistic, Poetry, Submissions, , , , , ,

Five die on each side
Ten replace them
History repeated
My hat off
Held to my chest
Gusts of wind
Amber and Crimson leaves
The season is changing
Winter around the corner
My grandson is warm
Under the Christmas tree
I feel it’s
The last chance
At what was normal

One of Patrick Yu’s favourite memories was paging through the Sears Christmas wish book.

ONDREJ MIXL: Nothing Special

Artistic, Submissions, , ,

I woke up, had breakfast, went to school, came home from school, did homework, went to bed. Nothing special happened. But it was a special day. I was one day older, wiser and maybe I was more mature. It was one more day that nobody would ever give me back.

Ondrej Mixl wrote this story.

PAUL LEVINE: As If We Are Gone

Artistic, Submissions, , , ,

“I get frightened when you go to work,” Coe tells Larry. “I stand at the front door holding the baby, and when you walk across the yard and reach for the truck door, I don’t feel you see us anymore. It’s almost as if we are gone.”

Paul Levine lives in Venice, Florida where the cleanup still goes on from hurricane ian. The Venice Literary Review, his book of about getting older and moving to Florida, is found on Amazon.