One Night in Winter
by Gerri Brightwell Issue 80 As her Uber turns toward the bridge, Elise catches sight of the hospital. The walls with their too-few windows. That closed-in look. St Joseph’s—even the name brings back the odor of antiseptic, the glassy smell of floor polish, an uncertain dread. She shuts her eyes and tries to focus on […]
This Cafe I Walked into Once When I Was in the City
by G.C. Collins Issue 80 I was in the city recently, killing time at this cafe and waiting for you to get done with work. It was a Friday afternoon close to the winter holidays. We were going to grab some drinks and dinner and, if we were still up for it, catch a late […]
Ten Rules for Girls and Monsters
by B.B. Garin Issue 80 Last night, it came from the woods. Matted and musty with sour dog breath. Talia’s as prepared as she can be for it. It’s been dragging sticky, licorice-black shadows through the house for months. She’d almost feel sorry for it, like the bear she saw caught in a torn, steel-wire […]
Rock Climbing With Strangers
by Julia Moore Issue 80 During the belay check, I forget my climbing partner’s name. Orion? Blaze? Something hippie and granola. I dig through my memory, but fail to unearth a name for the lanky figure with the loose man-bun. He yanks the rope knotted to my harness and thumbs his carabiner to make sure […]
Nine Parties from Before Rent Was Too High
by Phoebe Oathout Issue 78 Do You Know Her was a party at permanent risk of devolving into group therapy, a freak show fat with winos and gorgeous transvestites. Every Tuesday, nine to midnight, the regulars came to play their part. Mork worked the door. Sweet Bee played host. Roy covered the bar, and Delilah […]
Follow the Leader
by Zilla Jones issue 77 Leader came home on a cloudy day during the wet season, when the noon sky was as dark as midnight and the rain rattled down like pebbles, tearing the palm leaves from the trees. It puddled in the trenches lining the island’s main roadway that ran between the airport and […]
The Marvelous Curve
by Andrew David MacDonald issue 76 I. Uritz was shelving some tattered hard covers when the gunshots went off. He didn’t bother stopping. Whenever someone tried to escape, they were shot. Uritz liked the smell of the old books and focused on that instead of the noise. An alarm bell ringing followed the gunshots, and […]
The Negative Cutter
by Sarah Kobrinsky issue 59 I DON’T REMEMBER WHEN I STOPPED looking for her name. It was a game we played in high school. We stayed until the end of every film to see the name of the negative cutter up on the big screen. We waited patiently in the dark as the credits rolled […]
Stay a Stand-Up Bassist Forever
by Jillian Weise issue 60 DEAR NYLES- I’M WRITING TO YOU on a beige and brown typewriter with a resistant return so I have to push when I get to the end of the line. I’m writing to you from an A-frame in the middle of some woods, near a pond in South Carolina. I’m […]
The Saw Is Family
by Tyler Dennis issue 62 WE WATCHED THE ORIGINAL AND WERE TOO SCARED to sleep. Roaches hastened up the shadowy walls, and we counted them to get our minds off that repugnant movie. But still, we heard apparitions and hulking assassins that weren’t there. My aunt Brittany is four years my senior. Back then, at […]