The Beating ?by K. Zeth Ozbirn ?He?s still down there,? the guard said as he turned to his sentry, their helmets shining in the faint torchlight. ?How long?s it been?? ?Three days.? They looked down the cold rock wall at the man beating his fists against the large metal doors that lead to the courtyard.?…
Author: Every Writer
Richard Edwards has a BFA in Creative Writing and Journalism from Bowling Green State University and an M.S. in Education from the University of Akron. Managing editor of Drunk Duck, poetry editor for Prairie Margins, reporter for Miscellany, Akron Journal, Lorain Journal, and The BG News. He has also worked as a professional writer and editor in the medical publishing industry for several years. For the last 15 years Richard has also taught literature and writing at the secondary and post-secondary levels. He works much of the time with at-risk students.
Josephine by Fritzroy Austin Sterling
Josephine by Fritzroy Austin Sterling When Josephine strutted into Saturday Morning, the Sky King of both horizons parted the early morning fog and the long, narrow road ahead looked like a never-ending runway. By then, word of her arrival had spread and the grapevine had sprung into full swing.? She had arrived late last…
Manufactured Greatness: By Joshua Carroll
She was standing in the rain. Unmoving, while the tiny drops spattered her blue dress. I watched her from the window. I wanted to walk out to her, tell her that she was the only thing in the world. No, she was holding me back. My feet were glued to the floor, petrified by the truth. The lights of the cab appeared down the street, her head didn?t move. Her shoes were white with spots of mud from the edge of the sidewalk and bits of grass clung to them desperately.
Ugly in Stereo by Stacie Adams
The woman whispered to our mother as she swung a greasy brown finger over our heads. ?God must hate you,? she added before wandering away. My mother?s tense white face stayed that way for the remainder of our shopping excursion. In bed that night Chloe asked me what the woman whispered to our mother in the store.
Electra by Sonia B. SyGaco
The neighbors curled beneath their blankets, waited until the rhythm of anger from the flashing lights and thunder?s cursing abated, heard the first cry of an infant. The husband, an albularyo (folk healer) must have cut the umbilical cord and tied it into a knot. The wife exhausted from such strenuous labor, eyes now closed. The day had been unkind to her, the unbearable pain, brim of death.
Day 9961 by Felix Ames Glas
In a room, a large living room, Duo sat, his head in his hand, blocking his eyes from the rays of a dying sun. Around him, Louis and Clark, the other tenants–cats–played. The cats were mock fighting, oblivious in feline bliss; meanwhile, Duo was breaking down, National Geographic-like, rapidly becoming an endangered specie. His mind it turned out was not impervious to pain, loneliness
The Tortoise and the Hare by Stephen Prime
The Tortoise and the Hare An Aesop Foible by Stephen Prime Once upon a time there was a tortoise and a hare. The hare drove a red Ferrari 550 Maranello and was always boasting about how many revs he could get out of it. Although the tortoise and the hare weren?t really friends, they…
No Beauty Hovered Over Me by Jim Piper
No Beauty Hovered Over Me ?by Jim Piper I was texting Maria when I ran splat into a woman in a crosswalk. Saw her a flash by my window, a hunk of fabric flapping. Cars stopped. I stopped. I just sat. A face appeared in my window. ?Trying to text ? ? I muttered. ?Call…
Driving by Jill Chan
Driving by Jill Chan She didn’t know how to drive. She had tried to learn. Had lessons for months and months. Finally, she gave up. She thought, It’s beyond me. Plus, she had no sense of direction. When she went out, you were most likely to find her walking around in circles. Or playing with…
His Dark Flag by Axel Howerton
His Dark Flag ?by Axel Howerton There is a man who works in my office; he has a wooden leg. It is not an ultra-realistic, scientifically designed and fully-articulated prosthetic. He has a one-and-a-half foot stump below his knee. A polished oak coffee-table leg stands surreptitious beneath his blood-red pantaloons, sparse and thin next…
Christmas in the City by Julie Morgan King
Christmas in the City by Julie?Morgan King A medley of cathedral bells punctures late afternoon apathy and heads look up to find the source of the din. They?ll see nothing, no lonely hunchback hanging off a rope. Just a tall thin spire recently unveiled with predictable pomp and ceremony. A perfect match to its magnificent…
House for Sale by George Eyre Masters
House for Sale by George Eyre Masters It was October. The steel sign on the front lawn was blue and white and too damn big. Cutting the grass, I had to work around the sign and I didn?t mind banging it with my machine. The house watched me from all her windows. She knew and…
The Jinx by Adam Renn Olenn
The Jinx ?by Adam Renn Olenn Five hundred lousy bucks, that’s how close I got to taking care of the car, the rent, credit cards, everything. I came in with two grand and almost walked out with the whole eighteen. I know it was that waitress, I could smell the jinx on her. They probably…
Slowing to Park by Chris Martin
In her car, on the way to the court house she said, “Maybe I could call Sally. It would be nice to have Sally with me. She wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Failure is Challengeable by Jerry Olasakinju
Failure is Challengeable ?by Jerry Olasakinju A year after his graduation from the University of Lagos in Nigeria, Desmond Adele knew exactly what he was going to do. Unlike his contemporaries who spent much of their limited resources going from one office to another doing interviews with banks, oil and telecommunications companies, looking for cushy…