Jacob’s shadow stretches tall before him, the dark shape of himself pulled out like silly putty, like his past inescapable, and now thanks to the police
flash fiction
The Guitar Man and the Pigeon by Ben Westerham
Ben Westerham has recently let slip the chains of paid employment so he can spend ever more time writing crime, mystery and thriller stories as well as spending time reading, gardening and uncovering fascinating nuggets about his criminal ancestors.
Cold Shoulder by Hugh Cartwright
Freshly dead, she was pinned to the desk by a knife. Smears of blood oozed between his fingers and dripped to the floor.
“Hi” by Lauren K. Sweeney
Nine-oh-eight Glenview Road was the best part of carrying the mail. Ten blocks into my suburban trek, there she’d be, stretched out on a neon towel, sweet and slick as a glazed
Things That Recede with Time by Lauren Howlett
Invisible boundaries. The gum lines of aggressive brushers. Chins, if you’re a Hapsburg. The stamped fingerprints of once white shoes. Synthetic beards on aging tires, eroding like rootless rubber hillsides.
At a Funeral by Alyasa Abbas
Waseem Akbar was a friend of my father’s and my uncles – It was the only thing I knew about him. Naturally, the news of his death did not affect me. The burial was in the night.
Debut by Stephen Baily
Through the open window above the tub, an outcry reaches us from the world. I sink my battleship, but it pops right back up to the surface. More shouts follow.
Peter Crown by The Wynn Brothers
“Seventy hours,” said the man across the table from Peter Crown. Peter had invited him in for tea on an impulse that didn’t feel like his own. He didn’t even remember hearing a knock at the door.
Confession by Lorna Wood
The Agency hired me so if anything went wrong they could claim I was acting on my own hook. We’d only just opened up diplomatic relations with Dokpur, and things were still delicate.
Man on Fire by Nik Vestberg
I didn’t even have time to get annoyed at the man squeezing past me in the stairwell before I realised he was on fire. He didn’t seem to care himself and by then he was already so far ahead it didn’t seem appropriate
Family Problems by Joshua Asmah
I’m sitting there, clicking away at my laptop, working on a new story.
My cousin’s on the floor, playing a puzzle game on a tablet. She’s almost done.
The Old Bag by Linda Casper
The beaten-up, old leather bag of indeterminate colour looked the most interesting find so far. James brought it down from the attic and dumped it on the kitchen table for further investigation.
Troll Bot
The latest item had come in while Ray was out of the office. West Coast – TB17. He looked at it and swore under his breath. He hadn’t signed on for this crap, at least it wasn’t what he thought he was signing on for
A Killing in Town by Peter Malone
The door of the restaurant opened up and two men came in.
They sat down at the bar, and Bob, the owner, said, “What can I do for your?”
The Other Coach by Sozou-Kyrkou Konstantina
I’m unzipping the small suitcase open when the phone rings.
‘Tonia, is that you?’ My mama’s fuzzy voice comes through the line in agonizing gasps.