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The Collector by J. T. Fisherman
My old man didn’t teach me much before he split last year, but at least one lesson he hammered home with fist and boot has served me well so far. “Never let the bastards know what you know.” He never really said who the bastards were, but I had a good idea that he meant…
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Phantom Limb by Jamie Sheasley
John’s left hand itched. He awoke, eyes sleep-crusted and head groggy from cold medicine he’d taken to knock himself out only hours ago. He felt a gentle touch that left tingles in the center of his left palm and crawled up the surrounding fingers. His right hand, ever protective of its twin, instinctively crossed his…
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Rapture of the Deep by K. L. Shepherd
The dark November sky cast a pall over the cove, but the sea lions are what dampened my enthusiasm. I felt their eyes boring into me the moment I set foot on the beach. Their barking cries sent shivers down my spine. Their foul stench, like a fish market gone bad, announced their presence even…
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The Wolfman of Helltown by Ashley Mangtani
When the hunger comes up on that old mountain, it gives the Wolfman a name and sends it to him through the black timber of a night, in a tongue older than the good Lord ever meant a living thing to be. Whoever’s name it is, man, woman, or child, won’t ever walk back down…
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The Eighth Grave by Chaimae Belahrache
There’s always been a graveyard in our house.Seven of them. Seven graves lined up in our backyard like a row of crooked teeth.Other neighbors didn’t have one. My friends at school didn’t either.It kept away unwelcome guests, which made Mama happy, but it also scared off everyone else. Now a new grave is being dug…
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Flinch by Renee Acosta
Arthur Finch had given up on the possibility of dignity sometime around the age of forty-three, when the last respectable clump of hair abandoned ship and swirled defiantly down the shower drain. Now, six years later, the most exciting part of his week was the dimming of the fluorescent lights as they powered down for…
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One-of-a-Kind by Kaycee Painter
“You’ve gotta check it out!” Eric exclaimed. “Please, please, please!” Kylie felt it was kind of morbid. Practically half the town had died during the pandemic—or at least that’s how it felt, after the third wave tore through. Storefronts still sat empty with sun-faded Closed signs taped in the windows. Some houses never turned their…
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The Last Hunt by Jonathan Worlde
Hartmut has been following his target for a while before the maiden becomes aware of his presence. She knows something is lurking out there. She’s accustomed to this part of the forest and would usually be comfortable in her surroundings, but now she slows her pace, anxiously glancing about. She is an easy and vulnerable…
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Within a Shadowed Wood by Sophie Gazarian
Grandmother’s house lies silent as it awaits the arrival of Little Red Riding Hood. It is a squat redwood cottage with a grey stone chimney that spits smoke into the clear blue sky. Grandmother had lit a fire and put the kettle on to welcome Red Riding Hood, as she always does. But Grandmother is…
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The Funeral Eulogy by Lilia Mahfouz
He died the way he lived: like a fool. That was my first thought when I received the phone call announcing the news. Soon enough, I was showered with words of empathy, as befitted my newly acquired status as a widow. I didn’t even need to pretend to earn their compassion. In that circle of…