30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 10 “Son? What son? I have no son.” Sonia can still remember the detective’s words to the policeman and Tony’s expression. His father’s words appeared to hurt the teenage psychopath more than Marty’s stabbing had. An honest cop had learned that his son was one-half a serial-rapist team that… Continue reading Marty
Category: weird fiction
Moonglow
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 8 11:07 PM She was supposed to have gotten off two hours ago, and she is exhausted, as tired as she’s ever been. Suzy pulls her name tag off her Nurse’s smock and places it in the center console. She flicks her smartphone on, unlocks the screen, sees she… Continue reading Moonglow
Monolith 5 – Wendy’s Well Part 1
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 7 June 1, 1964 (present) – Oswego, New York Sheriff Miller shuts his eyes and prays for strength to carry on. The tragedy has consumed his entire existence like a fire for weeks. Thirteen, that’s how many perished a month ago as Mr. Fluke led his sixth-grade science class… Continue reading Monolith 5 – Wendy’s Well Part 1
Finding the Glasses
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 6 It was the peyote that finally pushed me over the edge and showed me how to move around the fold. I had been riding the yellow dragon for months in an attempt to visualize the fourth dimension. A two-dimensional being lives, sleeps, eats, fucks, and dies in a… Continue reading Finding the Glasses
Asylum
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 5 We were supposed to have four solid days of good weather. We got about twelve hours, then the snowstorm hit, and for two hours, we sat hunkering down in one of the shelters along the Appalachian Trail designed for the thru and section hikers. Taylor’s smartphone finally got… Continue reading Asylum
Monolith 4 – Many Miles Away
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 4 Earlier stories in this series. Monolith Monolith 2 Monolith 3; Tammy’s Choice Many miles away There’s a shadow on the door Of a cottage on the shore Of a dark Scottish lake The POLICE, Synchronicity 2 Folks that lived in the valley swore the sun never shone on… Continue reading Monolith 4 – Many Miles Away
Grandma’s Basement
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 3 November 11, 1974 The presence of the new door in the basement wall strikes me hard. It shouldn’t be here; it wasn’t here before. At some point, and despite them not getting along particularly well, dad had started delivering coal to our grandmother, his mother-in-law. She kept it in her… Continue reading Grandma’s Basement
Melanie and Baker Meet Their Maker
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 2 ‘I hate bugs,’ the man thinks as he feels its carcass smoosh inside the napkin. He loathes the crunch it makes and worries about the guts bleeding through the napkin. She closes the trash can after he deposits the wadded napkin bug ball. A second later, she returns, reopens the… Continue reading Melanie and Baker Meet Their Maker
The Lobster
30-Day Flash Challenge, Day 1 Once upon a time, it was Priscilla’s doll blanket. Then, looking for a way to help my diving prowess and get a bit more exercise, I took the navy blue cloth and created the lobster. I squint into the water, see it undulating at the bottom of the pool. Under… Continue reading The Lobster
In the Ice
A hobby turns into an obsession. MONDAY Taking pictures of the fractured ice was fun for Scott until the face appeared. Months ago, he began icing his forearms and hands before going to work each morning. As a massage therapist, he had recurring bouts of achy joints, and submerging his arms into icy… Continue reading In the Ice
Calling In – A Terryn and Shawn Story
There’s no way she’s going to believe me, but I should probably call Terryn, and tell her I won’t be at work today. Yeah, you have bigger problems than that now, buddy, some inner wise-ass says. I pick up my phone and call work. “Happy Massage, this Terryn. Would you like to book a massage… Continue reading Calling In – A Terryn and Shawn Story
Hershel’s Specialty Meats
A man visits an unusual butcher shop The usual suspects are all there, quail, snake, boar, venison, and even buffalo. Each is neatly wrapped in brown wax paper and carefully sealed shut with strips of white butchers tape. The man’s olfactory senses are on overload. Most people, unaccustomed to the dizzyingly wide array of divergent… Continue reading Hershel’s Specialty Meats
Around the Fold
I feel nausea rising as I reach around the fold. I shut my eyes, breathe deep, calm myself. It’s the glasses; they show too much. Moving your arm into the fourth dimension can overwhelm your senses. The air feels electric like a thousand electric worm-sized eels are wriggling across your skin. Human consciousness is constrained… Continue reading Around the Fold
Death Among the Farmers
A Warrior Waits for Death in a Pub Alexandra sits at a tiny table in the pub for days, drinking endless flagons of mead. She unbuckled her heavy sword hours ago, but she has a notion that it is somewhere under the rickety table. Frequently, Alexandra will hurl some insult or challenge to the others… Continue reading Death Among the Farmers
My 100-Day Flash Challenge Part 2
Days 26 – 50 On March 18, 2021, I began a crazy adventure. That was the day I started my 100-day flash fiction challenge. My goal was to write, edit, publish one story per day for one hundred days. Below, I summarize the second 25 days of my challenge. The Second 25 Stories Memory Broken… Continue reading My 100-Day Flash Challenge Part 2
Very Bad Doggy
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 100 “Don’t tease him today, okay, Tommy?” Timmy pleads. Timmy and Tommy have been best friends since second grade. Now both boys are in fifth grade and walking home from school together. Ordinarily, they walked James Street to school. But for the past two weeks, they decided… Continue reading Very Bad Doggy
3:14 AM
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 98 Days later, I will remember this was the night I first peered inside the SUV, the flashing blue lights. My sleep patterns are not nearly as satisfying as they once were. I used to adore my sleep. Now, it seems the fairy has grown stingy with… Continue reading 3:14 AM
Mrs. Henderson
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 97 Twenty-Eight Years Ago I’ve lost the thread of what she is trying to tell me. All I know is I’ve done something wrong. I must have. She seems furious at me, and my seven-year-old brain is frantically searching for the magic phrase that will dissipate her… Continue reading Mrs. Henderson
The Taxi
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 95 The instant I fastened my seatbelt in the backseat, I knew the rumors of an urban legend about a taxi were true. I heard the metallic click, but then there was a louder click from the door. Did the driver lock my door? I look forward… Continue reading The Taxi
Zach
Flash Fiction Challenge 100 – Day 92 “I told you we need to use the stopper. It skitters away too quickly otherwise. I already regret sharing my affliction with Zach. The instant I approached his bathroom vanity sink, he pulled the plug from the basin and refused to let me have it; he’s… Continue reading Zach
