The feathers started as the coarse black hairs that grew out of the mole between my human shoulder blades. If I were a blackbird, I had sung, the Scottish ballad about losing love to long stints at sea, but I didn’t mean it. I’d whistle and sing. I’d follow the ship that my true love… Continue reading If I Were a Blackbird
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The Implausible End of Everything
Alex DeNozia worked nights. He was a forklift driver at a warehouse in Colorado Springs, and it was his job to load up product onto trailers for next day delivery after the other guys on shift had organized the product onto pallets by type and destination. It could be mind-numbingly boring, but Alex didn’t really… Continue reading The Implausible End of Everything
The Daughter of Tem
Creeping, October fog lay thick around the Chamberlain Hotel’s empty veranda and clung close to the windows, like fragile, but heavy hands pounding silently on the thick, leaded glass. On better days, one could have sat in a fine wicker chair, drinking strong iced tea and watching the slow New England summers roll down the… Continue reading The Daughter of Tem
Sigils for Bullies
Brent mowed him over just before practice started. The coaches were in the field house and other players were still suiting up, leaving the few witnesses available conveniently looking the other way. Scott wasn’t looking, he was down on one knee tying his shoes. That’s what the impending doom that was Brent did, taking his… Continue reading Sigils for Bullies
Lice
Elise was sitting in the rear passenger seat of her parent\’s car, and her mother was driving. She was small enough that she was not allowed to sit in the front passenger seat. Her gaze turned from her mother’s right shoulder to the window to her left, where an endless field of emerald corn stalks… Continue reading Lice
The Dog Days of Summer
“There is love in me the likes of which you\’ve never seen. There is rage in me the likes of which should never escape. If I am not satisfied in the one, I will indulge the other.” ― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein 1 Katie and Jason rolled their bikes through the thick forest. Their shoes crunched… Continue reading The Dog Days of Summer
Royalty
We received a mundane call for a corpse found in the Downtown Wilson Apartments. Anne Elliot was found rotting in her living room after a foul smell was reported by a number of residents. As we ascended the stone steps in the quiet afternoon, my partner joked that we would be in and out in… Continue reading Royalty
Mr. Loveless in Room 719
It’s not looking good for the Angels. Top of the seventh, Game 6, series tied up at three a piece, and the Giants are leading 4-0, just ten outs away from winning it all. Francisco Rodríguez is struggling on the mound after allowing a home run from Barry Bonds in the top of the sixth,… Continue reading Mr. Loveless in Room 719
A Distant Howling
His prey was close by, crouched and trembling among a dense thicket of blackberry bushes, its breath visible in the cold night air. He stalked through the underbrush, carefully lifting each huge paw and placing it down silently. The breeze brought the scent of the deer, and an insatiable hunger gnawed at his belly as… Continue reading A Distant Howling
Belgrade Butcher
PART I – ON THE ROAD The first thing my wife says to them is: “No one is coming to help you. No one will ever come. Get that out of your head. The only person who can help you is yourself.” Her name is Marija, she is an M.D. psychiatrist and has been working… Continue reading Belgrade Butcher