The garage door shut with a groan behind us, closing us in the gloom of the single bulb hanging over the car. Mother took a drag off her cigarette and sighed as she exhaled, the smoke filled the cabin of the Ford and stung my eyes. “You really disappointed me today, Julianne,” she tapped her…
No lists of rules, evil A.I.’s, or cursed objects appear in this story. It doesn’t take place in a haunted apartment, a supernatural forest, or secret laboratory. There aren’t any ghosts or demons, either– Although I suppose you could say that there are monsters. The year was 2007. It was after midnight on a Thursday night, and…
While waiting in line at the store for a self-checkout terminal, a man casually sidled up to me and asked if I’d mind lending him a few dollars, as he was short on cash. I glanced at his handbasket, saw that he only had a few items (some fruit, bottled water, packs of tuna, a loaf…
The first time I spotted the Countdown Man was on the bus to school when I was in 7th grade. I’d never seen an adult on my bus before, much less one dressed in a black suit, but no one else said anything, so I figured he belonged there. Then, as we drove around the…
My biology class was packed to the brim for the first time since the beginning of the semester. I looked around to see several faces who hadn’t been present for the majority of my lectures, and yet they had all decided to join the class today. No surprise there. The entire Science Department was abuzz…
When I was seventeen and reckless, I dated a boy who feared nothing. Together, we discovered every vice, and after school we’d slip away into a haze of smoke and wine coolers and explore each others’ bodies until dark. One day, he told me about a secret garden where fruit grew even in the winter….
I was there when he bought the damn thing. We went to a garage sale just out of town; an old woman’s house that had the driveway filled to the very edge with hand-me-downs and knick-knacks. My sister Angie and I were waving through a selection of old dresses when he surprised us with it….