Friday, January 31, 2014

An Audience with Osama by Tony Macnabb

A Muslim lecturer known as a champion of interfaith dialogue is called in by the secret services to help extract information from the perpetrator of a failed terrorist attack in London; by Tony Macnabb (first published in The Barcelona Review).

The traffic was starting to build up. The driver fished a magnetic dome light from under the seat, attached it to the roof and blipped a siren.

"We…
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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The White Room by Anastasiya Olkanetska​ya

A work-weary detective wakes up in a surreal kind of prison, haunted by the memories of the murder scenes he has been investigating; by Anastasiya Olkanetskaya.

The alley smelled of rot, the ground covered in yellowish pus that dripped from a nearby trash bin; my slick black shoes were covered in a film from pacing in it. I put my back against a crumbling brick wall and lit a cigarette, willing t…
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Sunday, January 26, 2014

Paul and Alice and Eva by Benjamin Finateri

Benjamin Finateri's devilishly caddish character Paul lands a date with a beautiful woman... and her daughter - but he is about to get something seriously unexpected.

I didn't wait until the divorce was final before I started dating again. After the ungrateful bitch Hannah caught me, and everything fell apart with Stephanie because she was so weak she let guilt (over learning she'd ch…
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Friday, January 24, 2014

Crème Brûlée by O D Hegre

O D Hegre's character visits his uncle Bob, whose Alzheimer's has been cured by a revolutionary new neurotechnology, and bumps into a dangerous woman he once arrested.

You've seen 'um. Those faces you just know you'll never forget - especially on women. Yeah, especially on a woman sporting those beautiful blue eyes like Grace Kelly or Cameron Diaz with that aquiline nose. I th…
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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Octopus's Garden by Kristina R Mosley

Floodwaters approach Annalee's house, but an even bigger threat is about to reveal itself in Kristina R Mosley's creepy short.

Annalee looked out her kitchen window to the rain that had fallen steadily for the last three days. Authorities had already evacuated homes on the banks of the Gray River, and she hoped the downpour would stop before the encroaching floodwaters threatened her home…
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Sunday, January 19, 2014

The Biter Bit by Harry Downey

Small-time actor and impressionist Charlie recruits a motley cast of characters to help his friend Freddie out of a tight corner, including a disabled knife thrower and a scar-faced animal lover, in Harry Downey's thoroughly British story of intrigue and deception.

I.
As Charlie was just about to offer up his customary incantation about 'the first of the evening,' Freddie came up to…
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Friday, January 17, 2014

The Ballad of Don by Ross Burton

Don rebels against his claustrophobic existence in Ross Burton's high-tech world of the future.

1
Don woke early, as usual, when the soft chimes sounded and a gentle breeze stirred the room. He stretched, got up from the sleeping shelf, which soundlessly slid into the wall. Over to the corner shower closet for depilation and cleaning, then back to the fresh set of clothes which had arrived…
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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

The Last War by Phil Temples

Taggot Goldfarb regrets his decision to enlist in the US Army, until he discovers he has an unusual supernatural power; by Phil Temples.

"What's wrong, Faggot Goldfuck! Do you want your mommy? PICK UP THAT RIFLE AND STAND AT ATTENTION, GODAMMIT!"

The private suppressed a sudden urge to cry. He bent down to pick up his weapon as ordered by his drill sergeant, John Crumpit (rhymes wi…
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Sunday, January 12, 2014

Henry Grows Up by Harry Laufman

Struggling actor Henry witnesses a murder while working as a cashier in a New York gas station; by Harry Laufman.

I clock in as night cashier at the BP station on 10th. The six to one am shift three nights a week is central to my life support system. It's 10:00 pm and I'm alone. Dude walks in, looks around, walks straight up to me and opens his jacket. There's a pistol of some kind st…
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Friday, January 10, 2014

Party of Animals by Thomas Healy

An animal control officer goes to pay his respects to a judge killed in a hit-and-run, and discovers his former employer had a secret; by Thomas Healy.

Schumer left the Greek restaurant alone, his wife having left an hour earlier to visit her sister in the hospital. Slowly he made his way to the crosswalk in the middle of the block, whistling some Gershwin tune whose name he could not remember. O…
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Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The Creak in the Floorboards by Jon Beight

Jon Beight serves up a slice of creepiness, dictated by a childhood monster.

Hello Princess.

I suppose I should introduce myself, but that may not be necessary. After all, you know who I am. You've known me a long time. You created me. That is, I was always there, but it was that wonderful imagination of yours that allowed me to become whatever you conjured up in the dark. But I'm not he…
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Sunday, January 5, 2014

Ben by Samantha Cranston

Ben is caught by his wife in the act of perusing a swingers' website; by Samantha Cranston.

Ben

Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. How could I have been so stupid? When she is stuck into the gardening, she is usually gone for hours. At worst I should have heard her coming in. I was on my computer, indulging in my new hobby. Swingtime; it's the web site where married men and women can arrange a litt…
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Friday, January 3, 2014

A Walk in the Woods by Arun Dawani

Browbeaten Bill dodges his oppressive mother to go on a first date with a pretty British girl - but he's hiding something; by Arun Dawani.

The work was backbreaking. Hours of hard, manual labour, digging deeper and deeper in the hot and muggy Texan summer, the shortleaf pine trees mercifully providing shade from the searing sun. Bill finished up at 5pm on the dot, spent but proud of the job h…
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