Dark Fiction
JUNE 2019
STANDING RESERVATIONS
REBECCA JACKSON
~
Paul looked up as Melanie entered the restaurant. He stood and pulled out her chair, resting one hand against the small of her back. He leaned in, placing a lingering kiss on her proffered check. “You look stunning,” he murmured, pleased when she blushed and dropped her eyes to the linen tablecloth.
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STANDING RESERVATIONS
REBECCA JACKSON
~
Paul looked up as Melanie entered the restaurant. He stood and pulled out her chair, resting one hand against the small of her back. He leaned in, placing a lingering kiss on her proffered check. “You look stunning,” he murmured, pleased when she blushed and dropped her eyes to the linen tablecloth.
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MARCH 2019
PASSAGE
LAWRENCE CADY
~
Though the lake teams with fish and the fields are replete with grains, peppers, and legumes,
the community hasn’t seen a single newborn in more than a decade.
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PASSAGE
LAWRENCE CADY
~
Though the lake teams with fish and the fields are replete with grains, peppers, and legumes,
the community hasn’t seen a single newborn in more than a decade.
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JANUARY 2019
I KNEW HER AS VADA
ANDY BETZ
~
Actually, her name is Vada Panourgias and she is as Goth as a girl could get.
Vada and I attended the MFA program at the local university and quickly became close friends. She edited my works (as I did hers) and soon we became an old married couple without being married or old. The first calendar break from classes, Vada invited me to her home to meet her Greek family. I initially had reservations about such an encounter until I spoke to her twin brother, Bacchus, who told me since we were not dating, and did not participate in any funny business; it was OK by the family. Having an invitation endorsed at the proper levels, I accepted.
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I KNEW HER AS VADA
ANDY BETZ
~
Actually, her name is Vada Panourgias and she is as Goth as a girl could get.
Vada and I attended the MFA program at the local university and quickly became close friends. She edited my works (as I did hers) and soon we became an old married couple without being married or old. The first calendar break from classes, Vada invited me to her home to meet her Greek family. I initially had reservations about such an encounter until I spoke to her twin brother, Bacchus, who told me since we were not dating, and did not participate in any funny business; it was OK by the family. Having an invitation endorsed at the proper levels, I accepted.
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JULY 2018
THE ANIMAL INSIDE
CHRISTIAN CARTER-STEPHENSON
~
Dr. Hunter settled himself in the vacant chair at the centre of the interview room - a windowless box lit by a single pendulous light bulb. The prisoner eyeballed him across the table as he opened his notebook, her mouth taut with hostility. Powerfully built with matted mousy hair and a number of prominent tattoos, she looked like she was ready to take on the world.
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THE ANIMAL INSIDE
CHRISTIAN CARTER-STEPHENSON
~
Dr. Hunter settled himself in the vacant chair at the centre of the interview room - a windowless box lit by a single pendulous light bulb. The prisoner eyeballed him across the table as he opened his notebook, her mouth taut with hostility. Powerfully built with matted mousy hair and a number of prominent tattoos, she looked like she was ready to take on the world.
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MARCH 2018
THE ONE BEFORE WOODSTOCK
NANCY CLARK
~
“Lord knows how many trucks and vans and what-all they’ve got out there.” Reba squinted out the window. “Them ruts must be a good foot deep.”
Jacob yawned. “Ain’t nothing a good plowing can’t fix come spring.”
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THE ONE BEFORE WOODSTOCK
NANCY CLARK
~
“Lord knows how many trucks and vans and what-all they’ve got out there.” Reba squinted out the window. “Them ruts must be a good foot deep.”
Jacob yawned. “Ain’t nothing a good plowing can’t fix come spring.”
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FEBRUARY 2018
TO SOAR LIKE A BIRD
RICHARD RUBIN
~
Steve was getting ready to take a nap following a hard day’s work at the robot factory, pressing buttons for three hours straight. He sighed; life in the year 2025 was certainly no walk in the park.
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TO SOAR LIKE A BIRD
RICHARD RUBIN
~
Steve was getting ready to take a nap following a hard day’s work at the robot factory, pressing buttons for three hours straight. He sighed; life in the year 2025 was certainly no walk in the park.
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JANUARY 2018
THE CARLSON BUILDING
PAUL SMITH
~
I had never actually been in the Carlson Building. I had seen it many times. I’d seen it from the Chiromega dental chair in R. R. Davy’s dental office. When I got cleanings and exams as a child, I saw the Carlson Building a block away, its rooftop sign formal and comforting. When I had a simple extraction in my teens, I saw it. When I had cavities fixed, I saw the Carlson Building sign outside the window as Doctor R. R. Davy would say, “Now, open wide. This won’t hurt. You may feel a little pinch.”
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THE CARLSON BUILDING
PAUL SMITH
~
I had never actually been in the Carlson Building. I had seen it many times. I’d seen it from the Chiromega dental chair in R. R. Davy’s dental office. When I got cleanings and exams as a child, I saw the Carlson Building a block away, its rooftop sign formal and comforting. When I had a simple extraction in my teens, I saw it. When I had cavities fixed, I saw the Carlson Building sign outside the window as Doctor R. R. Davy would say, “Now, open wide. This won’t hurt. You may feel a little pinch.”
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NOVEMBER 2017
THE PHANTOM JOURNEY
REKHA VALLIAPPAN
THE PHANTOM JOURNEY
REKHA VALLIAPPAN
~
Fifty years ago my grandpa went missing.
3 June 1978----- The train that was to arrive in Bucharest was an hour late. It was dark, the skies gloomy with gathering storm clouds. The presentiment of misfortune that had accompanied me did not diminish, although much of Romania enthralled me. Perhaps it was the strangeness. My traveling companion seemed morose, but in her tight-lipped silence I sensed a dread she did not wish to share.
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Fifty years ago my grandpa went missing.
3 June 1978----- The train that was to arrive in Bucharest was an hour late. It was dark, the skies gloomy with gathering storm clouds. The presentiment of misfortune that had accompanied me did not diminish, although much of Romania enthralled me. Perhaps it was the strangeness. My traveling companion seemed morose, but in her tight-lipped silence I sensed a dread she did not wish to share.
Continue reading.
