Lucky Me

“Oh man, what the fuck happened?” I moaned. My head hurt but not as bad as my right leg and left arm. The arm seemed to work and looked okay, except for some blood. But when I tried to move the leg, I couldn’t, and it hurt like hell. The dashboard was smashed downward...

The Escape

Jima slows and looks back. She’s relieved to see that there isn’t any noticeable activity at the military base. She can’t believe her luck in having found one of the rear gateposts unguarded. Now she must reach her flyer and get the hell off the godforsaken planet....

First Date Surprise

While putting on her makeup, Jan thought back to when she first met Jack White. It was at a concert at an amphitheater in Jupiter, Florida. She had hurried to the restroom built into the rear of the outdoor stage to beat the intermission rush. She knew that the REO...

The Easy Life

Chris ignored the thrashing and tightened his arm around Craig’s neck. Eventually the movements stopped, the muscles relaxed, and Craig’s arms and legs went slack. Then Chris dragged the body down the hall and manhandled it onto his rumpled bed. He stripped the body...

The Gift

Jan wasn’t all that close to her older brother Jon. Over the years she had tried to connect but he seemed uninterested in her and her life. Perhaps because she’s six years younger. Still, Jan was excited that he would be arriving soon to spend Christmas day with the...

The Cookies

Keith was following his usual routine, arriving fifteen minutes early at the high-tech military contractor where he worked. He flashed his badge for the guard, went up an elevator, weaved through the maze of cubicles, and eventually reached his own little workspace....

Timely Encounter

It was warm, balmy, and almost dark when Jan waved down a taxi while waiting outside the weather-worn beach hotel. The cab pulled up to where she was standing and then Jan climbed into the vehicle and said, “The Voux, please.” Soon they were cruising past the last of...

Gail

She was everything Bruce thought she would be. Smart with a great personality, and totally into him. Plus, Gail was great looking, even prettier than in the photos. He knew from text and phone conversations that she was a perfect fit for him. She was into biking,...

New Leaf

Ann smiled and proclaimed, “I’m going to cut way back on the wine and lose fifteen pounds – and keep it off.” “Specifics. How much are you going to cut back on wine? You have to give specifics for it to be official,” Carrie said. “Okay, okay. No more than two...

Christmas 2020

It’s been four months since Anna died from the virus, but Joe’s heartbreak and depression have never passed. They wouldn’t even let him say goodbye to his wife of twenty years. It took two weeks of misery for her to succumb, mostly spent on her stomach hooked up to a...

Thanksgiving Surprise

Fred wasn’t into visiting strip joints, but sometimes, Jason from the lunch group, would pick the Lucky Lady when it was his Friday to choose the restaurant. So, over their lunch break the previous week, they climbed into a car and headed over the county line to eat...

Bad Good Deal

I was so ecstatic and proud. I got the big, classic old house at a bargain price. I couldn’t care less that some earlier owners, an older couple, died in the house, and that people claimed it was haunted. I also didn’t care that the previous owners were “highly...

Brown Cow

“Thank goodness mom wasn’t a hoarder. Sorting through all this crap is bad enough,” James said as he rummaged through a junk drawer in a large dresser. James, his sister Jessie, and her friend Pete were getting the old house cleaned out to sell it. They moved mom to a...

Easter Excitement

“Oh boy,” Tommy said aloud to nobody when he woke up Easter morning. He loved Easter and considered it his second favorite holiday. The third best day of the year if he added in his birthday. Of course, Halloween was up there too. He sprang out of bed and headed...

Alina

“Test.” “Yeah, I’ve got you loud and clear,” Agent Jake Smith said after hearing Alina’s utterance on his headset. He then checked the monitor mounted to the electronics console in the Porta Pet van. “We’re all set. Just remember to find a way out of there if things...

The Fallback Plan

“How can this be your “foolproof fallback plan?” Now I know why you wouldn’t tell me about it,” Alex said. Jason sighed, looked over, and said, “Like I told you, it had to be kept totally secret. We couldn’t have you Googling it or talking about it. The cops and FBI...

The Jump

I knew I had really screwed up and that this time dad wasn’t going to be able to save my ass. This was really bad, and I’d used up all the “get out of jail free” perks that came with dad’s position on the council. I continued making my way through the utility runs,...

Tragedy on the Elbe

It was a terrible storm. It had to be the worst in years. Captain Schultz watched through a window as huge waves battered the harbor docks. He jumped when the ship-to-shore radio across the room squawked. “Mayday, Mayday, this is the Elba Queen. We are foundering and...

In the Light of the Moon (Skunk Ape)

He was showing his age and his days of running down hogs and deer were long past. Much like his earliest years, he subsisted almost entirely on frogs, lizards, berries, and insects. Therefore, he looked forward to the full moon when the forest would be illuminated...

The Interview

I’m ecstatic leaving the restaurant knowing I aced the interview. The lady even bought me that nice lunch afterward and pretty much promised me the position. Margaret something. Kind of cute and seemed in high spirits. Maybe delighted about that shiny new engagement...