The shadow that wears his mother’s teeth appears at the window again. Noah, the shadow whispers from between lipless jaws, or maybe it is only the winter wind murmuring against the glass. Noah burrows deeper under his covers, hugging his teddy bear for protection and warmth. The chill has peeled back his skin and crept […]

The truck was fucked, but Richard worked on it anyway. Sleeves rolled, oil up to his elbows, he cranked a wrench in the rusted engine block and swore at the part’s stubbornness to come out. The open hood shielded him from the sun’s glare, but it baked him from the waist up, and that didn’t […]

In the late afternoon of August 18th, 20—, as he reclined comfortably on his upstairs bed, Wentworth Thomas—Dr. Thomas to students at his university, Wen to his colleagues and friends, Wennie to no one but his wife Marguerite, who really should have been home by now—set on the nightstand the book he had been perusing, […]

Malik had worked in hospitality all of his adult life. He was a seasoned pro. He’d seen celebrities, and politicians pass through the lobbies of the hotels where he’d worked. He’d seen ambulance crews rush out dying guests on gurneys, and once, a pregnant woman’s water broke as she was checking in. From drunken rowdy […]