November 2015
The Dark is a quarterly magazine co-edited by Jack Fisher and Sean Wallace, with the tenth issue featuring all-original short fiction by Michael Wehunt, Lisa L. Hannett, Patricia Russo, Kirstyn McDermott, and Megan Arkenberg.
In This Issue
The Devil Under the Maison Blue
by Michael Wehunt
Gillian notices that no one ever closed Mr. Elling’s attic window. A week has passed since the brief swirl of ambulance lights near dawn. Already his house seems decades older. She’s staring across at it when she hears his voice say, “Lord, child, you about run as far as you can get.” He has a […]
The Canary
by Lisa L. Hannett
Ell cried as her pathetic whisper gave out. No, no, no. Jac’s brother Raif clacked his strong beak against her flushed cheek. Pushed. Cawed. Shhhh, gal, shhhh. Yellow-orange light flickered through the trailer’s one window, parking lot bonfires gilding the crow boy’s near-sharpest edge. His face-blade pressed close, closer. Black feathers glinted on head and […]
Self, Contained
by Kirstyn McDermott
Meredith holds the dead bird in both hands. Last week, it was a sparrow, small enough to nestle in the cup of one palm. This morning, it’s a wattlebird. She brushes the dirt from its feathers and smooths its wings to its sides. The lifeless head lolls against her fingers. There are two clear puncture […]
What Hands Like Ours Can Do
by Megan Arkenberg
Drive your cart and your plough over the bones of the dead. —William Blake, from “Proverbs of Hell” She’s washing the dishes after a simple breakfast of fried eggs and tomatoes, looking out the window towards the river winding low and shaded beneath the willow trees, when she sees a man coming up the road […]
