Pirates
by Jesse Binger

 The last time Bobby was down here, he was high. Like really high. 

So it wasn’t scary then. […]

LISTEN IN THE BIN

The Lady in Waiting
by Joyce Bingham

 On this bright September morning, outside the Palace of Greenwich, it is work as usual on the river, boats and people are ferried to and fro. […]

What Humans Are
by Joyce Bingham

 She screams into the vast empty space of the warehouse. She’s done this before, but lately too often. I meow and wind myself around her trembling legs. […]

Gorsebrush (Pop. 73)
by Zach Breneman

“Constance, will you kindly get the fuck out the way?” is what Jerry Parsnip said to me. Can you believe the cheek?

I lowered the visor on my iron helmet. […]

What Lies Beneath
by Chris Doty-Dunn

 We spent so long looking up, we missed first contact until it was too late. 

The pipette in my hand shakes as I place a drop of water on a slide. […]

The Best Thing I’ve Ever Done
by Louise Hurrell

was spike my little sister’s green tea and stow her away in my attic. Every morning, I climb up to watch her sleep, light slipping through the hatch to cradle her…[…]

Codename: California Poppy
by SF Layzell

 This was it. The most important night of my life. I fidgeted with my pin badge, a bright yellow California poppy, the one personal item I was permitted…[…]

Silent Killer
by Athena Law

 (STOP. REVIVE. SURVIVE.)

Apparently fatigue is the silent killer—according to these signs along the highway…[…]

Time, Space and Other Parental Needs
by Amber Ken

When Lily goes between the years, she’s sucked into what could easily be a blackout room at an artist’s exhibition…[…]

Deconstruction
by Kelly Murashige

 The doodlebug is conducting a small teardown project, not unlike the building “remodeling” nearby. Smaller than a human fingernail, and set to someday become an antlion lacewing…[…]

Rabbit Test
by Marybeth Rua-Larsen

Erin was trapped here for the duration. Her mother, Maeve, who always had a keen eye for detail and a relentless penchant for criticism… […]

Mr Vane is Not at Home
by Martha Swift

When her husband returned from the Tibetan Plateau, Mrs Delilah Vane lost the use of her attic. Swathed in blankets and a beard that even Sir Samuel Baker might have trimmed…[…]

The Light is the Boy
by Keith Woodruff

Cow does not think of herself as haunting the barn. In the loft, she drifts above the bales, watches the blue swallows loop out and in. […]