Not All Heroes Wear Pants
by Madeleine Armstrong

Jim barely knew Auntie Brenda. All he remembered were birthday cards with crumpled tenners stuffed inside, and a twinkle in her eye…[…]

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The Gift
by rj cannon

Janie ran down the stairs of the old farmhouse, out the door, and to the porch corner. It was the first place she checked that morning, like every morning. […]

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The Foundling
by Clara Cooke

The grave was fresh in the churchyard. No coffin. Not for me. Bells tolled from the towering belfry. Night fell, and the ache settled in my knees from kneeling in frigid mud. […]

Southend Fallout
by Zoë Davis

A wicked sun bore down on the sauna of Carson’s lifeguard hut. With every sluggish second the air thickened with the throat-numbing tang of salt… […]

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They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
by Adele Evershed

He had a Ralph Lauren fleece hanging on the back of the door. I studied the logo with the same intensity he was using to scan my notes. […]

Blood Storm
by Jenny Hart

The dawn is a glorious red as though the sea has set fire to the sky, and we know the Blood Storm will bless us once again.[…]

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The Influence of the Metonic Cycle on Werewolves and Their Lovers
by Jenny Hart

I know Nikki is a werewolf. She denies it, but she has tells. The way she eats with her fingers, tearing meat from the bone, growling as she chews. […]

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A Shimmer on the River
by Ian Johnson

The river hand turns. I have a ten, spades. A king of diamonds. I need a queen, any queen, for the straight. Dealer peels an ace. I have nothing. […]

Little Bee
by Kathryn Kulpa

I build a garden in my mind. A place no shadows fall. 
I shield my garden with high stone walls. A door no fox can dig through. […]

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My Incomplete Collection of Miniature Weather Events
by Rosaleen Lynch

On the longest day of the year Papa sings: ‘Never take flowers from the hawthorn tree
Beware of the thorns that defend the underworld fae.’ […]

A Matter of Principle
by P.J. McCarthy

Mom says proper explorers don’t have rules, they have principles,
“Because rules are something we try to not break, but principles are something we try to live up to.” […]

Ash and Ghosts
by Allie Olvera

I set you on fire beneath the harvest moon, on the roof of the building where we once lived together. A nest we built twig by twig, hauling in treasures from the street corner. […]

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The Seven of Cups
by A.J. O’Toole

Scheduling a Summer Fete is clearly a far better predictor of rain than the weather report I’d checked before leaving my umbrella at home. […]

Blank Space
by Tracie Renee

In the story Vera’s life was writing, Ted’s hands on her throat were a surprise – but not a dealbreaker. He’d been wearing a USMC VETERAN cap when they’d first met […]

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A Second Too Long
by Terri Rose

I promised my sister I would find her killer. When I do, I will avenge her. 
Opium curls through the air sweet and slow. It settles into my lungs… […]

Tea at Brigham Hall
by Beth Sherman

Tea at Brigham Hall is always a stressful affair. I try to concentrate on the view out the tall, arched windows, on lawns sloping down to the Hudson River…[…]

Alice Should Have Known Better
by Hayley Shucker

When Alice fell down the rabbit hole it was because she couldn’t leave well enough alone, and I relate to her imprudence because I’m falling down my own…[…]

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Hardboiled and Heartless
by JH Tomen

“Something definitely happened here,” Charlie said, confidently sniffing the floor.
I nodded. A crime. A horrible, heartless crime. […]

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Nightmare Off the Air
by Karen Walker

A gazillion miles through jungle and tundra, then up, up, up to the cabin, and what do I find? A no nightmare nightmare. […]