You Decide

Pulling the Skin Off the Bones

by Shawn April 13, 2011

Mom and dad acted strange all day. Mom kept rubbing her hands together, as if trying to pull the skin off the bones. Dad stayed home from work. He never stays home from work, so he didn’t know what to do with himself. And he kept walking past me, messing up my hair, and wiping [...]

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Claim Your Winnings

by Shawn April 6, 2011

“Hello, and thank you for calling Super-Eight. Please listen to the following selections, as the options have recently changed.” When the power had gone out in the building, Jordan had sprinted back upstairs. John locked the door and slid a chair under the door knob, because that’s what they did in the movies. “What’s going [...]

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The Man Who Lived On Death

by Shawn March 30, 2011

Sometimes, on days when the wind galloped down from the mountains, the smell of dead people rushed away before it could rise up to his house. On those windy days he remembered the smell of growing things, or the way rain used to make the mud smell brown. He remembered being a child. But when the [...]

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Another Winner

by Shawn March 23, 2011

“What do you mean, you don’t know what’s going on?” John Dran asked Macy. The rain outside stopped for a moment, and, without the band playing in the apartment above, the world seemed eerie and still. “What do I mean?” Macy looked around, confused. Water was still dripping off of her hair and her clothes [...]

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Searching For the Muse in a Bowl of Noodles

by Shawn March 16, 2011

John Dran stared into his bowl of noodles, trying to divine some sort of wisdom from the tangled lump of strands. It was late. He pushed his spoon through the broth, and when he blew on the noodles the steam scattered. And the muse evaded him. He wished the rain against the windows was louder [...]

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Run, Macy, Run

by Shawn March 9, 2011

Behind Geoff Campbell, thick drapes held the night at bay. Two small lamps, in the corners behind him, sent a glow through the cavernous study. His large mahogany desk sat in the middle of the room like a stone altar. His wrinkled fingers gently lifted the sheet of paper, methodically folded it into thirds, then [...]

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32

by Shawn March 2, 2011

“32″ The power in the girl’s building went out. A loud CHHNG was followed by a fading whine and the sudden evaporation of all sound and light, as if they were candles, blown out. All that remained: the boiling water on the stove, which quieted in a few moments as the burner cooled. The girl [...]

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