Hank Jared was running.  Four miles in, he hit his stride. Heavy metal music poured from his headphones, drowning out all but the rhythmic beating of his shoes on the pavement. The neighborhood around him was upscale and well-manicured, with…Read more

It was the summer between my sophomore and junior years that I met someone who was able to pull my attention away from my paints and my photographs.   His name was Billy. I knew of him, of course. He was…Read more

On the day I set foot on the path to immortality, I was with Justine in her car driving down 95th on our way to pick out her new sofa. Ordinary. That’s what the day was. The plain kind of…Read more

Flames lit every surface in the caves and lava floes burned all around him, like some version of the Realm of Death he had heard tales of in his youth. There were flames leaping out of holes in the walls…Read more

Irish twins. The thing about sharing classes with my older brother is that we confuse people. Ryan is eleven months older than me. Most assume we are fraternal twins, since we don’t look at all the same. His hair is…Read more

So unfair. My parents decided to limit my computer time again,” Cora griped and rolled her eyes into the webcam. “But as usual, my best friend Raine has my back, so here I am with the next Hottie of the…Read more

Before my eyelids crack open I know I’ve traveled again.  The oppressive, terrifying certainty that I no longer exist is a dead giveaway. The familiarity of the sensation does nothing to dull the roaring panic as sweat rolls off me…Read more

Christine Blacksworth scanned the jagged red and black lines on the computer screen, one crossing over the other, peaking, sliding back, inching forward again. She glanced at her watch. It would take at least fifteen minutes to run comparisons, ten…Read more

I am eating my ninth cinnamon raisin bagel with maple horseradish cream cheese and hazelnut chocolate spread.  Don’t judge me.  It’s my job to eat this.  It’s a Monday morning, 9:13 a.m. on the dot, and the counter person, Mark…Read more