by Elijah Cansler

“The noon sun beats down mean on the school bus Two Bikes calls home. He lies sleeping in it, red and peeling all over except for where his skin is covered by the cargo shorts that he hasn’t taken off for some weeks now.”

by Davor Mondom

“a Vessel’s tenure varied. Great effort was made in the selection of the pool of potential Vessels to ensure that a Vessel could serve as long as possible…Of course, you could plan only so well against the Illness.”

by Maisy Phelps

“At 4am I keep on driving and the radio speaks to me. To me? I meant to hit my motel around 4 hours ago but I got that lonesome sunk-cost kind of lost that no map can rectify. Unless a body might be willing to break a law or two.”

by Shrutidhora P Mohor

“…inside that demolished heap, is a pair of tiny, helpless hands, fingers curled up, nails light blue, the skin as thin as muslin, a premature blue baby whose survival was questionable right from the moment of its coming.”

by P.X. Vayalumkal

“That day, Molly and I entered a long, almost never-ending darkness. It felt like searching for a light switch in a room where none exists, then realizing there’s a string hanging from a light bulb that you have to pull and when you finally pull it and hear a click, nothing happens.”

by Seth David Parker

“it’s the most potent form of psychology. I pull levers. Put ideas in people’s minds. Put words in their mouths.”

by Zoey Knowlton

“Those same lights would be illuminated in green for the next nine months, just as soon as Danielle’s womb was transferred from her body to the freshly placed gestation unit.”

by Yuna Kang

“I blink, and Rella leaves my bathroom mirrors. I blink again; she finds a new home in my bedroom corner.”

by Patrick Johnston

“The moustache is powerful. It is sinister. It is mysterious. It is a strongman, a magician and a bandit. It is a hero and a villain.”

by Margaret Cahill

“As the door swung open, the bell above the door tinkled as usual. Something pulled me inside, propelling me forward involuntarily.”

by GRSTALT Comms

“The building went up fast. It came over the top of the fence. Everyone tried to pretend it wasn’t there. It was a big black box with no windows, guarded by men with guns wearing red vests.”

by Alfredo Salvatore Arcilesi

“In the invigorating darkness between tired streetlamps, Andie's mouth ached, both from the numbing cold and the lengthy lack of practice those deprived muscles had in performing a smile.”

by _­­Michael Czyzniejewski

“_­­One by one, they fell into the trap, each jellyfish pierced on a different spike, their jelly seeping out, oozing down the wood. Worse, the jellyfish were screaming, a dreadful wailing from the illuminated pit.”

by A. D. Canareira (translated by Clare Gaunt)

“And as he fell, just before his head smashed against the curb, he couldn’t avoid thinking what a blue day it was.”

by Matthew Washington

“Today was the day I was going to kill myself and by God was I going to get it right the first time.”

by Valerie Levy

“Shaking, she reaches in her pocket, pulls out the book of matches, lights one, and flicks it toward the yellowing newspapers before turning gracefully on her heal and gliding out the now-closed front door for good.”

by Sophia Craig

“Shoeless and emptyhanded, the woman ran with nothing but the feeling that she couldn’t kill what never lived to begin with.”

by Dimitry Partsi

“Somewhere, deep in his alternatively gifted mind, Mr. Badgerson was certain of only one thing: he had not yet been misunderstood loudly enough.”

by Tom Andes

“Channeling all his hatred and self-loathing, all his rage at the number of times the Heaney boys and their minions had whaled on him, Patrick had. He’d stabbed the poor dude because Declan Heaney had told him to.”

by Peter Naughton

“She glanced over at her right hand and sure enough the finger was missing, though there had been no blood or pain to mark its departure.”