Category: Short Stories
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Stirred sounds better than Shaken. That one?
He wore sunglasses with lenses so small that they made it hard to focus on anything not immediately in front of his face. To any casual observer, this would seem to be a clearly useless affectation, really. His Majesty’s Special Agent hoped to prove them wrong someday, when the time came. As it was, he…
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The Knife
Tony thought the night was going well. The kids had pretty much settled down now and seemed to be conking out. Sweet. He had been a regular visitor here more than a few times over the years, but it was a different story to be in an aquarium after hours. At least the penguins also…
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I can get it for you, whole soul
The hooded figure waited under the light of the waning moon, next to a wooden placard on a long metal pole off to one side of the town square. Its message was clear enough, rendered in a lazy hand with blue paint. Ye Meeting Pointe. The hooded figure looked to the clock tower. 12:07. “Crap,”…
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“When you miss us, just look to the heavens”
The sole person at the western gate guardpost looked up and silently watched as the young colony administrator approached on foot. The guard saluted when the man reached his window and signed out one of the armored rovers. The big boss saluted perfunctorily as he turned and climbed into the driver’s seat, obviously lost in…
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A Blessed Engagement
Her mother answered the front door and let the nice young man in. They exchanged pleasantries, and he was invited to wait in the family room. He selected a corner of the sectional sofa, sat down, and folded his hands in his lap. Her mother said, “Dinner will be ready in a moment. I’ll let…
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She Said, He Said, Meow
“… so anyway, it was that sort of day at the office.” “I believe it. Hey, don’t forget to stir that.” “Am I cooking, or are you?” “Fine, I’ll feed the little monster, then.” “No need, babe. I did that when I got home.” “Cool. Hey, did you hear the new song released today by…
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Nearer, my god
A solitary figure, heavily bundled in warm clothing, slowly left the top step of a staircase that had been roughly hewn into the mountainside so long ago that it looked like a natural feature. Hunched over against bitterly cold wind, mirrored goggles were clear above two months of unkempt white beard that had long since…
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I Should Have Told Death To Ride Shotgun
I was sitting in my own car’s passenger seat, holding my phone in my right hand while cradling the remaining half of a drive-thru fast food hamburger that had gone soggy in my left, thinking about the long strange trip this had been. Have I been shadowing him for over eight hours? I thought. I guess he really…
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The Farmer
The hairless apes show up again. You ignore them as best as you can, as you push another seed into the ground with the heel of your left palm. You shift the bag slung across your other shoulder, now feeling almost empty. You are nearly halfway done here, and you can see that a pile…
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Obviously, with Joe Smith
“Welcome back! Seventy-five percent of you paused this while streaming my show to use the bathroom, then hit the fast-forward button until the end of our last messages. You missed a pretty flower in the third commercial. For those of you distracted by your phones, this is Obviously, with Joe Smith which is obviously a…