Around the time the boys in my class turn eleven, we start asking where the Starter Boys have gone. We start asking why there are grown-up girls, but no kids who grow up to be girls. Why our moms never leave Rexford. And that’s when Civics Class starts. I’m standing in the auditorium line in […]
Content Note: aftermath of sacrifices, blood, body horror, offscreen abuse, suicide There is a hole in the wall by Shadow Jack’s bed. It is no bigger than a pin prick, and the wind that blows from it is cold and bitter and smells of death. Shadow Jack knows that smell better than his own. He […]
Everything possible to be believed is an image of truth.— William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell There’s evidence of the map everywhere if you know where to look. Orpheus strums his lyre on his way into Hades to rescue Eurydice. Osiris, Odin, and Jesus Christ all serve their time in the lands of […]
Content Note: body transformation/horror Irene traced her gloved finger down the window, following one of the raindrops as it slid left, its path forced by the speed of the train. The water stretched the sodden afternoon landscape into streaks of grey and green and brown. In her mind’s eye, she could see the layers of […]
After he thumped on her entry for a third time with his wooden hand, Troll unlocked the door using the key Fox had given him and stepped into the apartment she had purchased on a quiet, dead-end lane off Coal Ember Street. She might be angry at an unexpected interruption, but it wasn’t like her […]
Abi / Yakima Washington, July 1970 She finds the fairy in a suitcase. It’s the start of Abi’s weekend at the Bumping River cabin, and Nana tells her hurry up eat your breakfast while it’s hot. She should be home having cereal: Mama with Special K, Abi with Lucky Charms, the milk turning a sugary […]
Señores, venga el aviso. Good people, here’s the notice. In my thirty-third year, this Spanglish-speaking, feet-in-two-worlds, gringa Latina realized it was time to go to Mexico and save my mother. To be clear, my mother had died shortly after I […]
Garrett listened to the man listing what ingredients he wanted in his latte while Garrett imagined choking him to death. He could see it clearly—the spindly neck beneath his fingers, the starched collar crumpling, the look of shock as— “Did you get that?” the man snapped. Garrett stared at him, at his expensive suit and […]
Kavita stepped into the communication booth on Artemis Station and put on the glasses. An image of David Worthington, Immortal of Solar Standard, Inc., appeared in front of her, as if they were both standing in the middle of a black void. There was still a couple of seconds delay in transmission between Artemis and […]
1972 The Woodthorn elves are famous around these parts: anything living or once alive grows at their touch. Plants do the best: wild flowers, trees, crops and grass—even wood that has been turned into tools or furniture will come back to life, given enough time. Animals take a little longer, and it’s not so sure […]