A Natural

By Sylvia Hiven

Bill glanced into the mirror, certain that the truth was etched into his features. But an oddly calm face stared back at him. Sure, it was thin and wrinkled — and perhaps paler than most — but it was decorated with friendly blue eyes, and there was no sign of distress. No, sir.

Shadows’ Bride

By Marie Brennan

Their laughter is the silence of empty rooms, the hush of dust lying decades thick. Their smiles leer from metal reflections marred by tarnish and rust. Their jest has entertained them for many a year.

Is This a Horror Story?

By Scott Edelman

I wanted those photos out of our house, but no one in authority could be reached that night. I went to sleep expecting nightmares, but none came.

My Body Your Banquet

By C.S.E. Cooney

The man next door was interested in eating human flesh. He said as much, last time I took the trash out to the alley.

Sight Unseen

By R. Scott Shanks, Jr.

“Wherever you touch yourself, you will feel my hands touching you.” Sylvie reached for her aching head and felt a man’s rough hand twined in her hair, gently but firmly pushing her face into her graying sheets.

The Lot

By C.M. Harris
Read by Eve

It’s The Call of The Hydrae. It’s started.

A writhing pile of flash fiction stories combined, against all reason, into one congealed mass.

The Desert

by Tom Leveen

“They haven’t moved since . . .” Dom started to say, then cut himself off. I knew how the sentence finished. Since Trish and Jack had made a run for their car parked beyond the driveway, that’s what he was going to say. Since the spiders had swarmed them.

Benefits

By John Robinson
Read by Freeman Goodyear

The real person will never know that a copy of them just committed adultery in another part of town because, well, we can grow you from a piece of hair. A bit of skin. Fingernail clipping. Done. Person goes home, clone gets reduced to composite atoms, spouse is none the wiser — everybody’s happy!

Bird in a Wrought Iron Cage

by John Alfred Taylor

He opened up the musty buffalo-hide trunk with its green-stained brass fittings and pulled out the cage inside. For a second, I thought it held a huge brown spider, until I saw the fingernails like broken roots. Then it crawled to the corner of the cage and picked up a pen.

Three flash fiction stories in one gut churning episode.

“Jordan, when are you going to settle down, get married and have us some children?”

By J.R. Hamantaschen

Beth, my most recent girlfriend, said I look like a hanged man when I walk because I always stare down at my feet.

Thinking About Polar Bears

By Mike Battista

I wake up exhausted. I hadn’t slept well. My heart still beats quickly; the aftermath of vaguely remembered dreams.

Exit Exam, Section III: Survival Skills, Question #7

by David Erik Nelson

7a) You are a werewolf. You kill and eat people. You are a vicious animal.

Daily Double

by Kevin Carey

“Promise me,” she says.

“I promise.”

“I mean it, Eddie. Blow this and it’s over.”

“Come here,” I say and put my arm around her. “It’s all going to be cool. Trust me.” I slide a finger over the two small welts on her neck. “Still hurt?”

“No.”

“See, I told you, a couple of days.”

For a moment her face softness, then she snaps, “Eleven o’clock. He’s coming right from the airport.”

“Eleven sharp,” I say with a salute. Then I kiss her. A long, lip-locked, eyes closed, reassuring, don’t-sweat-it-kid-kiss. I feel the tiny tips of her teeth against my lips.

She flashes a quick smile. “Where are you going?”

“I may go down for the double, stay a few races.”

“The dogs, Eddie?”

“Just to kill some time, before I have to deal with the Gestapo.”

“He’s not that bad. He just thinks he is.”

I kiss her on the cheek and head for the door.

“Please don’t screw this up Eddie.”

“You have my word,” I say.