Break From Reality. Daily.
John Cano is a new writer with no formal training, no published works and no idea where he’s going, but he’s doing it anyway. When not writing, John enjoys overthinking, pretending to be in a novel and believe rewriting a sentence for three hours is a productive use of time. He believes everyone has a…
Gary Little has been stringing letters into words and words into sentences for 50 years. First as a Baptist preacher, then as a programmer and now as a fiction author. Content advisory: Please be advised that this story contains graphic violence and combat. Alvin sat in Wally’s World, nursing a Scotch when he noticed them….
This piece is by Tom Chambless. Hot Red Wolves I woke up with a feeling that things seemed off. Looking around my room, I tried to figure it out, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. I got up and made my bed and straightened my room like I’m supposed to. It made me…
This piece is by Nicolas Knight. That night inside the rainforest trees, many things were thrumming and chirping in all sorts of ways and all sorts of different kinds of unique things to nature buzzing and filled with happiness to be alive. Though below the forest greenery and on the ground lived one extraordinary thing no one…
This piece is by Nicolas Knight. He hit the table in anger again. This task had to be the most unprecedented and costly step he was about to take towards Freedom. He sent out a prayer, and as the blood from his hand dripped onto the page, he asked the Gods to free him and…
This piece is by Nicolas Knight. Furton Manson had created the most abominable thing – He looked around him and knew of things that could trifle with what had happened here, and for that, he was indeed a goner. Manson programmed the machines with infinite pain and horrors from the machine mind, that preyed upon…
This piece is by Nicolas Knight. Dembe was the most curious of people, and so were his friends; he was an adventurer who traveled the omniverse searching for knowledge and people. Dembe was not something special but knew of amazing things and gathered extraordinary friends in his experiences. One of the things he knew of…
This piece is by Nicolas Knight. The earth laid silent that day, and no one could speak or hear the sounds that once filled the cosmos. The people laid their heads down in sorrow. The rain outside just poured salt in the wound. Though there was a child who knew of the songs of old,…
This piece is by Nicolas Knight. There was a vile creature that lived in the bottoms of virtue and walked among death itself named Claiborne. He fathomed nothing but pain, so once he said to himself that if the world is pain and the world is cruel, he must be to by nature. “Pain is…
This piece is by Ulla McFarlane. The year was 1906, and it was cold. Colder than anybody could remember. The winter had arrived early, the North Easterlies sweeping in the arctic air. It was early in the morning of a late November day, when a woman made her way through the freezing wind. She was…
This piece is by Brenda Cyr. Damn, I did it again! Melissa pulled off the latex-free glove that she had just poked her left index finger through. Everyone else made putting on personal protective equipment look so easy. For Melissa, it felt like struggling to put on a wet suit that was two sizes too…
This piece is by Riana Alkaff. With the colorful microphone in my hand, I sang out of tune, “You’ve got me feeling emotions. Deeper than I’ve ever dreamed of!” Looking in the mirror, I could see my face turn red as I ran out of breath trying to reach Mariah’s high pitched voice. I giggled…
This piece is by Lynda Hiini. On Christmas Day they went to Christmas lunch at their daughter’s house. Both their daughters, their son and partners and all the five grandchildren were there, even the two dogs came. A day of such promise, such impending joy, an explosion of happiness and rare gluttony. Grandma had spinal…
This piece is by Elizabeth Nettleton. “Are you ready to laugh?” An amplifier screeched in response, and the comedian cleared his throat. Curly brown hair stuck to the sweat that glistened across his forehead. “I said, are you ready to laugh?” A woman rattled the ice cubes in her glass and sighed. “Yes, we’re ready…
This piece is by Elizabeth Nettleton. The first thing Paul noticed about Miss Johnson was her teeth. They were small, jutting things; some yellow, some brown, and some a color he dared not even try to categorize. There were some that pointed forward and others backwards, and a few nestled between that sat straight on…
This piece is by Waylon Bryan Guillory. The Chamber – Chapter 1. “I sometimes fear the dark and this bloody rag in front of my nose smells terrible. It’s plagued! There are blood stains all over it. You do realize you have only managed to keep me hostage for a short while, Sir? I’ve grown…
This piece is by Jim Offerman. I lie awake in near total darkness. A few blotches of light on the ceiling and walls reveal the imperfections in the blinds my dad installed when I was four. I’ve always been a terrible sleeper and my parents were led to believe that a darker room would help…
This piece is by Craig Hartley. Some folks who visit Alachua County, Florida, from up North say they miss the change of seasons. To people who need sudden, extreme shifts of weather to tell them what kind of clothes to wear or sports to play, the placid, unhurried drift of the North Florida climate might…
This piece is by Joe Bunting. Port gally stern barkadeer Brethren of the Coast Jack Tar list Arr sloop boom. Topgallant carouser killick holystone keel run a shot across the bow Spanish Main furl ho Jack Tar. Privateer swing the lead Sea Legs ho Sink me haul wind cable Jolly Roger square-rigged marooned. Spanish Main…
This piece is by Mike Conradt. To be Mine Forever. My breath was coming in short rapid rasping sounds as I ran down the street. The details of what happened in the woods I cannot remember. I tried to think with some degree of clarity, but my mind was overwhelmed with confusion and…
This piece is by Callie Sutcliffe. A Night to Remember It was Katy Bennett’s first prestigious affair to put on all by herself. Caldwell Financial was right up there with Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan, bringing in around a hundred billion a year into their company. And they were the guests of honor tonight. Katy…
This piece is by David Safford. If you want to win money for college, you have to know how to find scholarships first. Maybe you’re overwhelmed because there are so many places to look and so many chances to get distracted. Or, perhaps, you’re frustrated because you’ve tried finding scholarships, but haven’t come up with…
This piece is by David Safford. the baby’s name wasJune and she went to heaven before she came out a littledifferent, with a beautifulnose and eyes that wouldclose. She didn’t walk‘til Jesus held her hand,but that was after the preacher with the longnose and eyes that wouldbrighten at the mention ofhellburned those four tattoed wordsonto…
This piece is by David Chase. Crystal lay in bed, feeling worn out, dead inside. The light played across the ceiling, making odd patterns and she had no desire to get up. What was wrong with her? It was Saturday morning and she was meeting her boyfriend, Mike, for the party tonight. It was going to be an…
This piece is by Catherine Ryan. I awaken in the middle of the night. At least I think it must be the middle of the night. The room is dark and there’s no street noise outside. My wife snores softly beside me, casting off her bit of warmth. I lie still so as not to…
