by Megan Larson Crack. Snap. Squelch. Bones break. Intestines writhe into place as I take on the small dog’s shape. “Buddy?” Lydia’s call echoes. I’ve studied them for weeks. Buddy wouldn’t bark, wouldn’t linger. No, he’d run straight into her arms. So, I run. Lydia waits with the door open as I emerge from the […]
by Kat Leeshue Upon the rocky shores stood a lighthouse. A beacon. I crawl onto the shores first, leaving my scales for the pearly skin the men love so much. The waves try to draw me back, but to go back means starvation—and I will not die with an empty belly. With new legs, I […]
by Kristin Lennox Charlie peeked through the kitchen door: his mother was at the stove, humming, stirring a tantalising garlic tomato sauce, by the aroma. Sneaking up behind her, Charlie zapped her with the taser. Duct-taped to a chair, the creature thrashed, flashing rapidly through forms like a vintage home movie: Charlie’s mother, Grandma Ruth, […]
by Ann Wuehler I shivered inside my human skin. My mother fell to the floor, my father bending over her, his belt in his fist. She took several blows, hiding her face, quiet, not even grunting as my father would strike harder if she whimpered. My face grew a snout. My body bent, locked into […]
by Sara Omer When the hunger clouds my mind, I disappear into the woods, putting distance between my wife and the wolf. I lose myself in my transformation, pushing my lupine muscles to exertion. Exercise soothes my rage, but nothing satisfies my appetite except hunting. I pick up the scent of blackberries and musk. I […]
by John Dougherty I guess I never really knew him. He left after two years, with apologies but no explanations. I didn’t tell him I was pregnant. If he wanted to leave, I didn’t want him to stay. When he left, the neighbours’ pets stopped disappearing. I didn’t make the connection then. Four years later. […]
by Tracy Davidson She guides hunters. She knows these woods well. Every tree, every trail, every spot the bears have passed. All the well-hidden dens. Sleeping mothers and their cubs. Easy prey. She says she doesn’t care such hunts are illegal. If they tip well. In advance. The hunters happily do so. They don’t know […]
by Jeff Currier “Why’d they send him down here—record’s clean,” Azazel groused, eyeing the mangled soul. Galzuel tapped the tablet, “Notation says: ‘Too dumb for Heaven’.” “But where to put him?” “With pogo-stick-frogger-on-the-autobahn guy?” “No, his stupidity killed twelve additional people.” “How about drank-bleach-to-prevent-Covid gal.” “She was bigoted—didn’t love her neighbours.” “He’s definitely not a […]
by Kristin Lennox Sid was neither fat nor claustrophobic, which made him the perfect burglar. His MO was to canvas a house, then slip into its walls at night, waiting for opportunity. Wedged between chimney and air duct, Sid heard the promising sound of the door lock, followed by a retreating SUV. Showtime. Sid tried […]
by L.B. Zinger January 21, midnight, -40 degrees. Twenty mph winds out of the northwest howled at the windows of the patrol car. The heater coughed and choked, barely keeping up. The cops spied two figures huddled against one of the high mast steel lights on the overpass. “Look!” Dan pointed to the dark shapes […]