Still uncertain whether I can be seen, I follow them up the hill, staying as far back as I’m able and still see their lights. I am eager to part with my peculiar company. How my feet ache. How my heart strains. I do not know what awaits me at the Hinterland, but I am unsafe where I am . . .Continue Reading

Then one night George had been awakened by singing. He strained to look at the pallets on the cold cave floor, but the sick soldiers slept on, unaware of the music. It didn’t come from any of them. Though his body ached, George rose from his bed to move toward . . . Continue Reading

Standing at the threshold, he searched the darkness. He couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean something wasn’t there, lurking outside the reach of light. Watching. Waiting. He knew it was out there. He’d seen it. And it’d seen him . . . Continue Reading

I gather small fallen branches and twigs and arrange my campfire. Back to the cliff’s edge, to sit and look around. No matter in what direction I look, I see no man-made lights. The darkening sky shows a sliver of moon, and countless stars begin to appear. Other than the whispering of a gentle breeze in some tall grasses behind me, all is silent . . . Continue Reading

The man explained how he loved walking along the Baltic Sea. It reminded him of his childhood, picking up the amber that was tossed onto the coast by ocean waves. He held out his hand which contained small pieces of amber. He lifted my arm and dropped the specks into my palm.

“I even found some today. I want to give it to you.” He smiles.

I again thanked him and said goodbye as he continued on his stroll.

“Wait, what happened?” James piped up.Continue Reading

A swine of primal rage, they prowl easy with piercing hooves that tear like claws—sturdy in their massive form. “Hell-pigs,” the two call them, appear as a nightmarish fusion of demonic swine. They haunt this ancient forest, with their leathery skin and masses that ripple with an unnatural strength. Their faces are . . .Continue Reading

He gently eased his scarred arms into the box and lifted out a coiled snake. The snake twisted and curled its smooth body as the preacher began dancing while lifting the snake in the air. He passed the snake on and returned to the boxes on the floor, retrieving another snake from an identical wooden box. Sweat started to drip down Frank’s back and he . . . Continue Reading

That’s when the police scanner started scratching about a call coming in over at Jerry’s house. I thought, Uh oh. Cass and Jerry are up to something. The way Cass looked, maybe Jerry had roughed her up. Her hair looked wild, like a skein of wool yarn a cat had pawed with its claws. Maybe Jerry had . . . Continue Reading

It has been our great pleasure to have met and published so many impressive and talented people. And we are grateful for each and every one of you—our submitters, subscribers, readers, perusers, and scrollers. In these five years, we have . . . Continue Reading