Flash Frog
Small. Brightly colored. Deadly to the touch.
Category: Uncategorized
Hydrant Fish by Brandon McNeice
Heat squats on the block. The hydrant’s cap is leaned sideways with a broom handle wedged in, and water arcs over the street in bright ropes. Older kids run through, skidding, shrieking. It smells like iron and pennies. She stands at the curb, new… Continue Reading “Hydrant Fish by Brandon McNeice”
Sweet Pea by James Keith Smith
Let’s bury him there, in the mulch, I say. Where the ground is soft. In my roses? my wife asks. The roots of the maple in our yard burrow and twist beneath the foundation of our home, raise the concrete on the sidewalk out… Continue Reading “Sweet Pea by James Keith Smith”
Peep Show by Martha Keller
We weren’t supposed to talk about what we saw when we looked through the neighbors’ bedroom window. We weren’t supposed to kneel side-by-side in the tree house, or press our faces against the unfinished pine planks, ragged with splinters that burrowed into our soft… Continue Reading “Peep Show by Martha Keller”
Digging Toward the Sun by Andrew Maynard
Two boys build a sand castle at the edge of the earth. Their father watches at a distance, pushing his toes into the sand. It’s not actually quiet—thunderous waves folding in on themselves, wind blitzing sand like shrapnel—just feels that way when the world… Continue Reading “Digging Toward the Sun by Andrew Maynard”
Wrestling by Tom Weller
They all hear the crowd, a whooshing roar, a sound like a train entering a tunnel. But there is no crowd, just a weed-choked backyard, a chain-link fence chattering when the wind blows, the whooshing roar, the voices of ghosts. There is no ring… Continue Reading “Wrestling by Tom Weller”
Creatures of the EZ-STOP by Janice Leadingham
Creature calls himself Creature because everyone else does and his mama says it’s better to be in on the joke. Creature looks just like his dead daddy but his mama is really beautiful and that has to mean something. Creature is still a virgin… Continue Reading “Creatures of the EZ-STOP by Janice Leadingham”
Night is a Mouth with No Shape by Joshua Jones Lofflin
There’s the fog, always, a mist that clings to the girl’s legs. She walks along this darkened highway—not a real highway, but a narrow stretch of pitted asphalt with hardly any shoulder. Cars sweep past. She used to be afraid of them, those unswerving… Continue Reading “Night is a Mouth with No Shape by Joshua Jones Lofflin”
Collision by Michael Czyzniejewski
Light my candles in a daze ‘cause I’ve found God. —Nirvana, “Lithium” The hardest part about being a ghost is getting over the sex, as in watching the living go at it. It’s ironic because when you first die, you swear to yourself—if we’re… Continue Reading “Collision by Michael Czyzniejewski”
Sunday Nights by Brad Barkley
That evening, Winston dropped off his granddaughter Claire at her dad’s house, Steven opening the door before they rang the bell. Grunted thanks, alcohol breath. Seven years of awkward, screendoor diplomacy. Hannah’s death might have united them in grief, if they’d already loved one… Continue Reading “Sunday Nights by Brad Barkley”
Darkrooms by Ali McLafferty
We who work in darkrooms have a secret. You’d never expect it of us; we are masters of monotony. We blank our faces and mute our bodies so that you forget us as soon as you leave. Take a moment now—Walgreens, Costco, Walmart—can you… Continue Reading “Darkrooms by Ali McLafferty”