“Sure this thing is safe, Manny?” With a sly but reassuring look in his eye, he nodded in reply and tightened the leather strap on his friend’s shoulder. “There. That oughta do it.” Paul took a footballer’s stance and readied himself, the homemade jet pack balancing precariously on his back. He looked, for all intents and purposes, like a cybernetic Quasimodo. Manny chuckled at the sight as he backed away behind the concrete wall. The walkie talkie crackled to life. “Manny, what do I do now?” “Turn the regulator knob all the way clockwise.” Peering around the corner of the wall, he saw his old friend reaching for his shoulder. “Check.” “All you have to do now is press the red button in your palm with your middle finger.” “Check. But I’m still worried, Manny. Sure my … Read entire article »

“Quick! Put it in the back seat before he comes out” Barry heard from the darkness as he hurriedly stuffed the mannequin in his friend’s car. Taking the extra time to buckle the safety belt around its plastic torso ensured its position; Barry chuckled to himself “this is gonna be great.” A drunken Matt Sorenson stumbled from the depths of the big white house, briefly waving goodbye to some unknown soul inside. As he turned away, his shoulder clipped the edge of the front porch’s fluted column, sending him barreling down the stairs. It was all Barry and Steve-O could do to keep from erupting in laughter. Matt lay on the ground for a second; laughing at himself, he proudly proclaimed “I meant to do that!” Matt stumbled for his keys and … Read entire article »

She felt the cool fall air brush across her face as she stepped off the bus onto the decrepit old sidewalk. The nagging adolescent voice of the tormenting Carrie Whetherford repeated in her head “step on a crack; break your mother’s back” as she looked down and noticed the spider web of tiny chasms beneath her feet. She hadn’t thought of Carrie since childhood; it was the cracks that brought her back.  “Mama’s fuckin’ dead” she whispered to herself. “Are you happy?” The hydraulic whoosh behind her signaled the doors closing, yet she gave nary a notice. A tear rolled down her face and fell to the sidewalk, disappearing into the soil between two loosened pieces of concrete. She raised her head, took notice of her surroundings, and headed east down … Read entire article »