5

“Loving You Darkly” by Mercedes M. Yardley

Loving You Darkly by Mercedes M. Yardley The following piece was originally published in F(r)iction #8. Art by Brian Demers. Silva’s lover was built of bones she scavenged from the Killing Fields. A shard of gleaming femur here, a handful of vertebrae there. She held him together with wire and glue and the most charming of ribbons. When she put ...
4

“What Is There To Say” by Brandon Getz

What Is There To Say by Brandon Getz The following piece was originally published in F(r)iction #8. Art by Daniel Reneau. Her father stands at the kitchen sink, one long hand holding the wet wound on the back of his head. In the other is a serrated knife. His gray hair is blood-soaked, and there’s a dark stain growing on his shirt ...
5

“Ectophilia” by Dorian Karahalios

Ectophilia by Dorian Karahalios The following piece was originally published as a F(r)iction Short Story Contest winner in F(r)iction #7. Art by Daniel Reneau. Don’t trust the Egyptian priestess, with her gloopy dollar store mascara, pewter ankh, and vaguely Egyptian eyeliner, when she tells you your wife has communicated from the Great Beyond and has requested—no, demanded—mummification. Instead, laugh. You two have been communicating ...
2

Tribute: “StickyFeetTM” by Kit Reed

Tribute: “StickyFeetTM” by Kit Reed   Kit Reed came into our lives two years ago, when F(r)iction was in its infancy. As a new—and very strange—publication, we were desperate for established authors to take a chance on us. We reached out to Scott O’Connor, one of our contributing editors, and asked if he could recommend any well-known writers who might ...
2

“Not the Man He Used to Be” by Emma Burcart

Not the Man He Used to Be by Emma Burcart Forcing his chin down at a weird angle, Terrance can finally see his legs. The left looks pretty much the same as it did before surgery, but his right leg is wrapped in some sort of metal contraption—wires and bars come up and over like a medieval torture device and ...
8

“Quitter” by April Dávila

Quitter by April Dávila The first time you fucked Alex for the last time, you were nineteen. Afterward, you pulled the cool sheet up around your breasts and lit a Camel cigarette to buy yourself a few more minutes in his bed. He was already up. When he reached for the cigarette, you let him take a drag, and as ...
4

“The Shape of Things” by Karan Madhok

The Shape of Things by Karan Madhok Stop the car, Tulika thought to herself, but in her silence, Rajdeep drove on. “Stop the car,” she said, out loud at the next turn, and Rajdeep drove on. She felt sick: a dizziness in her head and a painful jolt in her stomach. She needed to throw up. The girl on Tulika’s ...
8

“One Hundred Days” by Emily Martin

One Hundred Days by Emily Martin For months my brother complained that his body ached all over. We thought it was from lack of sleep because he liked to stay up late, watching television until his eyelids couldn’t hold themselves open any longer. But then one morning he woke to find several freckle-sized holes in his chest. They didn’t bleed, but ...
7

“Asleep for Days” by Peter H. Z. Hsu

Asleep for Days by Peter H. Z. Hsu Day 1 A man is driving a full-size luxury sedan on the I-15. He attempts to pass me. I speed up. His car is faster than mine. I gun it, but he pulls ahead of me and cuts me off. I could have pushed my car to keep up, but I chicken out ...
8

“Patient 2021” by Jamie Stewart

Patient 2021 by Jamie Stewart It was the first letter she’d ever gotten. Nothing came by mail anymore. Everything was digital. Across the room Mallory rifled through pages on the coloring table. Her mother watched, hoping the others would take her place. The female to her left with curly red hair and perky breasts. The leggy blond sitting by the block ...