We cast our lines. Brad asks if Terri and I have to marry now. “Her Dad’s got an itchy trigger finger,” he says. Our red bobbers drift, Brad’s disappears. The graphite rod arches, he pulls, reels until it slacks. I imagine what it’s like, breathing down there in the dark. Guy Cramer is a writer from east Texas whose work has appeared in Dipity Literary Magazine, Paragraph Planet and Vestal Review (forthcoming). He has two self published chapbooks of poetry and is currently working on a collection of flash fiction. He can be found on Instagram @guy.cramer

I would love to drop anchor somewhere in Uruguay. Rocha province? The town of Punta del Diablo. Don’t be frightened. Less than a thousand people, including women. A resort place with an ocean at your doorstep. No one will ever find you there, and they won’t even look for you. Valery Rubin was born in 1941. Worked as a journalist in print and online publications in Russia, Israel, Canada. Author of books of poetry and prose with KDP, Smashwords, and Lulu. Nominee for the National Writer of the Year Award, Russia, Short Story Anthology, Microcontos-22, Brazil, Russian Prose Anthology-2022/23. Member of the International Union of Jerusalem Writers. Lives in Toronto, Canada.

A neighbor drilled a hole in my bedroom wall. I think to sneak peaks at me. What an idiot; there’s something called windows. He could have just looked in one of those. But he actually drilled a hole. He could have gotten electrocuted. Maybe that was the goal. Ron Riekki has been awarded a 2014 Michigan Notable Book, 2015 The Best Small Fictions, 2016 Shenandoah Fiction Prize, 2016 IPPY Award, 2019 Red Rock Film Fest Award, 2019 Best of the Net finalist, 2020 Dracula Film Festival Vladutz Trophy, 2019 Très Court International Film Festival Audience Award and Grand Prix, 2020 Rhysling Anthology inclusion, and 2022 Pushcart Prize. Right now, Riekki’s listening to El-P’s “Deep Space 9mm.”

I been the low man on so many totem poles I got dirt in my hair. Being ignorant and stupid didn’t matter much in high school. I was a big, fast football star, and all the girls loved me. Now, most are unwed single mothers, and I’m making license plates. Tony Tinsley is an author and editor whose micro fiction has appeared in 50 Give Or Take, 10 By 10 Flash Fiction, and Bright Flash Literary Review. When he is not at sea, he divides his time between the Pacific Northwest and the heartland of the United States.

The guttural arrogggh that accompanies efforts to lift heavy weights became the back-of-the-throat snuffle of a 350-pound boar. Frantic, I clawed upward. Gradually, the midnight black faded to murky grey-green as the misty dreamland dissipated. I awoke, gasping for oxygen, as my lungs and collapsed trachea fought a life-or-death battle. Tony Tinsley is an author and editor whose micro fiction has appeared in 50 Give Or Take, 10 By 10 Flash Fiction, and Bright Flash Literary Review. When he is not at sea, he divides his time between the Pacific Northwest and the heartland of the United States.

A dog, tail between her legs and ears folded back, wades on a beach shrouded in mist. No place for a stray dog, everyone thinks. Her black fur shrugs as she picks up a crab’s corpse and disappears into the forest behind her. No prints are left in the sand. Ellie Stewart is an emerging author from Utah. She writes short stories and poetry and is currently working on her first novel.

Now I remember how projectile vomiting feels. Elodie is a new author of poetry and fiction.