“Swinging Party” by S.W. Lauden

Marco was always pretty smart for a drummer. He knew the record shop wouldn’t be open at three a.m., so he headed straight for the back door . . .

“The Pinch” by Honor Rovai

“Can you say something nice about this place?”

My left wrist is throbbing like a siren so I barely register Jackie’s request. She’s the tour’s PR lackey, in charge of pushing me through the subterranean bowels of the Home Depot Center to my press conference . . .

“Say When” by David Inglish

I’m standing here beneath the palms surrounded by six police officers, all of them with their guns drawn, all of them pointing at me . . .

“New Anchor” by Iain Ryan

Never take a job in summer—that’s rule one. Rule two is never trust anyone. They have that rule all over, but rule one, that’s my thing. No one thinks straight in summer. You can’t rely on anyone after November . . .

“Lost” by Cezarija Abartis

Elizabeth heard the door bang and footsteps clatter in the kitchen. She was relieved that it was not her daughter’s gait. This was another teenager. A girl holding a gun. Dear God, where did these children get these weapons? What possessed them? . . .

“The Preaching Game” by Bronwyn Mauldin

I was halfway through a draft of a blistering sermon on Romans 1:18 when I was startled by a scratching at my office door. My staff and parishioners knew to leave me alone on Thursday afternoons. I looked up to see a vision in turquoise . . .

“The Last Fact” by Douglas Light

An explosion of splinters stabs up his spine. Carrick’s eyes shutter open. Where the fuck am I? . . .

“Morning Ritual” by Jack Ryan

The nurse pulled onto the outer road parallel to the interstate. The blue friendliness of the St. Luke’s sign radiated faintly in the dawn light as he accelerated before the red admonition of the emergency sign took over his view. He clicked off the malfunctioning turn signal. The morning traffic was light, almost nonexistent. He waited until he had reached forty-five miles an hour to remove his skull-and-bones do-rag, the first phase of his elaborate post-work ritual . . .