Short Fiction
Short stories published in Piker Press, a weekly journal of arts and literature.
1,823 articles — page 48 of 61
Don't you just hate it when the worker at the next desk flumps down with two boxes of tissues, throat lozenges, cough syrup, a bottle of aspirin, and a sore red nose and says, "Yuck, I can't remember when I've been this sick! I was up all night coughing my guts out!" Ooo, so does Aser.
Crouched in a concrete pipe, with metal-jacketed slugs being fired at the rate of about 300 rounds per minute is not the most comfortable place in the world ...
Raka is learning a lot as he searches for Ol' Bob, not the least of which is that all his weaponry and money are gone ...
He knew the sound of the doorbell at that same time on certain days -- on the other side of the threshold was that which no man should have to face at the end of a busy day ...
Behind one door is someone who is always willing to lend an ear to matters of the heart or of hope, someone the entire family can count on to be present for advice or for company ...
Good table manners aren't just a formality -- bringing uncouth guests to a dinner date really annoys people.
If you hear it, but don't see it, is it really there? What if it's just too cunning to be caught?
The world has changed, and the dead are no longer "departed" ... do they live among us, or do we die among them ..?
When you reach a point where you have nothing left, which direction do you take as your life continues? And what, you may ask yourself, actually counts as "life?"
When family members visit, there's bound to be griping, gossip, and conversations about "what-is-your-hand-painted-on-so-you-can't-write-more-often?" But when the family member is also your boss, you know something's up, just like when you smell smoke, you know there's a fire somewhere ...
When betrayal and cruelty are the hands on the potter's wheel, the resulting vessel will take on a sadly distorted shape, and hold depths of pain. Poured out, the contents will drench all...
They told me it was the best thing I could possibly do for myself, and yet it took literally years before I could find the motivation to make the Big Step...
When you're behind the big desk, you call the shots. When you're in front of the big desk, there isn't much you can do but say, "Yes sir." On the other hand, who bothers to scrutinize the little guy?...
I suppose I should have been thankful for the holiday. Normally, people would have been driving to work, delivering supplies, and making all the noises that come with the start of the new day. Most of them would have wondered what this crazy woman was doing standing in the middle of a traffic circle wearing only a towel.
A prologue to all the Aser stories. The lands of Ur, the seven Clans, and a creation story about the origins of birds and their gifts.
It was too late. No matter what he did or where he tried to hide, Jack Runner had been infected with cooties. The three girls who had cornered him giggled and jeered, sing-songing, "You go - ott cooties!" over and over. Jack was horrified.
Tommy had eyes only for her, a passion, a partner ... a purpose...
Ask a smartass Ur-Jennan a question and get an involuntary education. Aser expounds on the origin of silk.
Can you bring yourself to believe that the Universe is a place with order and purpose? That what seems cruel or unfair may be part of a greater plan? That misfortune and desperation may even be what draw you along to be where you actually need to be?
It was the night Andrea spent all month dreading. The strange affliction overshadowed her with its power, and the consequences might follow her until the next full moon ...
A day a little different from any other; a day no different than any other. A day to reach out in kindness; a day to turn away from the darkness of the past. Each day is like that, making a decision to be as good as you know the rest of the world wants you to be ...
No liquor, no elf sex, and no worries. Sometimes you don't need all the extra stuff that complicates your life and gives you stress-wrinkles.
Battered and blood-soaked, mortally weary and nearly dead, Jynx, Kaine, Kumiko, and Iai struggle to regain their strength, for in spite of the defeat of the Star-Demons, the battle for the Leylines of Phoenix is still looming over them like an evil shadow filling the sky ...
Set yourself on the auction block. What is it that makes you a marketable item?
Battered and blood-soaked, mortally weary and nearly dead, Jynx, Kaine, Kumiko, and Iai struggle to regain their strength, for in spite of the defeat of the Star-Demons, the battle for the Leylines of Phoenix is still looming over them like an evil shadow filling the sky ...
She had no idea what to tell him or what to say to him, she couldn't feel more unequal to what lay ahead. He wasn't quite sure what he could tell her. They hoped that the love they shared would be enough to carry them through this meeting ...
Aser and Margot are trying to figure out what to do with their tagalong Melody. The only problem is, Melody wants to figure this out for herself.
In life, in personal relationships, every second counts. Often we don't believe that ... until it's too late.
People go to memorial sites to remember the past, but for a secret psychic like Jack Runner, the past is quite visible and overwhelmingly present.
Sometimes you start out on the wrong foot, and hope for a way to put things right. And if you can't, you at least hope no one has anything to throw at you.