MICRO 100
ISSUE #3
MARCH 2009
You’ve come back! That’s a very good thing and I thank you for doing so. For this issue we have some great talent you will not want to miss. We have some repeat offenders here with more great work and some familiar names you have most likely seen online and in print. Now since I hate writing these “editor introductions” I’ll stop here and allow you to enjoy their work.
Have a good one,
Dustin LaValley, Editor
Contents
PROSE -
A MEADOW IN BLOOM by David Buchan
BIRTH CONTROL by Will Spires
CORRUPTION by Bob Hinton
HEALTH CARE DENIED by Mark Anthony Crittenden
HELP by D D
THE BEST OF TIMES by Kevin G. Bufton
THE ECOLOGY OF HOUSECLEANING by Michael A. Arnzen
THE MIDWIFE by AD Dawson
THIRTY SECONDS UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD by Kurt Newton
POETRY-
THE LEAP by Justin Bohardt
PROSE
A MEADOW IN BLOOM
David Buchan
150 words
For days the meadow bore the brunt of clashing armies, trembled beneath hoof and foot, and wondered how it came to be.
It could neither see nor hear; only feel and taste that rich, warm nectar that dropped onto it like summer rain.
Images came to it, sweet images of carnage, of men split open and dieing. It drank greedily. It savored the delicious scenes. Now it understood.
A sacrifice had been made, and a new being born.
Centuries passed. Men came and went, but not a drop of nectar fell. Desperate, it enticed creatures into its shrubbery with sweet-smelling fruits, impaling them on thorns, so that their nectar trickled down to the ground that coveted it so.
And then one day the earth moved. The armies had returned. The nectar would flow again.
It smiled inside, just as the diggers gouged into its skin, exposing the crimson-tinted earth beneath.
BIRTH CONTROL
Will Spires
100 words
When I was ten, I went to my friend Bobby’s house. I liked Bobby. We were born on the same day.
“Come up,” he said, and led me to the attic. He looked scared.
Up there, his mother was hanging, a rope around her neck, long hair dangling in her face. Her feet were suspended inches off the floor.
“I haven’t told anybody,” he said. He started to cry.
I didn’t know what to say.
“It’ll be okay,” I managed.
“No it won’t,” he said. “She killed him.”
“Who?” I asked, bewildered.
“Our son,” he said, pointing to her stomach.
CORRUPTION
Bob Hinton
99 words
It writhes beneath my skin, burns in my brain, gnaws my gut from the inside out. My blood boils, yet my flesh is freezing. Bone, teeth, nails; ache. The primordial parasite is eating me alive. My eyes see only shades of red, as through ensanguined gauze, as though looking into the lowest abyss of Hell itself.
Hell is inside me.
It was such a small thing, the bite, a nip, really—but enough for the transference. It will consume me. It will use me.
Help. Help. Help yourselves, because I am no longer me . . . and I am coming for you.
HEALTH CARE DENIED
Mark Anthony Crittenden
94 words
I am brought in on a gurney, holding to life as well as I can. I must reach the inner sanctum, to look him in the eyes. No doubt he will be cunning, and his arcane words will distract me. I must not fail.
At last, I am within!
He utters his dark sorcery, “No insurance? Throw him out!”
I grasp his wrist with clenched fist. Straining, I see in him the same terror he would inflict. The room erupts in blood as I carry out my charge. Life can be poetic that way.
HELP
D D
99 words
It was late and the supermarket was ready to close. The staff stood idly by and looked at their watches as the last customers went through the self-scanners.
A man was having trouble with the onscreen instructions. Helpful Angela, as she was known, went to his aid. She scanned his washing line, woman’s panties and carving knife set through for him. He thanked her and left.
***
The washing line bound her hands and the point of the knife was put to her throat. She tried to call out for help but the panties stifled her cries.
THE BEST OF TIMES
Kevin G. Bufton
43 words
It was the best of times.
No more war.
No more poverty.
No more famine, now that the dust clouds had dispersed.
A fat bluebottle, buzzing through the still air, landed clumsily on a scorched human cheek.
It was the best of times...
THE ECOLOGY OF HOUSECLEANING
by Michael A. Arnzen
100 words
My vacuum cleaner yawped like a dying seal when its belly was full. I loved its high-amped suction, but its eco-friendly burlap bag was a chore to empty, clean and reuse. I squatted on my kid's messy bedroom carpet. Twisting it apart was like wrestling with a hammerhead shark. Its guts exposed, I stopped short: a lump quivered in the pregnant dirt sack. "Who's your friend?" it mutely squawked before I pinched it quiet through the burlap. Squeezing tight, I up-ended the bag and feathered filth back onto the floor, eager to return to sweeping.
THE MIDWIFE
AD Dawson
42 words
-I’m sorry, love, your child was stillborn-
-Sorry, Mister Blake; your son died in birth-
-Your newborn daughter was dead in my arms seconds after she was born… alas –
-I’m so sorry, Bill-
She’s a good midwife; she only delivers healthy babies...
THIRTY SECONDS UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD
Kurt Newton
100 words
Thirty…
In thirty seconds the world will end. Well, actually less than thirty now. What will you do? What can you do? All those future plans and projects, all those hopes and dreams…
Twenty…
Twenty seconds. Not enough time to tell all the people all the things you ever wanted to tell them, things you should have said if only you'd known you weren't going to get a second chance to say them…
Ten…
God, time flies. Let's see, what can you do in ten seconds that will make any difference?
Five…
Still thinking?
Two…
Any regrets?
One…
Time's up.
POETRY
THE LEAP
Justin Bohardt
51 words
Tangs of powder and flame offend
blending with the iron of life, flowing
Rich throated shrieks coat the sensations
Death tastes rich and savory to the tongue’s flick
Triumphant plunge into the sea of screams
The inevitable breaking; but not of resolve
Vengeance paints a vile portrait
limping to the gallows
MATERIAL COPYRIGHT © THE INDIVIDUAL AUTHOR(S)
12 comments:
Good one, i like "30 Seconds Till the End of the World" by Newton. That's my fave.
another good issue. "Birth Control" by Will Spires was definitely the most disturbing story. i liked "Health Care Denied" by Mark Crittenden. AD Dawson's "The Midwife" was good, too... reminded me of a short story from the "book of shadows" anthology along similar lines. (i think Kurt Newton had a story in there, too.)
I wrote the 'Midwife' after talking to my aged father - he is 79. He was brought up on a rough coal mining estate in Northumerland, England and recalls that there weren't any babies born on his estate who had obvious health difficulties such as downs syndrome. Most mothers gave birth at home and were attended to by a midwife and a matriarchal gathering - makes you shiver to think.
AD
http://www.myspace.com/theenglishdevil
FREAKY~!
Why am i constantly seeing the same 5 people following this blog when there are several more who are contributing to it? Get on the ball people. Life is not a spectator sport.
Great issue. "Thirty seconds" was quite cool.
I'm torn, though, between "A Meadow in Bloom," and "The Best of Times" for my favorites.
All good stuff, though.
I agree with Greg, "Birth Control" was like a sucker punch in the gut. Didn't see that coming. Also, liked "Help" by DD Bell.
Thanks Mike and Charles!
Greg -- I actually had three stories in Book of Shadows, two reprints and one original. Too bad the paperback is so damn expensive. That was a nice anthology.
Kurt - i thought you had at least one, but couldn't remember for sure. Greg Beatty had a few in there, too. i reviewed the book for Whispers of Wickedness when it first came out, and you're right, it's a great anthology. been waiting for volume 2 since then, but apparently that's a no-go, i guess.
Enjoyed this issue. Kurt Newton's piece has such good structure; i love the timing of the "Any Regrets?" followed by "One..." which makes the countdown match the running narrative!
Arnzen, you rock. I'm getting a jolt out of "100 Jolts" right now. Have you ever considered submitting to Champagne Shivers? Just curious. The majority of my stuff gets published there, so I'm always trying to lure big names in there with me. haha -Mark
This issue was AWESOME!
I was cackling so hard reading most of these. Absolutely wonderful, thank you!
~Merc
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