A New Kind of Literary Pulse

The sea burned beneath them. Columns of smoke rose from shattered hulls, blotting out the horizon. The sky, once blue, was now a black lattice of flak bursts. Where their squadron had been moments ...  [+]

With the candles dancing atop the cake, everyone waits silently for Jeffrey to make a wish. He takes a deep breath and blows with all his might, through the windstorm the candles continue to ...  [+]

After class, Mike said he's got something to tell me.
It's not like we're BFFs or anything, but I don't really have close friends, so I suggested we go sit somewhere even though I wanted to go home ...  [+]

"Dad, I think I'll skip baking with Linda today. You could use some help sorting through bills while you're making calls to the bank, right? I mean, it's the least I could do to help out. Things have ...  [+]

After passing mid-deployment trials to test our REDACTED capacity, my submarine shot up the coast of REDACTED to observe a REDACTED featuring top-of-the-line technology that even the U.S. wasn't ...  [+]

Zeke Estrella sat in his patrol car with his brother and partner, Micah, watching the traffic go by as they both ate their dinners.    They sat in silence since Zeke was not one for words and Micah ...  [+]

Family is the most precious gift, but what happens when your family is taken away from you and brought back when you least expect it?   Carolina has two children, Kyler and Hankie. Kyler is a ...  [+]

Summer in New York City felt like a heartbeat — fast, loud, and alive.
The sidewalks shimmered in late July heat, and the air smelled like sugar, salt, and the faint buzz of dreams that neve ...  [+]

ALL IN The page was empty again. The cursor blinked as if it was breathing, steady and patient. The assignment was simple: write a short story on the theme All In. He had written about love ...  [+]

The heavily engraved wooden panels that covered the walls of the overcrowded room had long blurred from his vision. His gaze had shifted from the hanged portrait to the audience's faces, each ...  [+]

The world forgot about handwritten letters, but Arthur remained. His shop, "The Last Word," smelled of dust and drying ink. His business was simple, and morbid: people came to pre-write their final ...  [+]

Momma always told me akangi funi emakhoneni Sonke kodwa siyazi ukuthi angeke uyi thole use 'khoneni  But really I wasn't looking to get paid ekhoneni Thought of it like recess more of an escape ...  [+]

 
The woman does her shopping on Tuesday evenings. It is the only day she does not go to the park to play chess, or study at the local college. Soon it will not matter, her mother had told her when ...  [+]

So many 'was I really' questions flooded my brain. It felt like I was drowning in a sea of fear and doubt as I just stood there, soaking it all in.
Was I really walking up to Iron Trident ...  [+]

The man who accidentally amputated the newly-wed's other leg had not stolen her husband's bees – they had simply taken up residence in one of his sculptures. Charles, the chainsaw artist, didn't want ...  [+]

"I offer myself as this year's sacrifice!" I yell out frantically, my voice cracking on the last syllable. I pant as I try to catch my breath, the boiling air burning my throat with each breath. The ...  [+]

"Boreas!" My consciousness gradually gathered, as the can of iced cola touched my skin, sending a chill. The smiling face before me gradually became clear in the soft light. "See that girl outside ...  [+]

The rain sprinkled on the car, creating streams down the window. Andrej started the engine to warm up the car, not intending to drive out of the parking lot just yet. The passenger door opened, and ...  [+]