The river pulled like an ocean. It had been many years since Ben had seen the current so strong. Each time his paddle sliced through the waves, the water yanked at the oar like it was a spider’s web, sticking to the wood and trapping it in it’s tenacious web of streaming rapids. “Take it slow. Okay, love?” He called behind him to his wife who was breathing loud and heavy. “Oh god, Ben. This isn’t exactly what I expected,” Lydia said. Ben looked over his shoulder. Lydia heaved

Jeremy had been trapped for 17 hours. Each time he moved, he wedged himself farther between the plaster walls. His shoulders ached, his ankles were swollen and his throat was filled with an arid sticky hoarseness. He had stopped screaming many hours ago when it became evident that no one was returning for him and not a soul was looking for him. It had been a usual job: a property that needed renovations before the new owners moved in. The plumbing had been torn out and replac

Written by Clarke Wainikka She stood between the trees. Her head and chest lifted, flakes of snow falling onto her torso and covering her in a blanket of white softness. Her terracotta fur matte against the forest foreground. Her black ears twisted as a boot crunched in the snow. They twisted again as the shotgun raised. The gun pressed into his shoulder, struggling to balance against his thin arm. The cold was unforgiving. Biting at his already shaking fingertips. His father