"Big Black Car" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

John Peterson stared at the traffic jam ahead of him and dreaded facing his boss when he came in late again.

As his car inched forward, John heard a low rumbling sound behind him and looked in his rearview mirror to see a pitch- black 1969 Dodge Charger.

The car looked exactly like Riley's Dodge Charger, but that couldn't be. Todd Riley had died in the wreckage of his car forty years before.

It had been the last day of high school, and Riley had challenged John to a race on Mud Mountain Road. John didn't really want to race, but he showed up anyway.

In the late afternoon, the road was deserted, and Riley called the start of the race by throwing a red handkerchief out his passenger side window.

John's 1971 Chevelle SS was keeping pace with Riley's Charger, but then something went wrong, and the Charger crashed into a tree.

Peterson debated whether to go for help. He already had several traffic infractions on his record and another one would sink him good.

Peterson quickly drove away from the crash and told no one about what had happened. Later on, he heard that Riley had died in the wreck.

The Charger behind him couldn't be Riley, but Peterson turned off the highway to ease his mind.

The black car followed him.

In a panic, John pushed down the accelerator, but the powerful Charger easily kept pace.

Peterson was so preoccupied with the car following him that he didn't notice the sharp curve looming ahead of him and lost control of his speeding car and crashed into a tree.

The pitch-black Charger stopped at the crash site for a moment and then slowly drove away.

 

"Christmas in Enumclaw" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Milena looked out the window in despair. She had been hoping for a white Christmas, but it had been raining for three days with no sign of stopping.

Milena went into the kitchen to help her mother with dinner. Papa would be coming home soon, and he was always hungry after working in the mine all day.

When papa finally did arrive, he was covered with grime, but Milena gave him a hug anyway.

During supper, papa announced that he didn't have to work on Christmas, and they could spend the whole day together. He also hinted at a special surprise and Milena could hardly wait.

In the morning, Milena awoke bright and early and to her surprise mama and papa were also awake.

Papa instructed Milena to put on her warmest clothes because they were taking a trip to the mountains and see some real snow.

Milena was so excited that she kept mixing up her mittens but finally matched the blue ones her mother had given her last Christmas.

Papa had rigged a canvas covering over their wagon to protect them from the rain and two powerful quarter horses were going to take them on the long trip to the mountains.

The roads were very muddy from all of the rain, but the big horses were able get through it easily.

As their wagon left the town of Enumclaw and headed east, the buildings became fewer and eventually all Melena could see were thick woods and tall peaks on the horizon. 

As the wagon made progress the air became cooler, and the first snowflakes appeared. Around mid-afternoon, papa stopped at a clearing and they built a snowman with a carrot nose and pieces of coal for eyes.

Later on, they joined a nearby logging camp for its Christmas celebration and had a supper of venison and beans.

Milena was having so much fun that she dreaded going back to rainy Enumclaw, but papa had to go back to work the next day, and he needed his rest.

Even into her old age, Milena would think of the trip to the mountains as the best Christmas she ever had.

"A Fair Storm" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

To Sharon, it had seemed like the perfect summer job: housesitting for a couple who was vacationing in Europe.

The home was located on a small island in the Puget Sound and Sharon hoped to use the isolation to finish her master's thesis.

Everything went well until a powerful storm lashed across the island cutting power and communication.

Sharon tried to remain calm during the storm but the howling wind and encroaching darkness began to frighten her.

The crashing of a falling tree brought Sharon to the window of her bedroom. 

It was hard to see anything, but there appeared to be a tall thin man in the yard, but when Sharon looked again the figure was gone.

Bundled up in her covers, Sharon tried to go to sleep and eventually fell into a light slumber.

A strange scuffling noise from downstairs awakened her and she reluctantly took her flashlight wand headed to the lower floor.

As Sharon entered the living room, a stark white face stared at her from the big picture window.

Sharon screamed and the face disappeared.

By morning, the storm was over and armed with a knife, Sharon went outside to check on the damage.

There was debris and broken trees everywhere but fortunately the house had not been hit.

Later in the afternoon, a group of rescue workers arrived by boat and Sharon told them about to white- faced creature.

To her surprise, the fire chief laughed. 

"That sounds like the captain. "He lived on this island about fifty years ago and shows up whenever there is a storm."

"Are you saying the captain is dead?" Sharon asked incredulously.

The fire chief shrugged, "Well yeah, but he doesn't mean any harm."

"Rattler" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

It was late afternoon, and Colin Hays was walking home from school through the desert that surrounded his parent's ranch in eastern Washington state when he heard the rattle. 

Without moving, Colin searched the sage and rocks for the snake. Rattlesnakes generally stayed away from humans but there were occasional attacks.

Not seeing anything, Colin slowly moved forward. The rattling sound came again louder than before, and Colin stopped in his tracks.

 Colin looked at his watch. His father would be mad if he didn't get home before dinner and all because of an ornery snake.

Colin once again checked all of the places a snake might be and then decided to make a run for it.

Bracing his legs, he raced down the trail and stopped about a half mile from where he heard the rattle. Laughing at his fear and trying to catch his breath, Colin didn't notice the large rattlesnake that emerged from the rocks and slithered toward his leg.

"The Library Kiss" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Danny Marshall was working on a page-long equation in the library when he noticed Julia Sauter heading for his table.

  "Could you help me with my homework?" She asked Danny with exaggerated sweetness.

"You know I will, but I want something in return this time." Danny replied.

 "And what would that be?" Julia asked.

   "A kiss"

   "A kiss?"

Danny nodded, blushing furiously.

    Julia thought of all of the times that Danny had helped her with schoolwork. A kiss seemed like a small enough reward.

She glanced around the library. All of the tables were filled and some of her friends were watching.

Julia then took Danny by the hand and gave him the best smooch she was capable of.

Mrs. Foster, the librarian frowned, a few kids laughed, but everyone else stood and applauded.

For Danny, it was the most glorious day of his life.

 

    

 

"Old man in the rain"" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Brian Meadows was near the end of his shift when the old man approached him from out of the drizzling rain.

"Please help me" the old man said as he clutched Brian's arm. 

"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked the old man.

"Someone is after me." the old man said as he trembled with fear.

Brian looked around but couldn't see much through the miserable weather.

The old man was clearly terrified of something so Brian let him come into his office until he calmed down.

Over the course of about thirty minutes, the man gradually relaxed and Brian walked him to the edge of the property.

The old man walked away into the early morning mist and gradually disappeared.

Brian was closing up the office when he heard a loud scream. He rushed to the source of the sound but there was nothing there.

The old man may have been right. Something was after him.

 

"Suzie's Friend" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Sometime in the middle of the night, Suzie heard her father stumble through the door of their trailer.

Muttering and cursing, Suzie's father stomped down the short hallway to her room and started banging on the door.

Suzie couldn't take another beating like the last time-so she hastily put on some clothes and escaped out the window.

With nowhere to go, Suzie ran to the abandoned cemetery across the street from the trailer park.

Sobbing uncontrollably, Suzie lay down in the cool grass at the foot of one of the old graves and eventually fell asleep.

A gentle nudging awakened Suzie and she looked into the concerned face of a beautiful woman and two police officers.

"Suzie, my name is Ms. Bryant and I'm a social worker with the city. Your father has been taken to a place where he can get some help. In the meantime, I have found a home for you with a nice family here in town." The young woman said.

Suzie was a little confused. "How did you find me?" she asked Ms. Bryant.

"A friend of yours told me you were here. I think he said his name was Johnny."

Suzie didn't know anyone named Johnny, but with a sudden urge she looked up at the old tombstone where she had slept. It said:

                            Our Beloved Son

                            Johnny Hanson

                              1920-1935