"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

"Scream of the Fly" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

 Jessica Carson was excited about moving away from home for the first time, but her new apartment left much to be desired.

Her bedroom badly needed paint, and there was a big black spider in the windowsill.

Jessica had always been afraid of spiders, but the creature wasn't harming anything, so she let it be.

In the weeks that followed, Jessica was so busy with work and school that she didn't notice that a man in the neighborhood was watching her and making plans.

One moonless night when Jessica was sound asleep the man quietly forced open her bedroom window and began to climb inside.

The would-be rapist did not see the glittering black eyes of the spider until it was too late.

Jessica was awakened by a high-pitched whining coming from the window. She assumed that her arachnid friend had trapped another insect, and so she went back to sleep.

"Landfill" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Far beneath the surface of the county landfill, the combination of a hundred chemicals and other substances created a dark new lifeform.

After several years of growth, the new creature was capable of movement, and it slowly undulated towards the surface.

Upon emerging from underground, the creature felt the warmth of the sun, but its crude eyes could only see shadows.

Compared to the quiet of the underground the surface was full of the vibrations of life.

The creature longed to communicate with the other lifeforms that it sensed, but there was no way to do so.

As the sun went down, the creature realized that it had no place on the surface, and it slowly returned to the cold familiarity of the underground.

"Summer's End" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

In his 13th year, Paul Carter first met Holly as she wandered through the north pasture of his family's farm picking flowers.

They stayed in the pasture for hours making up silly stories about the milk cows that surrounded them and eating blackberries.

Holly returned the next day, and the young couple hiked into the hills that the bordered Paul's home.

At a small waterfall, Holly took off her shoes and soaked her feet in the cold water.

"Where do you come from Holly?" Paul asked suddenly as he watched the sunshine stream through her hair.

Holly shrugged. "A lot of places, I guess. It's easy to make friends on the road."

For the rest of the Summer, the young couple spent almost every day together, but as August rolled around, Paul noticed that Holly was becoming anxious, and he wasn't surprised when she told him she was leaving.

On a hot Saturday afternoon, Paul watched Holly walk away forever through the same field where they first met.

 

"The Glass Snake" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Michael Chan was walking home from work when he was caught in a sudden downpour which was a typical event in his hometown of Tacoma.

In order to avoid getting soaked, Michael ducked into a curio shop and started looking around. An old Chinese woman eyed him from behind the counter.

Most of the items in the shop were out of his price range, but a coiled snake made out of glass was only twenty dollars, so Michael decided to get it.

As Michael was making his purchase, the old woman pointed at the snake and said something in Chinese. Michael didn't understand the words and he just nodded along.

The rain had finally stopped when Michael exited the shop, and he looked forward to seeing how the snake looked on his coffee table.

As Michael entered his apartment, he placed the snake on the couch and went into the kitchen to make dinner.

Microwave macaroni and cheese was ready in a few minutes, and he put his dinner on a plate and went to watch a baseball game.

Michael immediately noticed the glass snake was gone but out of the shadows of his apartment a stunningly beautiful Chinese woman appeared.

The woman bowed before Michael and said: "My name is Mei and I'm your new roommate."

"Lorelei" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Jerrod Nelson was playing a game on his computer when he felt something hitting the back of his head. It turned out to be popcorn and the obvious perpetrator was Lorelei.

Lorelei was the resident ghost of the old house that Jerrod's parents had purchased in a rural section of Vermont. 

At first Jerrod thought it would be cool to have a ghost around the house, but Lorelei was more annoying than scary.

If Jerrod ever brought a friend home, Lorelei would torment them mercilessly and eventually all the kids at school thought he was some kind of weirdo.

Jerrod tried ignoring the ghost, but she would always find a way to get under his skin.

As a last resort, Jerrod googled: "how to get rid of a ghost." and was looking over the posts when he heard the faint words "I'm sorry" being whispered into his ear.

After that day, Lorelei was quieter although she still liked to throw popcorn at his head.

"Dalton and Murph" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

It was nearly noon and Dalton and Murph occupied two old chairs that faced the main street of their crumpling   town.

A disinterested fly buzzed above their heads while the two old friends consumed bottles of warm beer.

Dalton made a crude remark about a woman who was walking on the opposite side of the street, but Murph just shrugged, he was in an ugly mood and even an attractive woman couldn't pull him out of it. 

Murph had spent his entire life in the same small town doing one job or another.

Now that he was in his fifties, he felt dissatisfied and uneasy.

The children from his two ex-wives were scattered around the country and he never heard from them.

Murph took a last swig from his bottle of beer and aimed the bottle towards a trash can, but the bottle missed and shattered in the street. Dalton raised an eyebrow, but wisely said nothing.

Several moments later, the sheriff cruised down the street and Murph waved to him cheerfully. 

The two friends were about to call it a day when a car filled with parents and kids stopped on the street in front of them.

"Do you know how to get to bat cavern?" a young woman asked.

Murph pointed down the road. You go ten miles and then take a right." 

Dalton watched the car depart and shook his head. "That doesn't go anywhere Murph"

"I know" Murph said as he too another drink of warm beer.