"Drive-thru" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

It was near closing time at the Burger Corral when a customer pulled up to the outside menu board. "Can I help you?" Janey Brooks said into her headset. The customer responded almost immediately: "I would like a mushroom souffle' please." Janey rolled her eyes. The Burger Corral was always being pranked by college frat boys.

"I'm afraid we only have what's on the menu" Janey said wearily. "Look on the counter" the customer answered. Sure enough there was a dish that looked like a mushroom souffle'. "That's impossible" Janey muttered to herself.

"I would also like a bottle of white wine" the stranger said through the speaker and almost immediately a bottle of expensive-looking Chardonnay appeared on the counter. Janey rubbed her forehead with her palm. This was just too weird.

A sleek black car pulled up to the window and Janey handed the wine and mushroom souffle' to a man with an old-fashioned hat that obscured most of his face. "How...how did you do that?" she asked the stranger with terror in her voice. The man shrugged "it's a simple trick really, I hope I didn't frighten you." He then handed Janey $500 and sped away into the night.

"Edwin and the Snowstorm" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Edwin the crow perched in a small tree and watched the cold white flakes cover the Walmart parking lot where he lived. From past experience, Edwin knew that the snow would make it harder to find food.

As the hours past, the snow showed no sign of letting up and Edwin decided to take a little trip and see if he could rustle up some treats. He took off in an unexplored direction, and the lights of the city gave way to fields and hills.

Edwin spotted an opening in one of the human buildings and shot through it. The inside was warm and dry and as a plus Edwin found some grub. On the lower level of the building, a large beast was making a "mooing" sound and Edwin told him to be quiet. Apparently, the animal didn't understand crow-speak and kept making a racket.

After stuffing himself with food, Edwin settled down for a nap, but his rest was short-lived when a big orange cat nearly caught him. Edwin flew to the top level of the building and kept an eye on the movements of the cat.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, and Edwin headed back to his favorite tree in the Walmart parking lot.

"Escape" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Mark Jarrett's old man told him he had to be out of the house the day after graduation, so on Saturday morning Mark packed his few belongings into his truck and backed out of the driveway for the last time. His father did not say goodbye.

Mark drove slowly down the main street of his small town looking for any familiar face. The owner of the general store: Mr. Dutton stared at him as he drove past but didn't acknowledge Mark in any way. Oddly enough, Mr. Jacobson the barber gave a friendly wave even though Mark rarely got his hair cut.

A girl from his class, Amy Riggs smiled at Mark from the sidewalk, and he pulled the truck over. "Hey, you want to go to California?" he asked partly as a joke. To his great surprise, Amy jumped into the passenger side. 

The silent mass of the deserted sawmill was the last witness to the departure of the young people as they headed west in an old Ford truck.

"Club 17" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Tom Sheridan could already hear the music when he pulled into the parking lot of Club 17. As he entered the building, a girl with pure white hair took his hand and led him to the dance floor. Tom had never seen her before, but she seemed to know him very well.

Tom and the girl danced for what seemed like hours and the people around them faded into the background. The girl seemed tireless as she danced through one song after another, but Tom was growing sleepy, and the girl was slipping further away.

Sometime later, Tom awoke on an empty dance floor. The girl with white hair was gone, but Tom knew she would come with the night and he sat down to wait.

"The Throwaway" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Simon Fitzgerald lived on the fringes of the ultra-modern city to the east. He survived by recycling and selling to other members of his group the items discarded by the city dwellers.

During one of his salvage trips, Simon came upon the damaged remains of one of the new female companion droids. It appeared that the former owner had taken a hammer to the face of the creature.

Simon loaded the droid into his cart and took it back to his shack in the woods. The damage to the droid was extensive but Simon did his best to put her back together and after restoring its fuel cells the companion bot awakened.

"What is your name? " Simon asked the creature.

"Mary" the droid answered.

"Do you remember your owner?" 

"He.... hurt me" was all she would say.

On his rounds the next day, Simon thought about what to do with Mary. If he sold her, she would probably be cut up for parts, and he couldn't bear to have that happen. Upon his arrival home, Simon was surprised to find a home-cooked meal waiting for him courtesy of Mary.

Simon had lived alone for most of his life, but he quickly became accustomed to having Mary with him and soon couldn't imagine life without her. At the end of the day, the couple would sit on the makeshift porch, listen to music, and watch the dazzling lights of the city on the horizon.

"Give me a Light" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

The young woman came out of the gloom of the parking lot and asked Peter if he had a light for the cigarette that dangled from her lips.

He didn't have a light and told her as much. Unfazed, she asked Peter if he wanted to see her pet.

Before he could answer, the woman brought forth a hideous worm-like creature from beneath her coat. Peter tried to think of something positive to say about the animal, but nothing came to mind.

The woman was apparently offended by his silence, and she disappeared back into the gloom of the parking lot.

 

"A Desert View" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

From behind the counter of Tim's Diner, Amber Donaldson stared out at the shimmering desert across the highway. The wasteland was as dry and dead as the dreams she had in high school.

Amber could still recall the excitement of graduation night ten years before and the plans she and her girlfriends had made, but somewhere things had gone wrong and she had never left the small town where she grew up.

Tim, the owner of the diner tapped on the counter and awakened Amber from her reverie. "We have a customer waiting" he reminded her. Amber wearily retrieved a menu and walked over to the new arrival. "Would you like a menu sir?" she asked a dark-haired man who was studying the horizon. The man smiled at Amber and ordered a cheeseburger.

When Amber brought the burger, the man looked up from a map that he was studying. "Do you know any good trails through the desert?" I am writing a book about American wastelands, and I could use someone to show me around." Amber shook her head. "I never had a reason to go out there. It's just rocks and sand." The man seemed disappointed and went back to his map.

Eventually, the man finished his meal and drove away, and Amber spent the rest of the afternoon remembering hopeless dreams.