"The Mushroom Man" a short story by Craig Zimerman

The mushroom started out like many others in the backyard of homeowner Tom Nicholson, and he didn't even notice it until the fungi became much larger than its fellows. In time this particular mushroom grew to be two feet high and about a foot across the top.

Tom wasn't quite sure what to do with the monster mushroom, so he left it alone for the time being. One night while he was watching TV, he heard odd sounds coming from the backyard and went to investigate. The sounds seemed to be coming from the mutant mushroom, and he directed his flashlight towards it.

An opening in the shape of a door was noticeable at the base of the stalk. Tom went up to the mushroom and looked closely at the "door." Feeling slightly foolish, he tapped on the opening with his knuckle. To his great surprise, a little man opened the door and looked at Tom in annoyance. "What do you want?" the tiny man asked.

Tom was so shaken that he ran back into the house. The next morning, he once again went into the backyard to make sure that he hadn't imagined the whole thing. Tom rapped on the miniature door and after a slight delay the little man opened it. "You again?" he said with irritation. "Yes, me again. This is my property and you can't just park your mushroom here and move in."

The little man crossed his arms in defiance. "Go ahead and try to evict me." Tom went back to his house to think. If he called the police, they would think he was a crazy, so he would just have to do the job himself. Gathering some garden tools and a wheelbarrow, Tom went out to the mushroom house. He spent most of the afternoon trying to move the thing, but it was no use.

Tom's next step was to call a lawn maintenance outfit. The workers showed up on time, but they all ran off in terror when the little man came out of his house and yelled at them. Tom was sitting on his back porch considering what else he could do when his unique problem approached. "Can I talk to you?" the little man asked. Tom nodded.

"I'm sorry to cause you so much grief, but I'm just looking for a place to live and by the way, my name is Harry." The little man held out his hand and Tom shook it. Having Harry as a tenant took some getting used to but eventually, they became friends and Tom was thrilled to learn that Harry was a skilled carpenter and could do all kinds of jobs around the house.

 

"A Broken Table" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

The war was nearly over, and the ruined village where Sgt. Pete Kruger's squad was currently billeted was one of the last steps to victory. After making sure the town was secure, Sgt. Kruger found a rickety table and began to have his dinner.

From out of the destroyed town, three children appeared and took seats around the table. Kruger assumed the children were related and they gazed at him silently. He took some food from his pack and distributed it among the three.

The children ate quietly and their delicate table manners seemed out of place in a world of devastation. An old married couple emerged from out of the smoke and took chairs next to the children. Sgt. Kruger gave them a loaf of bread.

The next arrival was a young woman. Kruger could tell that she had once been very beautiful, but the war and years of privation had taken its toll. He gave her the last of his rations. While the unusual group ate, one of Kruger's men came up and informed him that they were moving out.

Sgt. Kruger gathered up his gear and said goodbye to his dinner companions. An odd feeling caused him to look back, but there was nothing to be seen besides a broken table.

"Bone Lake Part 4" by Craig Zimmerman

Lori spent most of her weekend placing motion detecting cameras around the perimeter of her house in hopes of getting a look at her quarry and it didn't take long to find out what she was up against.

The beast from another dimension terrified her and she wondered if it was even possible to capture it. For the first time, Lori considered asking for help, but what would happen to her uncle's invention if she let outsiders in?

After a light dinner, Lori turned went to bed unaware that the creature that she feared had already made a decision. It was sometime after midnight, when the eight-legged beast entered the house and began searching for Lori's bedroom. The animal smelled the presence of the human on the second floor and forced its way into the room where it was strongest.

The splintering of the door awakened Lori and she grabbed for her Taser just as the creature lunged at her. She gave the thing a full dose of electricity and it lay twitching on the floor. Lori moved quickly and dragged the animal to her uncle's laboratory and positioned it in the portal.

The animal seemed to recover from the shock of the Taser just as she sent it back to its home. After ridding herself of the threat, Lori felt relieved but there was still the matter of what to do with the portal. In the end, she just couldn't destroy what her Uncle Simon had worked so hard for.

"The Face at the Bottom of the Pond" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

 Steven used a long pole to maneuver his raft around the pond. In some areas he could clearly see through the water, and he was fascinated with all of the bizarre creatures that dwelled in the wetland. As he moved into the center of the pond, Steven looked down into the water and was shocked to see a face looking up at him.

The face was hideous and the red eyes looked up at him with savage fury. A floating log slammed into Steven's raft nearly tossing him into the water. The log retreated a few feet and then crashed into the raft again. Steven could see the face smiling and decided it was a good time to get out of there.

While he was on shore, Steven loaded his raft with several heavy rocks and then headed to the center of the pond once again. The face at the bottom glared at him and Steven dropped one of the rocks in the water hoping to hit the thing. The stone missed by at least a foot and Steven launched another rock. 

This time, the rock was flung away and the water around the raft began to erupt. Huge waves caused the raft to break apart, and Steven was thrown into the water. He struggled to swim though the waves and it felt like something was holding him back. 

Finally, Steven made it to the beach and immediately collapsed. He must have slept for several hours, but when he awoke the pond was completely still and the only sound was the loud mocking laughter coming from the depths.

"Bone Lake part 3" by Craig Zimmerman

Lori didn't know what to do with the strange animal she found in the woods which was apparently a victim of her Uncle Simon's experiments with inter-dimensional travel. She offered it water and food, but the creature just kept making the same pitiful bleating sound.

After much searching, Lori found her uncle's journal. In it he described the beginnings of his experiments and the accident that led to the escape of two creatures that he brought forth from other realms. This was the first time she had heard about another creature besides the worm-like animal she had found.

The journal also gave detailed instructions on how the dimensional portal worked and Lori was hopeful that she might be able to send the worm- thing back to its home.

While Lori studied her late uncle's journal, the other escaped beast watched from the woods. Its compound eyes noted every detail and its eight limbs, and sleek muscular body could race through the trees. The forest was so much better than the world it came from. The only threat was the human- creature in the large structure. She would have to be eliminated.

Three days after finding the journal, Lori felt that she was ready to send the giant worm back to its home. She carefully placed the animal in a transparent enclosed platform and keyed in the code left by her uncle. The animal slowly disappeared and Lori prayed that the lost soul had found its way home.

Lori's sense of accomplishment was short-lived as she remembered that there was another fugitive animal that had to be sent back.

"Bone Lake Part 2" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Lori Brant felt wonderfully rested as she awoke in her new home. It was so quiet in the country-no traffic-no sirens-no people. After a quick breakfast of bagels and fruit, Lori set out to explore her new surroundings.

Her Uncle's house was huge with eight rooms on two levels. Lori was surprised to find an enormous library on the top floor with hundreds of volumes. One section of the library was devoted entirely to physics. The floor below contained a well-equipped kitchen and several bedrooms.

The biggest surprise of all was found in the basement. Some kind of laboratory filled the entire space. Lori could only guess at the purposes of some of the devices. She made a note to herself to look through her Uncle Simon's papers to figure out what was going on here.

As the sun set, Lori took a seat on the wide deck overlooking the lake and sipped her coffee. A strange rhythmic sound seemed to be coming from the woods on the opposite shore. Lori had no idea what it could be, but she grabbed a flashlight and went outside.

A narrow trail wound around the lake and Lori followed it looking for the origin of the sound. As she came through a tangle of blackberry vines, a creature that couldn't possibly exist stared at her. 

The thing was about three feet long and somewhat resembled a caterpillar. It had large eyes the color of violets and the strange crying sound came from an opening in its tail. Instinctively, Lori connected the bizarre creature to her uncle's laboratory. 

The animal did not resist when Lori placed it in a blanket and took it back to the house. She offered it food and water, but the bowls remained untouched.

Lori spent the night looking through her uncle's papers and discovered that the devices in the basement were some sort of port to other dimensions. The creature she found in the woods must have come through the port and then escaped. 

From another part of the lake, a larger and more dangerous fugitive watched the house and waited.

"Matty" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Matty sat on a log and watched a large Heron spear a fish in the shallow waters of Dumas Bay. She regretted ditching school, but a sense of unease threatened to overtake her, and she had to get away.

Matty stayed at the park until the sun began to set and knew that she had to go home. As expected, her mother was angry that she had skipped school and once again Matty had to hear how irresponsible and careless she was.

The next morning, Matty loaded her clothes and other belongings into her old Corolla and headed for the interstate with a vague plan about going to California. As Matty drove through downtown she noticed a girl about her age wearing a skimpy outfit and pacing back and forth on the sidewalk. 

The hopelessness in the girl's eyes disturbed her and Matty turned her car around and headed home. Her mother was waiting for her on the porch of their tiny house. 

"I'm sorry you missed work because of me" Matty said.

Her mother smiled and held Matty close. "Everybody needs to play hooky once in a while."