"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.