"Driftwood" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Mark Halstead's sailboat "Starfish" was set adrift after nearly being destroyed by a freak storm about one thousand miles southwest of  Ireland. Communications, navigation, and propulsion were all gone and Jim spent most of his time scanning  the horizon for a passing ship. 

Fortunately, he had enough fresh water and food to last a while, but time was running out. Twenty days after the storm, Mark was elated to spot a small island in the distance.

A steady current pulled the crippled ship to the outskirts of the island. Mark tossed the anchor over the side and then rowed his dinghy to the shore.

As soon as he set foot on the beach, a young woman rushed across the sand and embraced him. "Richard, you've come home" she said through her tears. Mark was about to correct her but decided to wait until he found out what was going on.

The young woman whose name turned out to be Barbara, led Mark to small cottage about a half-mile inland. Barbara chattered non-stop while Mark looked for a phone or some sort of radio. He soon learned that a storm had wrecked the island's radio tower.

Barbara made a large dinner and while they were eating Mark learned that Barbara was the only permanent resident of the island. Mark also noticed a slight change in Barbara's demeanor and he wondered what had happened to the actual "Richard."

As Barabara was cleaning the table her tone became even more accusatory and Mark knew he had to get out of there. When Barbara took the table scraps out to her livestock, Mark sprinted out the door and headed for the beach.

He speedily rowed his dinghy out to the Starfish and pulled up the anchor. The sailboat caught ahold of the outgoing current and headed out to sea.

In the distance, he could see Barbara with a rifle angrily kicking the sand.

"Raymond" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Eleventh grade English teacher Abby Bennett took a moment from formulating her lesson plan to glance at one of her favorite students. As usual, Raymond Tenneson was staring out the window lost in a dream world.

According to IQ tests, Raymond was utterly brilliant, but aside from physics and math, he struggled with his schoolwork. Abby tried to help him, but Raymond was always preoccupied, and she had no way of penetrating the thoughts that were running through his super brain.

As the school year came to a close, Raymond seemed to relax a little and actually participated in class. On the last day of school, Raymond approached Abby's desk.

"I've really enjoyed your class" Raymond said hesitantly

"Well, I've really enjoyed having you Raymond" Abby said with a smile.

Raymond opened his backpack and took out a strange- looking device that was about the size of a laptop.  "I'm going on a long trip, and I just wanted to say goodbye" Raymond murmured as he pushed some buttons on the device and slowly began to disappear.

An instant later, Raymond materialized at his destination, 25 light years from Earth and began his new life.

 

"Traffic Stop" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

State Trooper Russ Maxwell was parked in his usual spot on the old Sumner highway watching for speeders and trying to stay awake. So far, it had been a boring night with only one minor infraction.

Around 2:00 in the morning that all changed when a yellow Porsche blew past him at 120 miles an hour. Trooper Russ quickly turned on his cruiser's lights and siren and took chase of the speeding vehicle.

The Sumner highway wound through farms and ranches and the Porsche had no problem negotiating even difficult curves at high speed. Russ was doing his best to keep up, but his old police car was severely outclassed by the yellow Porsche.

Trooper Russ was about to give up the chase when the fleeing yellow car unexpectedly slowed down and pulled over onto the side of the road. Russ pulled over slightly behind the car and called in the license plate to dispatch.

Unfortunately, there was no information whatsoever about the speeding car and Russ suspected theft and an altered license plate. Russ exited his own vehicle and yelled at the other driver to come out with their hands in the air.

To his great surprise, a small teen-age girl stepped out of the Porsche with her hands up. Russ found it hard to believe that a teen girl could drive like a professional, but there was no one else in the yellow car.

The young girl somewhat resembled his own daughter and for an instant Russ let his guard down. In that brief moment, the teen girl transformed into something huge and monstrous and pulled Trooper Russ into the Porsche.

With a burning of tires, the yellow car accelerated onto the highway until it was just a blur on the horizon.

"Beer Can Mountain" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Travis Parker had been pushing his VW van for many miles and the old nag finally gave up trying in a small town somewhere in Nebraska.

The local mechanic gave Travis a look of pity as he explained that it would cost about three hundred dollars to get the van running again. Unfortunately, Travis only had about fifteen bucks.

Feeling utterly defeated, Travis slumped on a sidewalk bench and tried to think of a way out of his latest disaster. Dozing slightly, Travis was awakened by a loud voice.

"Hey kid, you want to make some money?" said a grizzled old man in a Dodge truck. This was the only offer Travis had gotten all day and he was taking it.

The old man drove Travis to his farm outside of town and showed him an enormous pile of beer cans. "I'll pay you fifty dollars to bag the cans and take them to the recycling center and whatever the aluminum is worth you can keep." the old man said.

Bagging up the cans was not as easy as Travis had thought it would be. There were rats and mosquitoes and the noxious odor of stale beer, but the old man was pretty decent and fed him lunch and dinner.

The thousands of cans brought in over four hundred dollars at the recycling center and that plus the fifty dollars for cleaning up the mess was enough to get his van fixed.

Travis thought about getting a six-pack before leaving town, but he was pretty sure that he never wanted to see another beer can as long as he lived.

"The Junkyard Dog and Molly" a short story by Craig Zimmerman.

Max the junkyard dog didn't have many human friends. Most of the people who came to the Triple J salvage yard were afraid of him, but it was different with Molly.

Molly came to the yard at least once a week to work on one of the old wrecks in the back lot.

Max didn't quite understand what Molly was doing, but he loved listening to the sound of her soft voice and the dog treats she brought him.

After Molly left for the day, Max would continue his regular job of patrolling the yard for intruders.

On one particularly dark night, Max heard the barking of another dog somewhere in the lot. Max searched for hours, but every time it seemed as if he was getting close, the barking would come from another part of the yard.

Max finally realized that the dog was one of the strange ghost creatures that inhabited the Tripple J.

The old car that Molly had been working on finally came to life towards the end of summer. Molly opened the back door of the huge car and Max eagerly jumped in.

Molly drove the ancient Buick around the lot and Max was about as happy as he could be.

"Country Club" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Jeff Hayes left the stack of dirty dishes that he was washing and peered into the banquet room of the Twin Lakes country club where he worked.

Megan Patterson's 17th birthday party was in full swing, and all of the high school royalty were there including the class president, the captain of the football team, and all of the cheerleaders.

Jeff had grown up with most of the kids at the party, but in middle school, cliques were formed and not everyone could be a member.

Jeff compared his wet and dirty work clothes to the party outfits of the revelers and felt ashamed. He would never be a part of that world no matter what he did.

As the evening drew to a close, something unexpected happened: the birthday girl herself came into the kitchen with a piece of cake for Jeff.

Megan only stayed for a short time, but in those few minutes, he almost felt like he belonged.

"Janey's Movie Night" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

 The Rialto was a crumbling old theater in a crumbling old neighborhood in Seattle, but Janey Marworth loved the faded glory of the old building.

The Rialto was one of the few places where you could watch old classics on the silver screen. Friday nights were reserved for horror movies and Janey had almost the entire theater to herself for a showing of the original "Dracula."

During the opening credits a late arrival came in and just happened to choose the seat next to Janey. "Can I have some of your popcorn?" her seatmate asked in a bad Hungarian accent. Janey was mildly annoyed and answered with a firm no.

"You have a very beautiful neck." the stranger said a moment later.  Now Janey was getting creeped out and she moved to another seat. A moment later her tormenter suddenly appeared in the seat beside her, even though Janey hadn't seen him move.

Glowing eyes fastened onto hers and Janey felt herself growing weak as hot breath and long fangs moved towards her neck. Out of instinct, Janey's right fist smacked into the white face of the weirdo, and she ran to the exit.

Janey stopped for a just a second to see if the creep was pursuing her, but in the flashing light from the screen she could see that there was no one there.

"Laura's Big Catch" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Every spring, Laura Baker looked forward to hearing the chorus of frog mating calls from the pond in her backyard, but this year there was nothing but silence.

From her bedroom window, Laura looked out at the pond and noticed something dark and powerful ripple through the water. It was this unknown creature that silenced the frogs.

In the morning, Laura looked over her fishing gear and selected a strong salmon pole with fifty-pound line. Using raw steak for bait, she sat on a log at the edge of the pond and cast her line into the water.

Without warning, something hit the bait like a piledriver, and she struggled to hold onto the pole. For at least an hour, Laura fought the pull of the dark creature, but with one mighty effort she pulled the thing onto the shore.

The hideous beast lunged at Laura snapping its jaws and she was forced to hit it with a hammer. With the intruder gone, the pond gradually returned to normal, and the croaking frogs could be heard for miles around.

 

"Junkyard Dog" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Max the mutt was the official guard dog of the Tripple J salvage yard located just outside of Tacoma, Washington.

Max's duties began at seven in the evening when the yard closed and ended at about sunrise. He began his rounds at the old trailer where his owner Ben lived.

Max walked slowly through the wrecked cars always listening for something that didn't belong. A large rat peeked out of a demolished car and Max growled until the rodent retreated back into the darkness.

As he approached the back corner of the yard, Max became a little uneasy. There was something menacing and evil in the twisted metal that he sensed but couldn't identify.

Loud voices alerted Max to intruders, and he rushed towards the sound. Several kids were trying to get over the fence, but they changed their minds when they noticed the huge dog intently watching.

After the boys had gone, Max resumed his patrol. An old woman appeared from behind a rusted bus and pointed at him. A moment later, the figure vanished. Max had become used to strange sights in the yard and did not become alarmed.

As the night wore on, Max heard something coming from an upside-down truck and he went to investigate. A mama raccoon and her babies had made a home in the cab of the truck. 

Max stayed with the raccoons until it was time to head back to the old trailer for his breakfast.

 

"Trail to Nowhere" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

After several hours of hiking on a new trail near Mount Rainier, Julie Sutton realized that she had become lost. Fighting panic, she decided to find a high point on the ridge to see where she was at.

Julie was near the summit when she unexpectedly came upon a large house in a clearing. She had no idea that anyone lived so far out in the wilderness.

Julie hesitantly knocked on the door and an old woman immediately answered. "Can I help you?" she asked. Julie explained her situation and the woman gave her a strange smile. "My son Rolf can take you to the main trail." she said sweetly.

The old woman led Julie into a living room that was filled with hunting trophies. As if on cue, her son "Rolf" emerged from another room.

Julie noted that Rolf was a much larger version of his mother with the same odd smile. He motioned for Julie to follow him, and they both left the house. 

Rolf had little to say and seemed to know what he was doing, but Julie felt that he was leading her away from the trail down the ridge and she started watching him carefully.

Deep in the forest, Rolf turned to her and pulled a long knife out of his coat. Julie had been expecting something like that, and she dashed into the woods at the side of the trail.

Rolf took chase, and Julie could hear him crashing through the forest behind her. but she ran as fast as she could and eventually the sounds of Rolf's pursuit faded away.

By the time the sun was going down, Julie had found the trail head where she started from, and she called the police as soon as her cell phone came into the range of a tower.

The police took her report, and the next day Julie agreed to show them where she had found Rolf and his mother's house. Julie did eventually find the clearing but there was no house or anything else. 

The police ascribed it as some sort of delirium and Julie was left to wonder if she had imagined the whole thing.

 

"A Flock of Crows" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

A severe meteor storm had damaged Commander Deena Larson's spacecraft, and she desperately needed a place to land in order to make repairs.

Fortunately, there was a small planet in the vicinity although the atmosphere was highly poisonous. Deena would need to wear her environmental suit in order to fix the damage.

Landing the crippled vessel on the planet was more difficult than Deena imagined it would be, and she was grateful for the clearing in the midst of a sea of strange rock formations.

After putting on the bulky environmental suit, Deena exited the spacecraft and surveyed the damage. She estimated that it would take several hours to complete the repairs.

While patching a tiny hole near the engine compartment, a hovering alien done appeared and silently watched Deena work.

Deena assumed that someone was curious about her presence and so she took no hostile action against the drone. 

Several minutes after the first drone arrived another materialized and also silently watched. Deena hurriedly finished patching the engine compartment hole and then moved on to the cargo hold repairs.

Eventually, a dozen alien drones observed Deena's labor and for some reason they began jostling and fighting each other.

The fighting became so intense that they began bumping into Deena's environmental suit and she knew that even a slight tear would be fatal.

A strange idea occurred to Deena, and she activated one of the ship's drones and set it on a meandering course towards the planet's northern pole.

As Deena had hoped, the swarm of alien drones followed her drone, and she was able to finish her work in peace.

She regretted losing one of the ship's limited supply of drones, but it couldn't be helped and once the repairs were finished her spacecraft lifted away from the planet without any complications.

After leaving the planet behind, Deena wondered about the alien drones. They acted almost like a form of life, and she immediately thought of a flock of crows.

 

"The Garden of Susan" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Danny Tyson looked around his new neighborhood and thought it looked a lot like his old neighborhood. Being an army brat meant moving a lot. Danny was only fifteen and had already lived in ten states.

Danny climbed on his bike and rode around the neighborhood looking for kids his age. At the end of the block, he noticed a cute girl tending a flower garden.

Danny had little experience with girls, but he forced himself to park his bike and go say hello.

The girl was watering a large white flower when Danny walked up. She seemed to be unaware of his presence and when he said hello, she looked up in fright.

"I'm sorry I scared you" Danny stammered. The girl looked vaguely in his direction and Danny realized that there was something wrong with her eyes.

"You didn't scare me; I sometimes daydream when I'm working in the garden. The girl held out her hand. "I'm Susan Hennessy" 

Danny shyly took the girl's hand and told her his name. "Did you just move here?" Susan asked. Danny pointed down the block. "We live down at the end of the Cul de sac."

Susan's eyes did not follow the gesture and Danny realized that she was blind.

"Would you like to help me water these flowers?" Susan asked. Danny felt a little scared for some reason but then said yes and they spent the afternoon talking and caring for the garden.

Danny learned that Susan had been blind since birth, but she didn't let it hold her back and she had dreams of working in horticulture.

One Summer Day, Danny was walking to see Susan when a freak hailstorm came out of nowhere. The large hail stones pounded the ground for several minutes and then it was over.

He rushed over to Susan's house to find her crying in the midst of the ruined garden.

Danny took her in his arms. "Your garden will be new again" he promised, and Susan held him close.

"The Motel Mecca" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Martin Rhodes needed an easy part-time job for his last year of college and what he ended up with was the night-clerk position at the "Motel Mecca."

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Motel Mecca served middle-class families traveling through southern California, but in the present, it was a magnet for the very poor and small-time criminals.

Sometimes it was hard for Martin to look into the weathered faces of men and women who had been crushed by poverty and a world that only cared about the young and well-off.

One night a teen-age girl came in the office and Martin immediately pegged her as a runaway. He wanted to tell her to go back to whatever home she had, because Los Angeles had nothing to offer young girls except heartbreak, but in the end he remained silent.

About two weeks later, a nervous and sweating middle-aged man came in the office for a room. After he left, Martin looked out the window and saw the young runaway going into the room with the man.

For reasons he couldn't explain-even to himself, Martin became enraged and kicked in the door to the unit. The man looked at him in shock while Martin grabbed his flabby arm and tossed him into the parking lot. The girl just stared at him with a mixture of anger and shame.

Martin was fired that same evening, but not long after the county declared the motel a public nuisance and shut it down.

The last act of the Motel Mecca occurred when a wildfire incinerated the vacant buildings.

"A Saturday afternoon cruise" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Jerry Nelson was watching Saturday morning cartoons when his buddy David pulled outside in his new van.

Jerry had to admit the new ride was impressive- especially the mural of a nearly naked young woman painted on the side of the van.

David pulled into the street, and it wasn't long before they found two girls hitch-hiking.

The girls piled in the van, but they wanted to stop somewhere and pick up their stuff.

The house the girls wanted was way down in the valley and David reluctantly agreed to drive them.

 As they arrived, the girls went in to get their stuff and the boys waited in the van. Twenty minutes went by and one of the girls came out and told David that they had changed their mind and were staying at the house.

David was furious and roared away from the house. 

The next stop was a taco stand near downtown where the boys heard about a party.

The party was out in the woods near a slow-moving river, but most of the kids at the party were from a rival high school and it didn't take for David to get into a fight.

Jerry pulled David off some guy that was twice his size, and they were back on the road again. 

David drove to an outdoor basketball court so that they could shoot some hoops, but the court was at a church and some guy didn't like the nearly naked girl on the side of the van.

Five-mile Lake was one of the few places left to go, so the boys headed in that direction. It was a hot day, and the beach was packed with people.

Jerry found a girl he knew and luckily, she had an available friend who liked David.

After swimming for a while, the two couples decided to go to a movie. 

For once David seemed to be in a good mood, but all that changed when they got back to the van.

Someone had sprayed black paint all over the mural on the side and David wept at the sight of the ruined artwork.