"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.