"Edwin's Christmas" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

 Edwin the crow didn't know what Christmas was, but he did remember a special time during the cold season when the treats became more plentiful in the Walmart parking lot where he lived.

Some of the humans even went out their way to bring a little comfort to the birds in the parking lot. One day an older human brought all sorts of treats and several different species of birds crowded around.

Edwin was annoyed at all the pigeons that flew in. Crows and pigeons had been competing for space and food in the parking lot for as long as he could remember.

The pigeons greater numbers overwhelmed the smaller number of crows and Edwin sensed a fight coming. Just then something miraculous happened when Esther, the leader of the pigeons instructed her group to make an opening for the crows and other birds.

All of the birds had a great time chatting and eating. Tomorrow it would go back to the old rivalries, but for a few moments there was peace in the Walmart bird kingdom.

"A Dust Bowl Christmas" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Over the sound of the constant wind, Laura thought she heard something and she went outside to investigate. A tall thin man with a bad limp was walking down the road in front of her home.

Since the banks failed, A lot of men were on the road looking for work...any kind of work.

Laura felt a stirring of pity for the man and called to him. As he came closer, she could see how truly exhausted he was.  

The tall man sat heavily on the bottom step of her porch. "Been looking for  a job, but there is nothin' the man said wearily.

Laura shivered in her house dress and imagined the man must also be very cold. "Would you like some hot coffee?" she asked. The man nodded "that would be great."

"Do you happen to know what day it is?" the man asked after gratefully receiving his coffee. "Why it's Christmas Eve" Laura answered.

The man shrugged. "I've been on the road for months. I guess I lost track of time." The man took another sip of coffee and in a deep voice began to sing "Silent Night." Laura soon joined in as the cold wind  blew the remains of her fields across the prairie.

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

Sometime in early Spring, Edwin the crow noticed a change in the Walmart parking lot where he lived. The Humans that came and went looked afraid and some of them covered their faces.

Edwin's usual snack route was also impacted by the unknown crisis. Most of the people that used to give him food just ignored him and walked away.

One day Edwin saw two humans arguing over a shopping basket filled with white paper. Edwin often had scraps with other birds over food or something practical, but he had never fought over paper. Humans could be very strange.

Julie was Edwin's only close human friend and he was good at spotting her car as she drove into the parking lot. Edwin loved listening to Julie talk. Of course he couldn't understand the words but he was able to sense some of the emotion behind them.

One hot Spring day, Julie had brought some yummy snacks for Edwin and the rest of the gang. After the food was gone, all the other birds departed but Edwin stayed and in his own way listened to Julie pour out her troubles.

 Not quite sure what to do, he flew to the top of one of the trees in the parking lot and clipped a blossom with his beak. He then dropped the flower at Julie's feet. Edwin wasn't quite  sure if Julie were happy or sad with the flower, but he sensed he had done something magical.

"Night Commute" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Marcus wearily walked to his car after an incredibly long day at work. As the events of the past eight hours ran through his head he wanted to talk to someone, but there was no one else in the deserted parking lot.

After entering his old car, Marcus closed his eyes and dozed off for several minutes. A loud noise awakened him and Marcus was relieved to see it was just the parking lot sweeper.

Feeling somewhat better, Marcus started his car and began the 25 mile journey to his home. As usual the roads were deserted. One advantage to working late was that he never got stuck in traffic.

The road home cut through farms and pasture land, it was so peaceful that once again he started to doze off. A vision of something in the road bright him back to consciousness.

A massive giant creature stood in the road. Marcus stopped the car and got out. The giant must have been 50 feet tall. For several minutes, Marcus tried to figure out what to do and then without warning the giant simply dissolved.

Marcus resumed his commute and hope that it was just exhaustion causing him to see things.

Several miles down the road, another figure appeared in the highway but this one was a beautiful naked woman. "Can I help you miss?" Marcus asked the woman. In reply, she just smiled and slowly dissolved.

The next image appeared as Marcus was nearing home. This time the mirage was an ugly werewolf-type creature. Marcus exited his car and faced the beast. "I suppose you're just another mirage" he said to the animal. The beast smiled and grabbed Marcus by the arm. "Oh no, I'm quite real" he said.

"Writers Block" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

Ronald Dexter stared at the blank screen of his laptop and willed an idea to come forth from his brain-but nothing came.

Just six months before, Ronald was a bestselling author and then his ability just vanished. He had tried, psychologists, psychiatrists, and anyone else who would listen, but nothing helped.

Ronald angrily closed the laptop and tossed all of his papers on the floor. As Ronald went to pick up the mess he spotted something in an old trade publication. It was an ad that said: "Writers Block Cured Guaranteed."

The ad was probably a scam, but he was desperate so he called the number listed in the ad and made an appointment. The Y and K agency's office was in a shabby part of town and Ronald's hopes for a cure sunk even lower.

Ronald eventually found the office and knocked on the door. A surprisingly young and well-dressed man opened the door. The man led him into the office and once again he was surprised. The interior was modern and stylish in every respect.

The young man held out his hand: "I'm Jack Taylor"  Ronald took the hand "Ronald Dexter."   "I'm a big fan of your work Mr. Dexter but I have noticed that you haven't been as productive lately." the young man said. "And that is the reason why I am here" Ronald answered.

Jack Taylor took a seat behind a beautiful mahogany desk and he motioned for Ronald to take a seat in front of the desk. "As the ad mentioned, I can cure your writers block, but there is some expense involved." Taylor said. "I will need some proof that your treatment is legitimate before I put up any money." Ronald said.

Taylor smiled and handed Ronald a sheet of paper with a number of names on it. Some of the names he recognized as writers more well-known then himself. "That is a list of former clients. Feel free to contact all of them about their experience with my agency." Taylor said.

 In the next few weeks, Ronald did in fact contact the names on the list and all of them raved about Jack Taylor. Ronald returned to the Y and K agency and agreed to Taylor's terms. 

The next day, Ronald returned to the Y and K agency and Taylor explained that a short trip was part of the therapy. Both men piled into Jack's car and they headed out of town. Jack drove for several hours until they arrived at a site deep in the Mohave Desert. Ronald looked at several decrepit old buildings and wondered if he had been suckered after all.

 Taylor parked in front of an old barn and both men walked into the murky interior. Taylor then opened a hidden panel in the wall and punched a long code into a keyboard.

After a few moments, a massive door opened in the barn floor. Taylor punched more numbers into the keyboard and an elevator brought some sort of craft to floor level.

"What the hell is that?" Ronald asked staring at the massive apparatus. "A spacecraft"  Taylor answered. 

Ronald shook his head and laughed. Taylor pushed another button on the control panel and door in the craft slowly opened. Several computer terminals and a couple of  padded seats occupied the interior.

"Do you want to go for a spin?" Taylor asked.  Ronald shrugged "why not."

Taylor took his place in the pilot's seat and  Ronald buckled up in the passenger seat. The engines started with a dull roar and Taylor operated another control which opened a panel in the roof of the barn.

Ronald was slammed back in his seat as the craft rapidly ascended. A large view screen showed the spacecraft's progress through the atmosphere and eventually into space. "Where are we going?" Ronald asked as he watched Earth get smaller and smaller.

"You'll find out."  Taylor said mysteriously.

After several hours, the massive shape of planet Jupiter came into view. Ronald marveled at the beauty of the Jovian storm-tossed atmosphere and he immediately began to compose a story.

"Battle-mart" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

The first incident of the day was in produce. Two guys got into it over some shriveled tomatoes. It took maintenance an hour to clean up the blood.

As chief of security for Battle-mart, it was Ted Booker's job to keep the violence to a minimum. After the worldwide economic collapse, retail had become a highly dangerous business and that is how Battle-mart came to be.

Battle-mart was surrounded by a barbed-wire fence with armed guards at the three entrance gates. Even with all the security, keeping everything under control was a challenge.

The second incident of the day was in the slave market. After the collapse, slavery had once again become legal. Booker hated it with a passion and did everything he could do to disrupt the trading of human beings. 

Booker noticed that a young girl was being auctioned off on the platform and he shoved through the crowd to take her off the stage. Hessler the slaver tried to stop him, but Booker was in no mood, and he shoved the barrel of his M-4 into the scarred face of the slaver.

"I warned you about selling kids," Booker said tightening his finger on the trigger. Hessler shook his head. "It was just a mistake... It won't happen again," Booker shoved Hessler to the ground and took the girl to his office. Like so many other children of the new age, the girl was an orphan. He would have to find a family in the area that could take her in.

Booker's next stop was apparel. Two old ladies were fighting over a ragged dress. By the time things were under control, the dress was torn to shreds.

As Booker was about to go home, he received an urgent radio call that alerted him to a developing situation at the grocery entrance. Booker ran across the store just in time to find three men with several packages of toilet paper trying to get past the door guard.

Booker fired his stun gun and took down two of the men. The entrance guard took care of the third. Fortunately, the merchandise was undamaged.

"Hottest" a short story by Craig Zimmerman

For five years, Jeremy Peach had been searching for the hottest pepper in the world. His travels had taken him to India, South Korea and of course Mexico and Central America.

One day while sitting in a Cantina in Mexico City, he heard the story of an old man who cultivated the hottest pepper on earth. Jeremy had heard many such stories but it was worth checking out.

The old man was reputed to live in a remote village in Northern Mexico. The trip to the village took several days and Jeremy was exhausted by the time he arrived. After a long sleep, Jeremy set out to find the man with the pepper.

After asking around, Jeremy found out the old man owned some sort of social club called: "El Rancho" Jeremy entered the club and found a dozen or so bored people playing cards.  The man in question was watching a Soccer match on a big screen TV. 

Jeremy introduced himself and told the old what he was looking for. After watching the Soccer game for another ten minutes, the old man went back to the kitchen and returned with a small, purple-colored pepper.

Jeremy picked up the pepper and took a small bite. Alarm bells went off in his brain and sweat poured from his brow. Another bite and steam blew from his ears and witnesses claimed that a ball of fire escaped from his mouth. 

When the symptoms finally alleviated, Jeremy smiled at the old man and said: "That was delicious!"