Damien Strong – Vincent A. Alascia
I watched the groupie dress. The cool light slipping in the tour bus window ignited her magenta hair in a halo of color. I watched the dark line of her jeans slide over the curve of her hips to just above the line of her skimpy thong and thought aboutContinue Reading
Spinsters – Kate Falvey
II. One way of looking at itSever the notion of quest from bloodand you get girls, leastways if the bloodis othered and the quest is sticky withswords and snares, beset with spitefulnymphs and pitiless trials, fool’s goldguarded by dragon-fire, the road toilluminant decency – or what passes as –marked byContinue Reading
The Neighborhood Watch – Maev Barba
The Neighborhood Watch was four people. I was one of those four people. I, like you or your mom, get up every morning and pull on my pants. I sit on the toilet. I brush my teeth. They call me The Tamer, or Toni, the Tamer. The joke is notContinue Reading
Mystique Exposed – Phyllis Hemann
When I slam on the brakes,I plunge headlong intoa proverbial brick wall,nothing is the same. My figure sprawls on the groundstunned, unable to accessmy abilities. I submit my bodyto rigorous testingto locate my Achilles’ heel. All these testsand treatmentsdo not empower me,improve function. I am weak, curledin the fetal positionContinue Reading
Lavender Dreams – Audra Burwell
Tumbling through cotton candy clouds,I thread my fingers between gossamerStrands of pale pink and baby blueSoft as spider’s silk, wrapping aroundMy pinky, an ethereal ribbon of light.Body flailing, caught in free-fall,I surrender to gravity’s demands,Letting moisture pool upon my lashesLavender crystals nestled above my eyes,I inhale invisible capsules of air,FeelingContinue Reading
On Loan from the Sky – Phyllis Hemann
I possessa lease agreement 40 some oddpages detailing the story of my lifetime as a heroineon this planet. No small printonly a straightforward agreement to bestow my talentand treasureto my fellow man anointeduntil my last breathto instill my legend. I’m at the pointin my contractwhere I see my ownvulnerability. LifeContinue Reading
Wrath of a Druidess – Audra Burwell
Down the moss-carpeted path you creep,Dewdrops crunching between your toes,Needles of ice embedded in callus.Hands emerge from your tattered cloak,The claws of a she-witch,Gnarled and twisted, remains of a vile act.Whorls of black ink gliding over skin,Peek from beneath your veil,Runic tattoos, symbols of power,Dance across your peeling flesh,Like aContinue Reading
Unbreakable – Phyllis Hemann
The bullets you lobat me bounceoff my field of impenetrability. Day by day the layers of fatunder my skinbecome my armor,necessaryto protect mefrom a worldinspired with hatefor anything other —odd, weird, different unusual —not dimensionalenough to fit intoan overhead bin insidethe forehead. Their punchesbounce off my body armor absorbingthe impact,Continue Reading
The Hooded Jackal – Avary Clemont
I used to be just a girl from a poor home in Brazil, the nerd everyone picked on, the girl everyone called unwanted, but now they call me a hero. Hello, my name is Camilla. I was chosen by a few Egyptian gods to protect humanity against demons and otherContinue Reading