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The minister held the closed bible in his lap. He hadn’t bothered to open the book, but he had quoted endlessly from it. Matthew Swanson didn’t mind, because it meant this was a preacher who knew the book by heart. He figured anyone who took the time memorizing it mustContinue Reading

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There was a faint buzzing and ringing in Wayne’s ears. He shook his head to ignore it, but it persisted in the back of his mind. He adjusted the rope to the other shoulder and continued trudging along. The man at the end of the rope kept struggling and squirming.Continue Reading

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“Ava, grab Morgan and get down!” a disgruntled, bearded outlaw yelled within a desolate lodge. The blistering sound of bullets rattled that very lodge that was isolated and nestled alongside the Appalachian mountains. Each devastating round tore the lodge asunder as the sound of a child crying could be heardContinue Reading

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The mayor saw how infertile we were. He organized a chain of wagons. We were to kidnap many, many children. The rival town was known for smithing, so everywhere it smelled like metal. Our spurs sounded like rain in their concrete streets. He built the wagons by hand. He slammedContinue Reading

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The wild Wild West isn’t so wild anymore. It’s now mostly parking lots, suburbs, and shopping malls. But I did fuck a cowboy once. His horse wasn’t as big as he said, and I would have mistaken it for a petting zoo donkey in a parade. Idk how he couldContinue Reading

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The valley appears before Elias like an open wound, festering with a fever heat between swollen hills. It seems fresh, unfamiliar to the man who has taken that route near a dozen times before. He ponders whether he has unknowingly veered from course. Easy to do so when traversing theContinue Reading

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William Bates had a hold of the tail of his daddy’s coat. They were moving slowly down the street and Willy could only see trouser legs and skirts. It seemed the whole town was heading to the same place at the same time and nobody was paying attention to anyoneContinue Reading