(These are excerpts—click on the title to view the whole story!)

 

Along the Fault Line
 
At least the kid hadn't mentioned his appearance, the strange, flat, fish-shaped head with a mean eye on either side. The caved-in chest, the twitchy little front limbs. He was having to lean forward to reach the wheel.
 
Anna Sidak

 

Annunciation of the Baby Jesus One Block North of Riverfront Drive
 
I told the checkout girl, that's right, I was crazy, and I slapped the fresh pack against my hand and pulled my baggy flannel tight and walked my skinny ass into the wind.
 
Ann Rosenquist Fee

 

Two Flashes
 
It was hard to believe that a mere three months before he was a young member of the city's more desirable social circles. While never athletic, the sharp angles of his body were always closely wrapped in fine clothes, giving a pleasing effect.
 
Charles Frisbie

 

Box Beef
 
"Just go ahead and rob the fucking thing," said Samantha. "You know you want to."
 
Bob Barber

 

Train
 
Coeli remembers going into her bedroom and seeing the empty space where the stereo had been. She remembers the thin white curtains billowing around the open, screenless window in that old house in Mesilla.
 
Darlin' Neal

 

The Eye
 
At the height of Jonah's pain, when the eye felt like it had a red-hot coal in it, his mind fixed itself on the image of the black and white dog, terrified and churning up the water to get away.
 
Paul Silverman