Archived: The Old West Watcher by Payton McKevitt

The trickle of whiskey splashing into a cloudy glass somehow always drowns out the noise of all my patrons. In that moment of pouring, I get the tiniest hint of peace. Then I slide it to the drunk that ordered it, and I have to pretend to be invested in his story. Most of the…

Archived: The Cave by Jacquelyn Vick

Water slid down the stalactite, filling a pool where the rough cave floor sloped. Footsteps echoed the drip. The prisoner closed his eyes, pressing further into the jagged wall surrounding him. The footsteps silenced, and a metallic tapping caught the rhythm. The prisoner sighed and glared. A thin light above his bars illuminated the man…

Archived: Lorb Bless by Jamie Chihuan

This was taken off the I-25 and HWY 119 intersection. Coming off the highway I noticed this man standing with his dog under this sign. I parked my car at a gas station nearby and quickly made my way over to the man. This was back in February and I unfortunately forgot this man’s name….

Archived: Static Smile by Kado Covnot

Bio: I’ve been drawing all my life, but didn’t take it seriously till about 6th or 7th grade. I love being able to make a drawing, whether it is cute, creepy, or just plain out of nothing and watching my audience’s eye light up. I love hearing the “You drew that?” “How did you do…

Archived: Love for Peace by Sonia Billings

My favorite atmosphere is peace. Perhaps I value peace so much because I did not always have had it. I grew up in the midst of a civil war that lasted 12 years which caused a massive exodus to other countries, in search of living in a peaceful environment. The war in El Salvador began…

Archived: The Shopkeeper by Adison Linder

Bio: Ever since I can remember, I’ve been driven to create, whether it be art, poems, or stories. To me, creating something is a way to get people to think about the world differently, whether it be through a particularly good painting or a thought-provoking novel. It lets us put the stories and images we…

Archived: Head in the Clouds by Linnea Smith

Bio:  Ever since I could hold a pencil, I’ve been drawing. Quietly in a corner, in my notebooks during school, just about anywhere I had the chance. I’m a very introverted person who enjoys being alone with my thoughts and observing the world around me, and I most naturally express myself through art. I’ve never…

Archived: Fresh Prince of Boo by Kado Covnot

Bio: I’ve been drawing all my life, but didn’t take it seriously till about 6th or 7th grade. I love being able to make a drawing, whether it is cute, creepy, or just plain out of nothing and watching my audience’s eye light up. I love hearing the “You drew that?” “How did you do…

Archived: Strangers on a Plane by Elizabeth Richards

Jake leaned back against the plane seat, groaning as he ran his hands through his hair. Forgot my earbuds for the…eighth time now? How much worse can this day get? You really shouldn’t ask questions like that, because fate adores irony™, and yes, it can get worse. Want to know how it can get worse?…

Archived: INK by Alexandra Basting

When the lights dropped, screams began. Jason Vorhees, Georgie, Jack Torrance, The Crow, and Jigsaw stepped onto the stage causing the screams to raise higher. We screamed with the villain from Friday the Thirteenth. Heavy lyrics about the curse of Crystal Lake, bearing our horns as he commanded the stage. Too soon, the lights dropped…

Archived: Blending With Your Worries by Casey Sandoval

Hi, my name is Anxiety, and I exist in, well, everyone; however, I am speaking to you in Casey’s mind.  I make him worry about family, friends, and everything else. I get along with my cousin Depression. Depression and I go way back, but let’s talk about me, since everything is about me.   As I…

Archived: I’m About To Break by Nathan Peterson

“I got an e-mail in my pocket, and I think it’s starting to melt!” The little ditty went through my head for the twentieth time that day. It was the opener for one of my Strong Bad Emails, an online cartoon I loved to death, and which my parents, for no real reason, despised. We…

Archived: Their First Dance by Maria Hernandez

In a small town in Zacatecas, Mexico, the first dance of the summer had begun. Rosa and her cousin, Natalia, were finally finished getting ready. They quietly snuck out the back door of their modest house and headed towards the ballroom in the plaza. The night sky was filled with shining bright stars and the…

Archived: My Hidden Truth by Maria Hernandez

My whole life has been a lie. This is so because I don’t belong in my own “home.” I never did. It’s even possible that the home that I’ve lived in for sixteen years doesn’t even know I exist. My home is the land of the free; I am not free. In fact, I am…

Archived: Scooch Over Bacon by Nathan Peterson

I’d like to write an essay about my mom, but I wouldn’t know where to start. Should it be a letter, like “Dear Mom,” or a biography, like “Her name was Mom, and this is her story…?” I could make a simple list of attributes, like 1, 2, 3, on to infinity, maybe a little…

Archived: Conflagration by Elizabeth Richards

Day Break When daybreak comes, I am afraid. I am afraid because no matter how hard I try, I cannot fathom seeing the damage done in the sunlight. During the night I steer clear of windows, for that is the only way that I have any light that I do not wish for. In the…

Archived: Little Shop Horrors by Adison Linder

Her hopes of getting a few moments of relative peace and quiet to contemplate whether waking up tomorrow would even be worth it were dashed when the man plopped down next to her. Resentment flared in her gut, churning her already soured stomach, as she felt the telltale vibrations of some inconsiderate civilian selecting—of all…

Archived: Steven’s Story by Nicholas Guzman

Steven Garcia sat in his bed, another long night of drinking behind him.  He lay in his ratty old bed, staring at the ceiling.  The paint was cracked. His eyes followed the crack to the out-of-place poster that hid the hole he hoped the landlord would never see. The hole was the consequence of another…

Archived: The Black Creek Gang by Mike Korth

I met Hawky and Co’ by the rotten old stump behind Old Man Jenkin’s place. We were somewhere around 14 years old that summer, the year I really got to know those two. They waited for me while I arrived late like I always did. Hawky, called that since he always hit his mark with…

Archived: A Halloween Party by Mike Korth

A man of gray in both face and clothing stood grounded in the swirling mists of the night. His features flattened against the backdrop thanks to the peculiar color of his skin. He stood silently and still as stone, watching a boy struggle with the lock on a door. A boy, dressed for a cold…

Archived: Finding the Part by Jarred Mendenhall

SCENE 1 A brown-haired girl is standing on a street corner, looking around, checking a folded paper she is holding and is accompanied by a blue-haired boy. Also looking. Both are wearing casual clothing. ATTICUS   So, Alice sent you…? JAYLENE  Yes. ATTICUS   To look for a part for her project. JAYLENE  Yes, but…

Archived: Memories by Jacquelyn Vick

The porch wraps at half, simple Craftsman columns uphold the porch roof, providing shelter from elements. One day, a woman will enjoy her coffee, waving to new neighbors. Now the siding is painted white, to give opening to the newness of the family home, where memories will grow like children raised inside the four walls….

Archived: Beholder’s Forge by Michael Quedenfeld

Slicing slyly, arrives the point. Warm to the sight, comes the color beauty beholden oh how it wields the flame creating forms of rigid tenacity and terrible usefulness. Creating the forge within a stream, or a spark, that connects and separates At the bearer’s hands. Tipping such a scale is in the mind of the…

Archived: Restless by Mike Korth

It’s two in the morning and I can’t sleep. It’s raining outside. Pouring, really. The rain taps firmly and incessantly on the glass. tap tap. tap. It makes me uneasy, the tapping. I try my best to avoid looking out of the window, just in case I see something out there. Even though I know…