Wet Socks and Cold Beans
By Eva Suluk
Deep in a damp aspen grove, Shawn finds himself unable to continue the pursuit, trapped by the crushing weight of his own indifference while his companion tries to salvage the mission.
Comedic Misadventure Short Stories
6 Stories
Chrome Dreams and Tarnished Delights
By Jamie F. Bell
The oppressive summer air, thick and viscous as warm syrup, clung to the reeking city. Above, the sky, a bruised purple from perpetual smog, bled into the kaleidoscopic glow of holographic advertisements that pulsed across the megascrapers. Below, amidst the cacophony of a thousand distant data streams, the Grand Orbital Carnival thrummed, a festering bloom of garish light and manufactured joy, drawing in the weary, the hopeful, and the merely curious, promising escape within its flimsy, corporate-sponsored embrace.
Synthetic Grass and Fraying Edges
By Jamie F. Bell
A humid summer evening hung heavy over the fairgrounds, pulling the scents of burnt sugar, stale oil, and something indefinably chemical into a cloying, inescapable blend. The air shimmered above the cracked asphalt, a distorted mirror for the neon glow of the Ferris wheel, its grand, circular motion a tired grind against the muggy sky. Even the laughter, thin and sharp, felt dulled, absorbed by the general hum of generators and the distant, tinny music. Dust, fine and red from the temporary pathways, clung to everything, a perpetual film over the plastic prizes and the faces of the milling crowd. Jose, already feeling the subtle ache in his left knee, scanned the scene with a practiced, weary eye, searching for the familiar bob of Annie’s bright, floral hat amidst the synthetic chaos.
A Convoluted Winter Bloom
By Jamie F. Bell
The wind outside howled a flat, tuneless song, rattling the single-pane window of Owen's shared studio. Inside, the ancient radiator clanked and hissed, fighting a losing battle against the encroaching prairie winter. Dust motes danced in the anemic light filtering through the frost-ferned glass, illuminating a space crammed with half-finished canvases, scattered charcoal sticks, and the faint, comforting scent of linseed oil and instant coffee. Owen hunched over a laptop, fingers stiff with the cold despite the thick wool sweater, scrolling through an endless feed of digital art, a familiar knot of doubt tightening in their stomach.
The Mud-Spattered Blueprint
By Jamie F. Bell
A biting spring wind, still carrying the lingering memory of winter's bite, whipped around the makeshift command centre. Canvas flaps, stiff with dried mud, strained against their fastenings, rattling a persistent, urgent rhythm. Outside, the world was a study in grey and brown, interrupted by sporadic patches of tenacious, pale green struggling to push through the thawing earth. The air, thick with the damp scent of wet soil and exhaust fumes, clung to everything, a constant, gritty reminder of their provisional existence. Inside, the single bare bulb hummed a lonely tune, casting a weak, jaundiced light over a cluster of young faces etched with a peculiar mix of fatigue and an almost desperate optimism.
The Chill in the Gallery
By Jamie F. Bell
In the cold, cavernous community arts center during a bitter winter, a young artist named Alex finds an unexpected and unsettling disruption to their carefully arranged exhibit research, sowing seeds of doubt about their fellow collaborators, Bea and Caleb.