Distortions Excerpts

As promised, here are some samples from each Distortion:

The Mall

“Hey, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again,” Nick insisted, “A monster lives in the downtown mall. Case closed.”

Down for the Count

I don’t know what I did to make them mad—the numbers, I mean.

Dimension for Rent

He walked up toward the large, dirty panes, where a sign was propped up from the inside in front of the curtains. It looked like thick, white cardboard, and on it was scrawled:

DIMENSION FOR RENT

In red permanent marker and, beneath it,

INQUIRE WITHIN

Power of the Day

You see, I have just about every superpower there is. But, for one reason or another, I just can’t have them all at once.

How to Stop Time

He felt the irritation that had compounded throughout the day hit all at once. Balling his hands into fists at his sides, Shane stomped his foot, looked up at the sky, and screamed, “Why can’t I just stop time!?”

“Why not, indeed?” said a voice behind him, and Shane spun around so fast he almost twisted his ankle.

People of the Paper

Daniel extended his hand to rub away the drawing and there was the quick scratch of pencil-writing as the stick figure threw up its arms.

The Lunchtable of the Apocalypse

I shrank back as Warra banged a fist on the table. “Bomb ‘em all, I say!” she hollered explosively, “either you’re with us or you’re a stain on the ground!” Then, to drive the point home, she swiftly pulled a large knife from somewhere in her pockets and stabbed it into the table, hard enough for it to splinter the wood and stay upright. Breathing heavily, she resumed eating.

Abandoned

He looks to the massive windows that complement the double doors, hoping like a child on Christmas morning for a present, a reward for his hardiness and determination. Darkness shrouds the parking lot and a thick fog obscures all beyond it, but all he must do is look to the empty sky to know his purgatory must continue.