Tobias woke the next morning as the sun started to light the sky. The men packed up camp and hopped the first westbound train. They taught Willie the ways of the rails—the difference between a bum, a tramp, and a hobo. A bum was a no good, dirty, rotten thief that would rather steal from ...

I sit on my bed, shirtless and sweating and trying to ignore the pain that floods my legs. Grey smoke curls from my cigarette as I inhale its contents. It burns to ash and scorches my throat. The orange glow that pervades with each inward breath pierces the darkest folds of the night. I’m wide ...

“Well! Sounds like yer in a right big mess there, Wilburn,” Tobias said to him. The men looked at each other and nodded to one another, except one man. Owen Little shook his head. The men glared at him, and Little scowled back. “Dammit, Little,” Tobias said. Wilburn’s brow creased in confusion as he watched ...

Santa’s elf, Corlie, secretively known as Callous Corlie by others, finished getting ready for work. She stared into the mirror, then swiped her brown hair behind a pointy ear. After blowing a kiss at her reflection in the mirror, she headed to the kitchen. Aromas of coffee permeated throughout the single-story bungalow. Corlie filled a ...

There was an assortment of watches on both her wrists. Digital, analog, leather straps, gold straps, and some made of pure silver. Each watch told a different time in a different place, and she admired them, treasured them like one would treasure their own life. She lived in a hall of her own making. A ...

Mom kept pacing the living room, back and forth, not saying a word. It would have been easier if she just had just come out and told us how disappointed she was, announced our punishments, and sent us to our rooms. She wanted us to apologize, to explain. Finally, I could not stand the silence ...

Aubree peered out the window and stared at the leaves as they danced in the wind. A robust breeze collected several fallen ones from a small pile situated under a tree. They swirled upward into the air with ease. After a short flight, they made their way back toward the ground, swaying from side-to-side as ...

The rain hammered on the roof of the boxcar, waking the brothers from their sleep. They’d reached Tucumcari and prepared to jump off a few miles before the train reached the depot. They sloshed through the muddy streets of the small New Mexico town. Wilburn noticed it wasn’t much to look at. The train depot ...