Billy Gets in Trouble

By Jackson Ferrell

“Nyaowwwrm,” Billy said, weaving a tiny plane among the empty beer bottles. “Whoosh! Look out, Red 5, it’s a tyrannosaurus!” He reached over, grabbed a plastic dinosaur, and marched it through the makeshift cityscape. “Graur! Stomp!”

A shadow fell over Billy. He looked up to see a policeman standing on the sidewalk, arms crossed, scowling.

Billy and the Naked Milkshake

by Jackson Ferrell


When we came home, Billy was sitting on the couch, naked, watching Smallville and drinking a milkshake through a crazy straw.

“Billy,” Susan explained patiently, “we may have lost the bet, but there are still indecent exposure laws, and there is a window” –she pointed emphatically—“right there.”

Billy strategically placed the Smallville DVD case.

Holes

by Jackson Ferrell


“Has he said anything?” Sarah asked me as she bandaged my arm.

We both looked over at Ryan, curled up in the corner of the treehouse. We didn’t know what had happened in the dark. I don’t think we wanted to.

“We can’t tell anyone,” I told Sarah. “We weren’t allowed down there.”

Ryan whimpered.

Billy Finds a New Toy

by Jackson Ferrell


Phone rings. I answer.

“Yes, I was BILLY! STOP SINGING! I received a message yesterday about some suspicious activity on my card, and NO, BILLY, WE ARE NOT STOPPING AT DAIRY QUEEN sorry. I was just—WHERE DID YOU GET THAT FIRE EXTINGUISHER? PUT THAT AWAY—”

You get some weird calls in customer service.

College Sunday

by Jackson Ferrell


The clock says 2:07. Everything aches. I walk to Sonic and order coffee and a large tots, and every time I think about today’s homework, or what I did last night, it drives another nail into my headache. It’s gray outside. Everything is so loud.

I close my eyes and pray, and pray, and pray.

Prom Night

by Jackson Ferrell


“So Reginald will open the portal to his dimension at 8:30, and...” Chad stopped pacing the kitchen. “Aren’t you excited?”

“I guess.”

“Man, what’s your deal? Our classmates’ll be boozing and dancing and wearing rental tuxes, and we’re gonna hunt friggin’ dinosaurs.”

I shrugged. “We can hunt dinosaurs anytime. You only get one senior prom.”

Billy Eats Out

by Jackson Ferrell


At the Taco Bell Pizza Hut Express, Billy created a breadstick chalupa, talked nonstop to any strangers who would listen, and most importantly, did not throw nachos at anybody. But as he backed out of the parking space, Billy turned to face us.

"I want a Taco Bell Pizza Hut Express for Christmas," he said.

Dark

by Jackson Ferrell


She wakes up cold, while it’s still dark out. She puts one frozen waffle in the toaster and starts brewing coffee. While the waffle cooks, she eats a banana, and while the coffee brews, she eats the waffle. In the car, she drinks the coffee.

The coffee tastes like dirt. It always tastes like dirt.

Power Metal

by Jackson Ferrell


My fingers press strings to frets, sliding from position to position, and the guitar grinds like I’m strumming a chainsaw. The earth rumbles with the hum of the final chord, and the gargantuan steel-and-stone giant rises from sleep, its eyes burning orange.

This time around, the demons don’t stand a chance in hell.

Personal Log: #SZ990-E.2016.1003.22:14:14.199

by Jackson Ferrell


I’m pretty sure I can trust Josh. He thinks maybe he can salvage some data from my corrupted memory sectors.

I’m not so sure about Angie, though. She talks about me like I’m not even there, and looks at me like I’m property. And long after everyone’s gone to bed, she’s still up, watching me.

Now There is Billy

by Jackson Ferrell


Once upon a time, there were good things, and at least we still have the memories. But now there is Billy, who is constantly throwing hair gel at us and eating our French fries and making us listen to Depeche Mode, and there is nothing we can do about it because we lost the bet.

Frailty

by Jackson Ferrell


Deborah looks like hell. A lizard person treats her wounds, rubbing her lacerated skin with ointment. The lizards, with their scales and nictating membrane, can shrug off a sandstorm easily, but we weren’t built for their world.

God, she looks fragile. I step outside to light a cigarette-- while the wind will still let me.

Style Parody: Jackson Ferrell

by Jackson Ferrell


In ancient times, the lizard people created another dimension with lizard magic. The great sorcerer K’thash wrought a world of stone, sand, and blistering heat, and sealed it off from our world. He hid the entrance in a place that only the lizard people knew, far from prying human eyes.

I found it last Tuesday.

Redline

by Jackson Ferrell


I cherish these times right before the race, when it’s just me and the urinal. There’s no breakneck speed, no stadium of screaming fans. For a moment I’m nowhere, in a bathroom outside of space and time, and everything is still.

Then I zip up, and here we go: it’s time to make the money.

The Big Move

by Jackson Ferrell


Piloting a Megalith Tactical Standing Tank was pretty awesome, if only to help Galactus furnish his new apartment. All morning we lifted hundred-foot-tall sofas and end tables, empowered by colossal robotic muscle. At noon we took a break.

“Thanks for helping, guys,” Galactus said. He pointed toward a distant planet. “Who wants lunch?”

Just a Child: Second Second Chances

by Jackson Ferrell


“Chris! Over here!”

Maddie waved her arms, over by the baggage claim. Chris had to bend down to hug her in the wheelchair.

“I hear you’re teaching college math now,” she said, as he grabbed his duffel bag off the carousel.

“We’ve got a lot to catch up on.” Chris grinned. “How ‘bout a beer?

New Hire

by Jackson Ferrell


I liked Ukush of the Desert Gecko Tribe, though. He was a diligent worker who always completed his projects ahead of schedule, and he had a surprisingly clever sense of humor. However, he had no lips, so he couldn’t pronounce P’s or B’s. Our boss, Peter Bentley, was not nearly so fond of him.

Just a Child: Reasons

by Jackson Ferrell


In the waiting room, Chris watched the second hand creep around the face of the clock, listened to it slicing time into bearable chunks. He thought about Louis calling him a kiss-ass. He remembered the blood, Maddie in the way, Maddie's twisting leg. He thought about Mr. Cahill. And he thought about sinful natures.

Just a Child: Talent

by Jackson Ferrell


"So why is algebra boring?" Mr. Cahill asked.

Chris shrugged. He looked at the plaque on Mr. Cahill's desk: "Genetics determine what we're capable of; choice determines what we do with it."

"Give calculus a shot. I think you'll enjoy the challenge." Mr. Cahill locked eyes with him. "You've got real talent, Chris. Use it."

Just A Child: Bent Wrong

by Jackson Ferrell


Chris sighed. "I dunno, Maddie. Why're there anti-metahuman hate groups? Why'd Louis set the gym on fire? When human suffering is preventable…"

"But aren't we blank slates from birth?" Maddie insisted.

Chris shrugged. "Maybe. I still believe in free will. But… if we have this sinful nature we keep caving to… it’d explain a lot."