With a long history of UFO sightings, spectral events and cattle mutilations, it’s unclear what’s rubbish and what’s at least partially based in fact. The miles and miles of electrified fence ringed with barbed wire only amps the rumors.

In the crib lies a baby, eyes lidded as though at the edge of sleep. But the skin is gray, and the infant’s lying on bird wings fanned as though ready to take flight.

She wanted to shove Leo’s stupid pillow off her desk.  But a fear gnawed at her, that if Leo rejected her, she would have to leave the hotel as well.

“They’re homages.” Big Todd used the same voice he used when he was reminding Little Todd that Basic Instinct went under thrillers rather than horror, or that Die Hard went under action until October, but then got moved to the Holiday Favorites display.

Vikram knelt down and stroked the dog and it nuzzled into him weakly. He glanced again at the corpse and wondered how long the man had been dead. How long it had been since the dog had been fed.

I live in a world of stink—the stink of men, the stink of food, the stink of bug spray.  As I write this, I can see a spider walk up my wall.

“It’s getting late,” he said. “You want to go inside?”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” she said. “It’s not late at all, and you’re not staying here tonight anyway.”
He grunted as he pushed himself back in the chair.

There is something lying in the brambles and I can see now that it’s not a lion. It looks like a big lump of frozen, bloodied meat, wrapped up in a brown wool coat.

“I was in Saint Louis when the cholera come up the river, back in forty-nine. It lasted into the next year. Killed thousands of folks. A terrible thing, but mostly I remember the fear. Fear made some folks crazy. Not all of them, mind you, but enough. There were times when the Sheriff had to enforce the quarantine with a drawn revolver.”

He remembered her sweet-corn taste that he had enjoyed on the bus ride; considered briefly, again, that everyone probably had a characteristic flavor. Like the way some houses smelled like furnace oil. Or hot-dogs.