Sub Feels

Rietje Becker

Sam Becker

Brad Koehn

Nathan Bilancio

Robin Devereaux

Sean King

A slow start to the day. Another mark made on a map that had been long forgotten, stored in the tiny chest of my grandma’s cabin up north.

The cabin had been in the family for years. The map even longer. While it felt good to mark things off, my mind drifted. If only I could solve the puzzle! I thought about the clue “breach the bear to clear the obstacles.” What in the world could that mean?

I scanned the room for clues. First the glass jars of sand on the fireplace mantle. Next, the stone gargoyles in each corner. Nothing seemed to answer the riddle. Before hopelessly giving up I walked toward a broken floor tile emblazoned with the likeness of a red grizzly bear.

Something was off about it. Other than it being broken. That bear. Where had I seen it before? Something was missing.

I thought to myself, “Whoa who whoa, wait a second...” I then realized that his pants were gone! His iconic pants! That instant I knew I had to find them. I started searching immediately.

I looked everywhere I could think of, starting with the laundry of course. After searching all the obvious places, I remembered the bags- the ones slated to go to the Goodwill. Checking the garage, I realized with dismay that they were gone, probably up for sale for $1.99! How

will I ever find the treasure map printed across those 5 Old Navy graphic tees again! Maybe I can redraw them from memory. I grabbed a carpenter’s pencil and a roll of

Toilet paper and start drawing. After few days drawing I saw the final result. X marks the spot. The treasure was right under my nose. I started digging for days until I found it. The eye of the tiger was finally in my hands! Now I could die in peace.

Ursine trouser troubles

Tj1AIbmaU3TP9tM2LITUGInvwt32

Marc Esposito

Jenelle Dulack

contemplating on the meaning wherein the locus of “the meaned” is felt beyond the relation to only the object - that part - but in context of the gerund whole, the body within which mean-ing takes place.

But what could it mean?! Carole read the inscription again and again, each time failing to make sense of the cryptic passage. She threw the down tome in frustration sending a plume of dust into the air. After a moment, she cleaned the grime from her glasses and got back to work.

As she put her glasses back on, she realized the settled dust had activated a second ink color, previously unseen on the inscription, revealing a secret location and promise of grandeur. She would need to get to Albuquerque and fast.

She heard a thump behind her and she froze. What was that?

She turned around there was nothing there... Then, another thump! She pivoted. Again, nothing. What was happening? Was she losing her mind? The thumps started getting louder, as if something large was approaching. Her Fabergé egg collection started to rattle. "What do I do?"

She had to get her valuables to safety! But where? She scanned the room as the thumps became louder and louder, the beating of her heart nearly competing with them. And then she remembered her childhood hiding place - the loose boards along the back of the closet wall. She

, in an attempt to sprint as hard as she can towards the closet, trips over herself and falls to the ground. All of her roll or fly away from her, most of it lands near the closet door. She gathers as much of she can and attempts to crawl quickly to the loose boards. He enters.

“Ho Ho Ho!” He bellows. “Have you been naughty or have you been nice?!” Her worst nightmare was coming true: she never wished it could be Christmas every day.

Scrambled eggs

Celia Kaufer

Zoe Becker

Deep in the woods a creature stirred. Glowing eyes, iridescent mane, and a robust, sparkly horn protruding from the top of its head. Unlike the rest of his kind, secretive and discreet, this unicorn was destined for fame. His name was Dave.

Dave had always been picked on growing up. Despite, or possibly because, he was a gorgeous unicorn specimen the other unis didn’t give him the time of day. This fueled a great desire for attention. The second Dave was allowed to leave home he ventured straight to the capitol.

Dave was finally free from the tight hold of his conservative unicorn family. He went straight to the salon and dyed his mane rainbow, followed by an edgy horn piercing. Dave was ready for the city Unis to see his true self.

“You want a glitter blast before you go?” The stylist asked as he was finishing up. “Make it a double.”

From an upturned shaker the glitter drifted onto his scalp and shoulders. It fell in swirls of metallic blues and yellows, and complimented his newly dyed unicorn pink hair quite well. He asked the stylist if they were done yet.

“Almost. Close your eyes for a moment.” And he did. He felt the needle in his arm then, the sludgy paralysis creeping immediately into his muscles. His struggled to open his lids and saw the blade glittering in the stylist’s hand, the awful smile. “Yes...almost finished.”

Unicorn Dave’s unique demise

Natasha Soto

Greg Perez

I’m a 175 year old Tribrid. My name is Nakkita. My mother was a Fairy/Witch and my father was a Vampire. Mother said father was killed by humans when she was pregnant with me. Mother disappeared 50 years ago and I’ve been on the hunt to find her ever since. I believe I’m getting

used to my new powers. I don't know many other Tribirds—we're a rare species, many of us choosing to live alone. I've been able to fly for as long as I can remember but lately I've been able to warm my food with my eyes. With each day my meals get warmer and I feel more powerful.

I miss the others. As new powers emerge, new fears do, too. What if I suddenly lose the ability to fly, mid-air? Could I warm up more than a meal? What if I accidentally “warmed up” Evelyn at brunch? I had to leave. We all have to.

His love for Evelyn was overwhelming at times. But not as overwhelming as his desire to use his supers powers for the good of the world. As he and the others left he put on his special pants. The ones he had kept hidden for years. The ones he had been too shy to wear in public.

The transparent pants that gave him the ability to read minds.

They had zippers that could convert them to shorts—perfect for shifting climates and being prepared. He put them in his suitcase and set off for the journey of a lifetime.

Far from the Tree

Emily Becker

Tabitha silenced her alarm for the 10th time, flopped out of bed, and shuffled to the bathroom. She squinted, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and turned on the faucet. Splashing water on her face she gazed into the mirror. She stopped cold in shock. Her reflection wasn’t there.

Instead she found herself staring at the face of a bison. Strong, proud and very very hairy. So this is my future, she thought. Tabitha thought back on the fortune she was told years ago. She heard a knock on the bathroom door.

Tabitha reached out to touch the majestic creature only to have her hand collide abruptly with the mirror. What was real anymore? She turned around and opened the door behind her with a crazed look in her eyes. “Did you see it?” she asked the shadowy figure. “Yes,” it replied.

She stepped through the dark passage to join her shadowy-figured friend. They joined hands and walked solemnly toward the front door. She’d forgotten her night vision goggles in the car and they’d need them for their next excursion.

But she didn’t need the goggles. Her vision was excellent. She could see the small fairies in the distance, dancing and spinning in the air, giggling in their typical high pitched sounds.

She had found them. After everything she had been told, years of searching, and traveling far and wide. She could finally ask the fairies the ultimate question to life, the universe... everything. She couldn't wait to hear the answer which would surely be illuminating.

What am I?

Olivia Parsley

The forest was fragrant in that woody, musky way that reminded him of his childhood. It had been years since he last visited the cabin. He rustled through his pocket to find the keys. August 1999. The summer he earned his least favorite nickname.

He briskly walked to the cabin. Passing through some old and noticeably crooked trees, he began to reminisce about that dreadful summer. That specific year was definitely something to remember. “Jaded Jack” they had named him.

By the time he arrived at the cabin it was dusk and its windows glowed with orange light. Jack slowly opened the creaky screen door and stepped over the doormat with a menacing skull and crossbones. Far in the distance a wolf howled.

He was hit with the musty stench of neglect as he entered the dark.

But what else was an abandoned sea shack supposed to smell like? The salty, putrid smell of washed up crustaceans overwhelmed him. But they also reminded him of home.

And so he pulled up a chair to the dinner table, and dug in. He ate all the crabs and lobster and fish on the table, bones and shells and all.

Unexpectedly lavish

The air was warm and smelled sweetly of flowers, a rare treat so early in spring. Maggie looked around the yard. Would have been a fine day, except for that whole thing with Greg. She couldn’t get it out of her head.

The most painful part is that Maggie and Greg used to be best of friends. A friendship more fragile than either had realized. The moment Greg accidentally burnt down Maggie’s premium beauty parlor and dog obedience school a terrible series of events had been set in motion.

The city simply wasn’t ready for homeless supermodel labradoodles loose on the streets.

But by god he wouldn’t let that stop him. He turned on the machine and hesitated for a moment. Then he pressed the button.

It was as if he were transported in to a black hole. Everything was silent. And then it happened... sparks flew, flashes of light were ignited, the ground rumbled, but it all suddenly stopped. "Hey," said a voice. He turned around. It was as if he were looking in a mirror.

His twin seemed relieved to find him. “I’m your twin!” he exclaimed. “They cloned you in your sleep as a baby and here I am. I’m you!” The two stared at one another. It seemed impossible and yet it made perfect sense. The signs were there all along. Life had new meaning.

When Greg met Greg

The mere mention of Gerald the Great struck fear in the hearts of villagers. A ruler and tyrant, he taxed his people mercilessly and had a viscous temper which would flare up without warning. His rule seemed unending, that is, until the day of The Great Reveal.

The Murklees put on their finest clothes and gathered in front of their hut. Once everyone was ready they stared the long march into town. They were rural folk but knew all too well that Gerald the Great, their mercurial overlord, expected them to venture into town once per year.

It was Gathering Day, after all. They would leave home early in the morning, arriving in town just after 1pm. If they were lucky, they'd be just in time for their favorite event.

Little did they know this year would be different. They were no longer gathering for fun. They arrived just in time for the event to start as the announcer boomed “Ready...set...gather!”

Suddenly, a loud piercing siren filled the air.

That was the last time he’d give his mom an airhorn for Christmas. But she’d begged for it so fervently! And he was a mama’s boy after all. He joined his mom and they reminisced about their joint love of loud noises. He was finally home.

Gerald comes home

Koen G

UGH why do muffins smell so good, she thought as she passed through the kitchen. This diet was going to be the death of her. She looked at her diet app, only 400 calories left and it was only 2pm. This was going to be a long day.

That's when the idea struck her. She would engineer a muffin that had absolutely no flavor or smell, and be as nutritious as kale. She immediately ran to her lab.

By the wee hours of the morning, the formula had been perfected. She looked down lovingly at her creation, unaware of the events she had set in motion. Who would have thought a tasteless, odorless carbohydrate could change the course of history?

It is hard to state how different the world was before the invention of Nutri Slop. It was a truly revolutionary engineered food product.

Too bad that their slogan, "Nutri Slop, Nutri Slop. Mmm Mmm good! You won't want to stop." Turned out to be prophetic. As more than half the population became hopelessly addicted.

But that was Nutri Corp’s plan all along, and now that they had everyone hooked, they could activate the nanobots that we’re inside them all.

Brad Koehn
@bradkoehn

Awards
Earned

Member
Since

Awards

Brad's Stories

Brad Koehn@bradkoehn

AwardsEarned

MemberSince

Awards

Brad's Stories

Brad Koehn
@bradkoehn

Awards
Earned

Member
Since