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Weightless, Sarah Sexton
“The girl began turning to stone at a young age. When she first noticed the spot on her arm, it was only about the size of a dime. She enjoyed running her index finger over the smooth surface in tiny perfect circles, the way an older woman might rub lotion onto her face with the pads of her fingertips.”

Do Sacrifices Dream of Empathy? , AR Dugan
“Ask: When did the word please / become our weakness? / Say: In every declaration I see sacrifice.”

Coiled, P.K. Read
“The daily serpent, the one he felt creeping up his back, the snake in search of his head, the one that would swallow his eyes, had already started its upward journey in his heavy feet and clumsy hands.”

The Youngest Cannibal Returns to Texas for the Holidays After Her First Semester of College, Anne Gresham
“By the time we finally drag out the sledgehammer, I’m ready to be back in my dorm and as far from my family as I can get. The meat — a middle-aged accountant that wandered into the family store last night — is screaming bloody murder, and I’ve got a splitting headache.”

Three Scifaiku, Deborah P Kolodji
“insomnia / those fierce Martian / winds”

Ellen, Chris Stanton
“Ellen sat down and took a deep breath. She had spent her life dealing with patients of all kinds at the hospital, but men and women who dressed like they had just risen from their coffins were a relatively new thing.”

Cover art: Every single hand is just a tree, Ajay Kumar (Jordan) Singh