Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Criminal.
All Time is Unredeemable
All time is unredeemable. An old concept considered fact, but in reality is fiction. Time is not linear; what happened years ago is happening somewhere today. All time is present. The past is happening right next to us, anything from yesteryear can be found right next to us.
By Camille Figuereo5 years ago in Criminal
Jack With the '67 Cutlass
Jack sat quietly at the kitchen table, flipping through the ten and twenty dollar bills, wondering how long he could keep this up. He knew that no one had a faster car than him for miles, his 1967 Oldsmobile Cutlass was clean as a whistle and went zero to sixty in just over six seconds, but he figured he'd run out of people to race pretty soon, and the only decent work for a guy his age was about a two hour drive north. Racing had paid the bills for a while but it couldn't last. He had lived in what most would consider squalor for the majority of his life. Every time something good happened it was quickly put down by all the bad surrounding him. He barely finished high school, which is more than could be said for most people in Harlow, but it didn't exactly help him with the job market. People always wanted to buy his car, and he would make enough from the sale to start new, up North in the city somewhere, but he would never sell it. It was all he had left of his dad. It was all he had in the world.
By Mark Leasure5 years ago in Criminal
Cement City, USA
The bell above the diner door dings as Sal glides in on her roller skates. She rolls straight up to the counter, ducking swiftly under and behind, where Patrice stands by the register, arm extended, handing her her apron, “You were close this time,” she says.
By Marguerite Mannix5 years ago in Criminal
Someone Special
Avart lay sprawled out on the sand as he marveled at the beauty before him. The sun sat high on its lofty throne in the blue sky as it scattered tiny diamonds amongst the waves and sands. The sight alone was enough to stop a philosopher mid-contemplation and force them to smell the salty roses. It wasn’t even the natural spectacle of the beach that had him captivated though. Nor was it the calm breeze that tenderly wafted all of his worries away. It was his wife; the brightest diamond in the sea. There she stood, halfway submerged in the water, her sun-kissed skin glimmering like a finely cut gem; her long fluffy hair billowing in the wind.
By Kevin Sukraj5 years ago in Criminal
Moleskine's Classic Notebook
This was him. This was the villain of our story. The young woman’s gaze transfixed on the portrait. Kassandra Katz, nicknamed Kit-Kat by her Father, stood alone in the museum while nervously playing with her deceased mother’s wedding ring. In front of her hung two portraits, one of Hitler—and one of Liam MacCullagh…
By Jeslyn Rain5 years ago in Criminal
Little Black Book
Moving to Aurora, Illinois was not easy. Especially, when you do it in a rush. Especially, when you do it in the middle of the night. Months before Her spontaneous move, She had packed a bug-out bag . . . just in case. It helped. A little. Finding work as a Waitress in nearby Naperville was easier than the move. Lots of privately owned restaurants. Most of the kitchen staff was paid under the table, so what was one more illegal employee. An employee with such a pretty face and arousing smile convinced the owners and the customers that She really, really cared if the mugs were full of coffee and the wait station was full of ice. Beauty and a good work ethic can make you enough money in the restaurant industry to live on. For a while.
By Thomas J Leavy II5 years ago in Criminal
Harvard University’s Trademark Battle with a Philippine Clothing Manufacturer
Who doesn’t know Harvard University? Personally, I admire anyone who graduated from Harvard. I look up to them as having extraordinary intelligence. When I hear “Harvard”, only two descriptions come to my mind: prestige and excellence. And when I hear Harvard, I associate it Harvard University.
By Olivia Marlene5 years ago in Criminal
Robert’s Final Wish
John walked out of the prison his heart feeling as heavy as the metal door he heard slamming closed behind him. In his arms, he carried a box containing Robert’s personal belongings and it was a heartbreaking realization that everything tangible that Robert had valued would fit into this small box. Robert became more than a client to John over the last ten years. They talked about football, John’s kids, the ins and outs of cooking things in prison, and life in general. As he left the prison after watching Robert die, John could honestly say that he would greatly miss his friend.
By Nancy Robbins Palombi5 years ago in Criminal
Marcus
Every evening in the city a bottle of blueish black ink would spill and make a mess of the sky. When the ink got thick enough, small stars would punch their way through. It was comical, everything in the city had an aggressive way about it. The pedestrians walked along the concrete sidewalks like they believed the slabs might give way to their heels. The dogs barked from behind raw wooden fences tirelessly, and some believed one day they might bark so long the gates would crumble in defeat. Then there were the buildings. They were hard geometric shapes that stood defiant of the ground. The only character they had was in their square windows and a shade so lifeless it must have been painted to match the city smog.
By Katie Zember5 years ago in Criminal
