Frank stared at the bloody mess in the sink and wondered how he was going to explain this. – Nate Clinard

There was no way Cheryl was going to believe all this came from one record-setting northern pike. Thank God she was hitting the outlet mall today with the girls. Frank looked over his shoulder at his three college buddies chilling on the leather recliners watching football. They had left him to deal with this monster of a fish. Which still wasn’t cleaned. The pike eyed him angrily from the bottom of the sink very dead and very stubborn. Frank sighed, wincing at the cuts on his hands and arms. He wasn’t quite sure any more how much of that blood was his. He picked up the fillet knife and went back to it.

She carefully crawled along the dark hall, praying the wood planks wouldn’t creak and wake up her parents. – Nina O’Connell

Her full-to-bursting backpack heavy on her shoulders, Lisanne, breathed quietly and clutched her stuffed dolphin. Today had been the last time she’d get picked on at school, be blamed for waking the baby, and struggle through spelling homework. At ten years of age, she was pretty confident she could find a way to live on her own. At least until her parents came to their senses and realized she was gone. Lisanne fought sudden tears. Grammie would have understood. Grammie had understood everything. And now she was lost too.

“That one,” she said, and pointed to a downed tree branch still covered in green ivy. – Jan Ropers

She watched the strong neighbor boys haul the large branch into the cart, trailing ivy vines. Bets knew exactly what she’d do with that nice piece of cherry. As they continued down the track through the woods, she traced an ivy design in her mind. By the time they returned to the village, the cart was full of downed branches and pieces of fallen logs. Bets kept to the old edicts and took only wood that had fallen naturally.

I stopped, as yet another pebble had finagled a way into this damn pair of shoes. – Jen Luby

I’d needed a cheap pair of hiking shoes and they seemed like a good idea in the market. Jack wanted to see Mount Olympus and he promised an easy hike. Ha! How could I say no, though? He was a lot fun.

Once upon a time there was a village idiot who was right most of the time. – Nate Clinard

No one believed him, of course. That would be ridiculous. His name was Danny and he lived in a tiny run-down cottage at the end of the lane leading from the village of Bumbledrudge. The old biddies would drag him out to bless the fields at spring planting and at harvest. The village priest consulted his ‘wisdom’ on the major feast days and life went on as usual. The village made sure he had food and clothes and pretty much left him alone.

For Paul Nord

She hadn’t meant to throw it. It seemed like a good idea at the time. What else was she going to use to fend off a rabid raccoon? Her rape whistle? Janie didn’t think so. So, now here she was, limping home from her evening run, one sock wet and filthy. She’d just bought these shoes. They were blue and pretty and supposed to be the ultimate in a jogging shoe. The raccoon was probably gnawing on it.

She paused at the section of the application that asked for her Social Security Number and work history. – Jen Luby

For a split second, Constance was inclined to enter the real information, her true SSN and work history. However, that wouldn’t get her the job. That fateful night five years ago, the night that changed her life, seemed very far away. Now, an international journalist, Constance had traveled to the hottest hot spots capturing a world at war. Being a reporter gave her work for the CIA a bulletproof cover.

Everything was idyllic until the dog launched himself off the deck in a full-on sprint. – Jan Ropers

“Socrates!” Jeanine hollered as she jumped up and ran after the boisterous chocolate lab. “Get. Back. Here!” However, the dog completely ignored his owner and continued his mad dash toward the shimmering golden pheasant that had decided to enjoy the morning from the top of the next-door neighbor’s fence. Jeanine hurtled herself toward Socrates, yelling every obedience training word she could think of, to no avail. She watched him launch upwards in a perfect brown arc toward the idiot bird.

Why do I feel so much better after I clip my toenails? – Jeff Marshall

Maybe it’s because The Wife appreciates it so. I wiggled my toes, now light and airy, and scooped up the offending nails, tossing them into the fire. You could never be too safe with things like that. The Wife constantly reminds me to be careful, but she does admit to being terribly superstitious.

He awoke just as the grandfather clock in the foyer struck twice... – Kevin Colombe

His pulse pounding, Scott lay frozen in bed, uncertain what to do. The old clock had never made a sound before no matter how many times he'd half-heartedly taken it apart. He’d stored umbrellas in the bottom for years. He wondered what had changed. Scott breathed into the now-quiet darkness and debated hoisting his 90-year-old bones up and down the stairs. After waiting another five minutes and hearing nothing but silence, he elected to check it out in the morning.