I was lost. I was empty of any sense of meaning or purpose. I had reached a dead end. I had sought, had given my life to a belief system that made hellish demands on my mind and soul, and it brought me up short. I was seeking. I was…

A Brief Journey into an Odd Little Universe — In the fifty-sixth installment of The 5 Second Novel: we discover some people shouldn’t get drunk. Are you ready? #076 — “I Said No Such Thing” I’d noticed that Grandpa Theron would avoid certain subjects, and despite being an astronomer for the Air Force years ago, he wouldn’t go star watching south of Dayton with us. …

A Brief Journey into an Odd Little Universe — In the fifty-fifth installment of The 5 Second Novel: a man learns he’s been microchipped, and he’s never even met Bill Gates. #075 — “Implant” “No, Mr. Harwell,” said F.B.I. Senior Agent Phillip Dysart, “This isn’t a sick prank by some med grad school student. …

A Brief Journey into an Odd Little Universe — In the fifty-fourth installment of The 5 Second Novel: two researchers and the next apex predator walk into a bar … and the researchers don’t walk out. Let’s walk. #074 — “The Inheritors” At the lab, Phil was unusually talkative. “They’re waiting for us to make that last big mistake, you know.” In response…

A Brief Journey into an Odd Little Universe — In the fifty-third installment of The 5 Second Novel: a journalist gets a story with more than he bargained for. #073 — “The Venusian” “I remember like was yesterday,” Vilen said through his thick Russian accent. “1978. I was there. Academy of Science press conference, announce secret mission to planet Venus had been a…

A Brief Journey into an Odd Little Universe — In the fifty-second installment of The 5 Second Novel: a young woman confronts a childhood terror. Are you ready? #072 — “She Watches” We always knew old Mrs. Scholtner was watching us from the windows of the turret of the condemned house on Buckeye Street — my oldest brother Gene terrorized us with stories…

A Brief Journey into an Odd Little Universe — In the fifty-first installment of The 5 Second Novel: skates may have sold out when hell froze over, but Satan, for one, wasn’t about to hit the ice. #071 — “The Day That Hell Froze Over” John, dreading the work day ahead, surfed the news while he ate his lumpy oatmeal and realized that Hell was freezing over. …

A Brief Journey into an Odd Little Universe — In the fiftieth installment of The 5 Second Novel: we learn why the aliens don’t land on the White House lawn. Are you ready? #070 — “Field Report” In its 114th planetary day of field research on 1257/25165/252.3 (known to its inhabitants as “Earth”) Asyut Zeroth reached an important conclusion: most of the citizens…

A Brief Journey into an Odd Little Universe — In the forty-ninth installment of The 5 Second Novel: a father discovers fishing can sometimes yield … the unexpected. #069 — “We’re Not Eating These” The first thing Jake did when we got home from our fishing trip was drag the sea bass out of the ice chest and lay them on the garage floor to…