Pat J's Favorites
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At the Place of Meeting (Tell Me it's Going to be Okay)
I stand anxiously by the fence, palms sweating. Even though I’ve never seen it before, never even dreamed it, my heart knows …
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Nevermore
The birds did not scatter as Roland expected. Instead, they fell silent and still.
Leaves crunched beneath his feet as he w…
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I dance in rain
I dance in rain, and they call me fool. I hear whispers in the raindrops and songs in thunder; they complain about the weathe…
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The Turkey Perilous
Most people who enter the turkey plant emerge in one of two states: complete abhorrence of turkeys, or more appreciative of t…
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Stella Starr and The City of the Super-Apes: Monkey Trouble

“The monkeys told me I’d find you here, Dr. Munroe,” Stella said, her .38 aimed at the doctor.
“Stella Starr, Girl Detective…
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Not quite an error
“The results of the experiment still confirm our theory?”
“Yes.”
“And the expected errors are all within tolerance?”
“Yes,...
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First Snow

This is the part of winter I both love and hate.
The first snow is often beautiful, masking the monotonus browns of dead le…
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A Solution or Two

Acrid bile crept up from my stomach. The thought of that thing touching me was too much. I stared down at my wife’s placid fa…
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The Girl Across the Ballroom
She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. She loves me not. She… well, she doesn’t even know my name.
Actually, I do…
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When Presence of Mind Has Left the Building

The headache begins to subside. The doors of the freight elevator open with a swish. Chemical engrams are surfacing, letting …
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Golden Tummy

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Sentinels
Black and polished like glass, the sentinels stretch from the end of the pier to the horizon, dividing the bay in half. Tall …
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This alien abduction crap is starting to tic me off
Lookee here- I know we all got our jobs to do. And I’m not trying to be all in your face and whatnot- but this stealing peo…
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Sentinels: The Expedition

No one knows how high the effect goes, or how deep. Birds avoid the airspace over the sentinels, wheeling and turning with a …
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Schroedinger's Husband

She helped me up, one-handed, still holding the cat. “You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, just give me a moment,” I said, and leaned on …
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5 More Awkward Things To Do or Say Right Before The Lights Go Out

5. “Do you think that the monsters that live under the bed are afraid of the dark?”
4. “I should have gone to the bathroom b…
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Wives and Stars
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Were-bie?
“I just saw a werewolf bite a zombie.”
“What did you say?”
“Outside, just now. Werewolf bit a zombie.”
“Right.”
“Seriousl…
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Writing in the Digital Age
1,025 characters.
1,025 characters!
What am I to do?
Let’s… revise.
Aha, it says “large.” Well that’s extraneous. Backs…
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Victims of Innocence

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Through a glass, etc.

I finally got out of bed, went into the kitchen to put some food in Eton’s dish to stop her yowling, and padded into the bath…
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Unnoticeable

Do you see me?
Of course not.
Do you turn around?
No.
I am that girl, behind, in front, anywhere and everywhere near you. But… -
I'm No Superman
She’s in the hammock in the back yard, the one we strung up a few summers ago after we broke the first one. It’s warm, balmy …
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Four-Color Treachery
I handed over the crisp bills, enough to amount a months salary for most, and in return I received a brown paper bag.
The se…
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Four Color Life

Back at my apartment, a dreary room in the statutory beige, I carefully peeled the pages open, glancing in awe at the rich co…
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White chrysanthemums bloom in her heart.
She played her mandolin at the fair grounds twenty seven times a year. She always sat barefoot in her folding chair, wearing …
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Interview with a physician
“What made you decide to become a doctor?”
“Well, none of my other plans worked out, so I wound up here. the whole doctor thi… -
The Girl in the Surf

“I thought they killed the sea witch and lived happily ever after?” the girl asked.
“No, that was the movie,” Her mother sai…
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Rain and Raven

Lifting his face to the broken heavens, Murray closed his eyes and let the warm rain drench him. After tonight, he didn’t thi…
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Opportunity in Hell

“You know,” I said, once his scream had died down, “as bargains go, yours was pretty disappointing in its terms.”
“W-what?” ...
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Today's diary entry

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