By Will Evans The sign on the wooden railing said, “Be shark smart. Know your risk when entering the water. Recent sightings here. Do not swim with seals.” The two men stood beside it, peering over the empty beach forty feet below the bluff. The sky was a blushing indigo at the far reach of the water, and the waves were small but perfect, lines like endless corduroy stretching over the sea. One man turned to the other. “Nothing,” he said, and shrugged, frowned, chewed his lip

By Erin Bondo Imagine a hole. Make it bigger and bigger, like the lake sturgeon your Dad’s been crowing about since 1992 , and deeper and...

by Stuart Watson   All the trendy weather people warned about climate refugees. Millions of people, migrating north to escape the heat,...

By Jennifer J. Meyer   Stacey’s head pounded like the bass in last night’s cover band. With a moan, she rolled out of bed and slipped...

By Lisa Lahey Naomi wore her prettiest dress and flowers in her coiffed, red hair. She arranged the table with a plastic, blue tablecloth...

By Alexandra Danila   That Sunday, the sun was glaring, intent on preparing the city for a summer of heat, although it was only April....

By Moshe Schaffzin The day in the life of a snail is best spent in a dark, shady corner. From your own gastropodal point of view, it is...

by Ken Been   The first thing he noticed was her hair. That was what shook Alan’s memory in the yellow lighting of the bus. It was...

By Krista Ruffo   Wendell tells the interviewer at the South Florida Water Management District’s office that he knows snakes very well....

By Rutger Middelburg   I have always liked the beach. When I was younger, I liked the parties we had there; where we would drink cheap...

By Evan Sharp   When I dried off my legs and got the courage to ask, the police officer said the boy was still alive. The kid had somehow...

By Jack Durant   The roll and lapse of the surf echoed through the darkness. Beyond the lights, it was the only thing left of the beach...

By Pyper Haarala “Lobsters don’t scream when they die.” Cooper’s eyes flashed to the wailing pot behind Val’s shoulder. "What’s it doing...

By Adam R. Levine     When people think of Malibu, they usually imagine the beach: sun-bronzed bodies lying on starched sand,...

By Michael Bracken   The maniacal laughter and the sound of Wally Wailani’s surfboard breaking in two was enough to send chills up the...

By H.L. Dowless The rhythmic melody of the seductive sirens' whispering chant rode upon the midday wind; inviting, enticing, hexing,...

By Paige Johnson  People throw dirt on Tampa, Florida, all day long, calling it America’s armpit—or raunchier, ranker body parts—but my...

By Alexis Levitin   It was a long bus ride. Everyone slumbered as best they could, and finally they found themselves having coffee in a...

When they forced our neighborhood into coordinated retreat, my dad and I started stealing contact lenses. We didn’t like our eye doctor,...

By Patricia Gimer     It was a calm, sunny day for the Polar Bear Dip, but the air was bone chilling. The starting gun exploded and Anne...