Author: Lauren Thomas

She loved to run more than anything. On her regular route along the river with her friend she would sometimes open up and leave her behind, sprinting until it felt like her heart would turn into that of a hummingbird’s, a buzzing in her ears. On a day when the geese took flight from the…

People had stopped moving. At first she thought it was some strange street art and rolled her eyes as she waked past them on her way home. But the next morning they were still there, their eyes dry and dull. As the days passed more people joined them, frozen in time. Some of them had…

The night had been too much. She had been made to feel like a spoilsport when she wanted to go home rather than staying the night. She had slipped out when the partygoers were preoccupied with drinking port and playing charades. “Are you seeing anyone?” “Met anyone new recently?” “Aren’t you lonely?” That last one…

“Someone has spilled diamonds! They’re everywhere!” She could smell her daughter’s hot sleep breath and opened her eyes to find a freckled face inches from her own. “What are you talking about my little Annabanana?” She felt a small hand grasp hers. “Come look!” She gasped as her bare feet left the warmth of the…

She knew where he’d been by the trail of coffee mugs. Sometimes they were completely drained, as if the coffee had never been there at all. Others she found half drunk, the ceramic cool to the touch and the coffee like an unwelcome slick she could see her face in. Rarely they were freshly made…

She looked at what she had written down eleven months earlier. Lose weightNew jobSave moneyLess alcoholGet a dog She looked at the single tick and chewed on her pencil. Flipping the page over, she started a new list. Adam. Told me not to gain weight.Mike. Told me my job was a waste of time.Nick. Told…

“Hello?” * When they asked her about that phone call a few hours later, with a mug of unpleasantly sweet tea in her hands, she would explain that it sounded as if the person on the other end had a mouth full of fog, heavy and swollen. It made her feel like she was back in…

“How do I know I’m not dead?” “What?” His heart suddenly felt too large in his chest as he looked at his wife, at the two black eyes and the stitches in her head. The accident had been nasty, the concussion severe. “How can I be sure I didn’t die in the accident? What if…

She couldn’t believe the utter devastation that lay before her. She swallowed a scream as dulled eyes looked up at her but saw nothing. The room was a warzone, the victims scattered. “What the hell happened in here?” She turned to look at her husband. “He’s killed them all.” He rolled his eyes. “Stop humanising…