Martin Harp

“The Aberrance” by Martin Harp

Submitted to Contest #244

Two months ago, the Aberrance mysteriously and suddenly appeared in rural Ohio. Below is a timeline compiled by investigators, scientists, government officials and law enforcement detailing the discovery and subsequent events that followed. Sensitive information, including any picture or detailed description of the Aberrance, has been redacted for the safety and wellbeing of the public. This includes the photo taken by Tyler Garcia (otherwise known as @TheMadManG and/or Patient Zero) that was virally circulated on social media and news outle...

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“The Park Picture” by Martin Harp

Submitted to Contest #244

My mom first noticed it when I was about 7 years old. We were at the park around the corner from my childhood home. I was playing on the monkey bars when my mom took my picture on an old Kodak disposable. Any child of the 90s will remember those old yellow bricks, the snap of the flash, the clicking of the cog as you turn the film to the next photo. You wouldn’t know what was in a picture until it was developed days later at your local drug store, a wild thought for the current generation living in instant gratification. I don’t even remembe...

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“Iron Jaw” by Martin Harp

Jayce was free. He could feel the sun beating down on his back as he ran as fast as he could through the open, overgrown fields. Cow tails slapped against his chest and face as grasshoppers flew wildly in every direction. Every other step Jayce looked over his shoulder to see if the man was behind him. Long, thin grass cut at him like razor wire, but that’s not where the blood came from. No, the blood came from the encounter causing this full-on sprint. An encounter with a man who murdered his friends with ease and pleasure. Jayce witnes...

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“Guilty Pleasures” by Martin Harp

Submitted to Contest #233

“The name is Daniella but call me Dee...” Dee’s voice bounced off the concrete walls in a basement backroom of St. Vincent’s Middle School. LED lights flickered sporadically. A smell of burnt coffee and stale donuts emanated from a table in the corner and filled the room. Opposite the table, boxes filled with old textbooks went from floor to ceiling, making the room feel much smaller than it already was. Wooden chairs, no younger than 50 years old, held together flimsily by a couple screws, were arranged in a circle in the center of the ro...

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“New Year, Same Me” by Martin Harp

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #231

New Year’s Resolutions 2023 2024I, Ryan, am writing this list of 2023 2024 New Year’s Resolutions to get my ass in gear. If I put it on paper, I guess I might be able to manifest them a little bit better? You know, speak them into existence or whatever Lynda tried to tell me. I am reusing my list from last year, with some modifications, because let’s face it, I didn’t accomplish a goddamn thing in 2023. Not with everything that happened. Although, I am still breathing which says enough in and of itself.1.    Keep the apar...

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“Submerged” by Martin Harp

Submitted to Contest #209

“What happened and why are my feet wet?” Monica thought to herself as she slowly opened her eyes in the driver seat of her car, her head resting against the steering wheel. The haze in her vision was beginning to clear but the haze in her mind was not. “What happened and why are my feet wet?” she continued to ask herself until she realized she couldn’t see anything out of the windows except dark, murky water lit up by the dying headlights of her car. Panic began to sink in as Monica realized why her feet were wet. “I’m sinking! The car...

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