Zack Herman

“Kolchak And The Boy” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #243

 “Hey, Kolchak!” The Boy calls. He makes that clicking sound they always make. I come running. I’ve talked with others of my kind. They say that we are all the same. When one of them makes the clicking sound or whistles, our tails wag and we come running. Five years ago, they released me from my cage at the shelter. The Boy made the clicking noise and yelled, “Come here, puppy!” I didn’t mean to wag my tail, it wagged on its own. I Didn’t intend to follow his command, but I found myself scurrying across the floor and jumping into The Bo...

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“The Backstabber and the Night Knocker” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #241

I made the Lexington paper. Page 3. I guess that I should feel proud about that. “BACKSTABBER” HAS HOLLY HILL POLICE BAFFLED Holly Hill- The sleepy Ohio River town of Holly Hill, Kentucky has never experienced anything like this. “Look, usually, the only crime is somebody stealing a car or underage drinking. Never anything like this,” admits Holly Hill Police Chief Bob Scanlon. “This” is a full blown serial killer, somebody locals have dubbed “Backstabber”. The only connection these murders seem to have is that all three victims died from...

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“The Overdue Delivery” by Zack Herman

It was a hot August evening. It was about two weeks before school would start back. I was sitting in the grass in my front yard, waiting for Jill. Jill and I had been going together since the start of freshman year. Where I lived, kids didn’t say they were boyfriend and girlfriend-they said they were “going together”. Jill and I lived on a dirt road several miles outside of town. It was called Possum Creek Road. Every night during summer, around 6 p.m., Jill would take a walk down to the creek. She would stop by my place and I would walk wit...

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“Escaping Gortnerville” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #239

This story contains a description of racist actions. This was the big day. I had showered, put on the only suit I owned, the only white dress shirt that I owned, my best tie, and my black dress shoes. The job interview was at 1:00 and I was in my Ford Focus at 10:30. I had given myself two and a half hours for the trip from Gortnerville to Easter. It was an hour long trip tops from what I remembered. I ha...

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“The Eavesdroppers” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #238

I’ve never told this story to anybody before now. Once I get going, you’ll understand why. It’s the proudest I’ve ever been of Mama and she isn’t even aware that I know what happened. I hope everybody reading this remembers party lines. This was way back in 1979. I was 15 years old and my family lived in Spivey Subdivision, over on Flat Fork in Caudill County. They still had a party line there. They were ...

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“A Man Can't Run Forever” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #235

 The pickup truck that I’m riding in the back of pulls into the gavel parking lot of Colwell Brothers Funeral Home. The truck comes to a stop. I hop out of the truck and knock on the driver’s side window. The elderly man who gave me a ride from West Liberty rolls down the window. “Hey, mister, thanks a lot!” I tell him. “No problem,” he says with a toothless smile. His wife, seated beside him smiles ...

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“Bogie's Bar” by Zack Herman

I grew up in a little town called Bittersville, Kentucky. Bittersville sits on the banks of the Ohio River. Bittersville was little more than a wide spot in the road. It had a gas station, a few churches, an elementary school, and a mom and pop grocery store. Many of the houses in town were empty. People were constantly leaving Bittersville. Mostly, they headed up to Tecumseh, Ohio. There was a factory u...

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“First Ride of the Midnight Rider” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #231

I’m not exactly sure how Marty Reavis and I ever became friends. We had exactly one thing in common: We both attended Briar Bend baptist Church. Daddy was a deacon there and Marty’s grandparents were members. Marty’s grandparents, Whit and Maudie, were raising Marty. His parents had been killed in an auto accident up in Detroit. Marty and I were as different as two guys could be. We were both sixteen yeas...

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“First Day of the Decade” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #231

This story is set in 1980. The characters are products of their times and may use words that will be considered insensitive and/or offensive to readers of 2023.  Today, I got three plastic totes full of the things that I’d left behind at my ex-wife’s house. Her divorce attorney, who I’m guessing will be her next husband, had his paralegal bring them to my apartment. One tote was full of books. T...

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“Dinner At Paisano's” by Zack Herman

This story includes a character planning to engage in gun violence.  Eric walks into Paisono’s Pizzeria and takes a seat in a booth. As he waits for his order to be taken, he reaches under his Army surplus jacket and runs his hand across the shoulder holster that holds his Ruger semiautomatic handgun. Touching the thing seems to give him reassurance about what he’s her to do on this crisp autumn ...

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“For Millie and Drew” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #218

 I’m walking down the street, lost in my thoughts. The work week is over and I want to do is go home and drown my sorrows. Now that I’m single again, that’s about the best I can hope for.I don’t notice the busker until the toe of my shoe bumps into his guitar case.The case is open and there is some money in it. Mostly coins. I see quarters, dimes, and a few pennies. Not much in the way of currency. I see a few fives, a ten and several ones.Behind the case stands one of the least p...

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“Me and Jeff” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #208

This story includes discussions of violence against children. Me and Jeff are having a real good day. Of course, all of our days are pretty good. We live out in the country and we have a big back yard that goes into the woods. My daddy says this is a perfect place to raise a son because there’s a bunch of room for me to explore. We have been exploring back there for almost and hour and the pocket of my shorts is full of stuff for my treasure box. I need to go inside now and put the new treasures away!

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“The Soviet Bull” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #207

 Igor Zarkov, the Soviet Bull, glared into camera 2 and began growling what people in his profession call a promo.“You Americans make me sick! You think you are the good guys and everybody else are the villains! Land of the free? Home of the brave? Your President is such a coward that he will not send your puny athletes to the Olympics! Just look at this!”The large man with the shaved head and goatee held up a newspaper. The headline read “CONGRESS APPROVES ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR DISABLED VETS”.

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“Dylan's Closet” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #205

It’s Friday evening and Megan Reese is in her “happy Place”. She’s stretched out on the couch in the living room with the TV on a baseball game between her Reds and the Pirates. Megan is barefoot and dressed in a pair of cutoffs and an oversized T shirt with her long blonde hair in a ponytail. She’s worked hard all week as the manager of Rusty’s, a local burger joint and she deserves an evening of relaxation.

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“The Ghost Of Nosferatu: A Love Story” by Zack Herman

Submitted to Contest #203

 I met Jessica, my wife, on a crisp Saturday night in October, back when I was fifteen. This will seem like a roundabout way of telling that story, but it’s my story and I’ll tell it my way. I would have probably never met her if not for something that happened when I was 13.On a cold Saturday afternoon in February, I decided that I was a classic movie fan and I was not a sports fan.Let me explain:As far back as anybody can remember, the men in the Skinner family have dedicated th...

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