“Common Conner, you’re too old for this shit. I can’t believe you think there is something as stupid as a monster under your bed.”


Hearing his brother Matthew say it out loud, it did sound stupid. Monsters under the bed? What was he, a paste-eating five year-old? And yet... Conner knew it was true. He’d heard it. He’d seen it. The thing had even touched him... his whole body shuddered when he thought back to the ten

Big Al’s Reptile Zoo, just past the highway, had been there as long as anyone could remember. It offered it’s guests the best chance to see all sorts of reptiles, exotic and local, up close and personal. From their outdoor pens to the indoor displays, Big Al’s offered a personal look at some of nature’s most misunderstood creatures.


One thing Big Al’s offered was the opportunity for local students to volunteer at the zoo. You

An excited group of visitors were standing outside the lab window today all huddled together in the hallway, eager faces and fingers pressed up against the glass. Everyone was looking at the same thing: a giant green frog, over two hundred pounds. It wasn’t doing anything other than sit there and stare at the people with its fist sized black eyes. This is what everyone was here to see, and they were promised they would see a show.

Without a working air conditioner, in the middle of the heat advisory that was choking the life from the city, Chris felt like he was being cooked in his own skin. He'd pulled the blinds shut and hoped that it would keep some of the heat out, but it hadn’t worked… the heat was already there. Opening the windows would have been like trying to bail out an underwater ship. The weatherman on the television (with his smug, air conditioned face) just kept saying how it was going to get

“Common Andrew, I don’t think I can drink that.” James looked as though I’d just offered him pure poison. Behind his glasses, his light blue eyes were locked on the brightly coloured red drink I was handing him. It was that candy-red colour that didn’t really appear in nature.




“Of course you can. You love this sugary shit.”

The doorbell to the house rang, and Dan came down the stairs at a leisurely pace. Nervous energy was filling every single part of his body; he’d been waiting so long for this it seemed impossible that it was going to finally happen. From the stairs he could see his friend standing outside the door, waiting to be let in. Dan couldn’t help but grin.



It had taken Dan a couple weeks to work up the nerve and put his plan into motion.