October 13, 2023 North Hawk, Nebraska A small clump of gravy oozed its way down the stubble of Stephen’s chin, hanging precariously suspended as the man spooned large Swedish meatballs and gravy into his mouth. Reetha watched the spectacle from across the table while sipping on a glass of water. Stephen had always been an eater. At 6’5” and lean-muscled from decades in the field, he ate…

“If there’s a hell, this is it,” my Grandpa told me the first time he took me to church. He stood there looking off at the impossible towers in the distance as he spoke. I was little then and looked up at him with blinking eyes. I saw something I had never seen before on his face: fear. “Never come here on your own,” he said through…

October 3, 2023 North Hawk, Nebraska Sarah gasped out loud when she noticed the tell-tale signs of a gas station just ahead. Her car's headlamps caught the yellow and red color of the paint and her car puttered to a stop just in time for Sarah to realize the gas station was abandoned. Abandoned a long time ago. “Damn it,” she whispered and gently tapped her head…

Monday, October 2 North Hawk, Nebraska Autumn dusk feels different than it does the rest of the year. Days in October can still be warm in Nebraska, especially when there’s work to do. So when Andrew Lambert noticed the light on the red dirt turn soft and warm as he worked on his parent’s small farm, he smiled. A cooling wind was in the air, and with…

Sunday, October 1 North Hawk, Nebraska — James Thomas Hatchet had seen plenty of falling stars in his 60 years alive on this godforsaken planet, but this one? This one was different. It was well after midnight, and a cool autumn wind blew a scattering of leaves illuminated by the moon across the landscape in front of him. James was on the back porch of his large…