Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Criminal.
Rising Above Adversity
Nine months ago, I arrived at the revelation that I'd had enough of wasting my life pursuing useless jobs that meant nothing to my heart and soul nor to the attainment of my passions and my dreams. And having become fully fed up, succumb to pursuing an archetypal lifestyle and subjecting myself to people and hierarchies that did nothing but depress me, I did the only thing I could think of: I packed my car with a tent, a 50 liter pack and my dog, and surrendered all my material belongings in pursuit of a dream gleaned from an epiphany I had back in 2015: that my destiny was to write a novel on par with that of Divergent, Hunger Games, Twilight, The Maze Runner, or Harry Potter.
By Eric Durland7 years ago in Criminal
Reason First: Do Some Prisoners Refuse to Be Rehabilitated in Their Old Age?
Maybe you can’t keep an evil man down (for long). Multiple murderer, Albert Flick was released from prison because of his “old age.” Once set free, he committed a crime similar to what landed him behind bars in the first place; he stabbed a woman to death. Now, the initial person that he killed, that brought him to justice was his wife, Sandra Flick—in front of their daughter. The prison staff, in their infinite wisdom, chose to say that the man had served his debt to society, and that he should be amongst the general populace. Severe mistake. Flick had the nerve to say, “If I can’t have [Kimberly Dobbie], I will kill her.” That is how the man operated. With icy, vicious intent, he exacted that sentiment on Dobbie before the eyes of her eleven-year-old twin boys.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in Criminal
Ashley Learns a Lesson
Ashley Von Brandt was sitting in her boss' office waiting for her boss to come in. Her boss said he had some good news for her, something about a promotion or at least an opportunity to make more money. She never has been unable to get along with her boss. Hell, she doesn’t even really know why he hired her in the first place. She was a waitress at a shitty bar at the time she met her boss, and all she did was help him calculate some numbers and he asked her to be his secretary. Maybe it’s because he knew who she was and that’s what tipped him off. She thought to herself how it would only be a matter of time before she gets fired as her boss walked through the door. Her boss was an older Irish man whose Irish swagger never left him, whether he was at a board meeting or waiting in line at Starbucks. He had recently become the CEO of Public Automotives, the largest and prosperous automotive company in Las Detras. “Looks like we have some business to attend to Ms. Brandt,” said Mr. Braden as he lit himself a cigar. Ashley scooted closer to her bosses desk and lit a cigarette of her own. “I think you can be of help to me, or more like obliged to do this for me,” said Mr. Braden.
By Julian Hayden7 years ago in Criminal
A Memory of Disjointed Illusions - A Short Story
The year was 1989, in an alternate universe very different from ours. In this universe, technology was very far ahead of ours, and with that, so was science. The world was advanced, yet was still rotting away from global warming, even quicker than ours.
By The Neon Hunter7 years ago in Criminal
Disappearance of Shane Walker and Christopher Dansby
In August of 1989, Rosa Glover took her 19 month old son, Shane Walker, to a playground in Harlem near the Martin Luther King Jr. Towers housing projects where they lived. She sat on a park bench while Shane played. Two kids then came over asking if they could play with him, which she thought was weird because they were 5 and 10 years old, quite a bit older than Shane was. She let them play together when a man came up and sat on the bench with her. Immersed in conversation, Rosa took her eyes off Shane for only a couple minutes. When she turned back around, she did not see him anywhere. She searched frantically for him in that park as well as a nearby park, but could not find him anywhere. When she returned to the park he disappeared from, she saw the two children he was playing with, but they said they had no idea where he was. When police came and spoke with other witnesses, they said they were looking for an African American man about 19-24 years old wearing a yellow shirt and acid-washed jeans.
By Olivia Parker7 years ago in Criminal
Bad Cops
Law enforcement officers are a critical part of maintaining law and order in a vicious world. Their jobs are not easy, and I'm quite sure this author would not want the undertaking. The dangers law enforcement officers face on a daily basis can't be fathomed by most people. They deal with the dregs of society. The worst of the worst. They are required to handle every situation that is thrown at them with professionalism and they are put through a barrage of tests prior to and during their training and subsequent employment. Physical and mental evaluations are conducted. Potential officers undergo extensive background checks, even speaking with family, coworkers and friends of the applicant before being forced to take a polygraph examination.
By Phoenixx Fyre Dean7 years ago in Criminal
'Secret Obsession' - Review (Netflix)
Jennifer Williams (Brenda Song) is running for her life from a mysterious man hunting her on a rainy night. Desperate to get away from him, she hides out in a remote service station restroom. He follows her into the restroom, but she manages to escape, running out and getting into her car outside. He follows her and sees her in the car.
By Q-ell Betton7 years ago in Criminal
Reason First: Should Newly Released Oklahoman Corey Atchison Be Bitter?
Wrongfully convicted individuals must face a new day. While some harbor animosity and anger for the years that they stayed under the watchful eye of the law, people like Tulsa Oklahoma native Corey Atchison expressed only the joy of being granted liberty. With new insights into cases, the number of people freed from prison continues to go on so that justice may be served. Whether it’s through DNA or another look at the particular matter, the way that men and women have been released from the confines of cell walls speaks to a system that is imperfect.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in Criminal
TV Movie Review: 'Loved to Death' Is the Least Crazy TV One TV Movie Yet
My growing obsession with TV One and their brand of uniquely insane TV movies sadly may be cooling off. After the wild camp of Bobby DeBarge, the utter ludicrousness of Sins of the Father and the utterly bonkers final minutes of In Broad Daylight, TV One finally aims for a respectable TV movie with Loved to Death and I find myself a little bummed out.
By Sean Patrick7 years ago in Criminal
Crossing into Liberty
The white phone matched the gray, peeling walls that surrounded the bevy of women waiting to talk on the phone. The day seemed normal, inmates milled about, yearning for the chance to talk with their loved ones. One woman, Ellish Vat, leaned her head against the window. Her dark hair clashed against the grayness. Her skin looked like yellow glue. She flashed a smile. On the other line, her six-year-old son talked about first grade. Ellish became excited. She shouted when she heard of her baby’s stellar grades.
By Skyler Saunders7 years ago in Criminal
