Posted on September 20, 2011 by writer
The Flight of Black Friday
by Tom Achor
NOV. 9, 2022 – PORTLAND, OR- On November 11 this year, citizens of the Southeast Portland neighborhood of Brooklyn will gather to watch the 10th annual launch of the Black Friday, their own community-built space ship, from its launch area near the former rail yards off SE McLoughlin Blvd. This tenth flight, which will be the last for the Black Friday, will cement its status as the longest-serving community owned reusable space vehicle, given that it remains the only one in existence.
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Posted on September 20, 2011 by writer
Exalted and Extinguished
Lisa Galloway
Chris hurls the Vogue magazine at his partner’s Pomeranian who squeaks and then begins yapping. Chris grits his teeth, lambasting the pup, “I will fucking cut you, you little bitch. Shut up already!” Chris tosses a squeak toy into the bathroom and kicks the dog inside slamming the door. Then he makes the phone call.
The phone rings for the first time all day. Thor hates working for the family business. He reluctantly picks it up and answers in his artificially chipper voice, “Viking Sprinkler and Fire Safety, Thor speaking. Can I help you?”
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Posted on September 20, 2011 by writer
A Trace of Revenge
by Night Writers
Sunny stood under the awning of The Senator Hotel with her arms clutched across her chest, shivering. Tomas, the doorman, was standing too close to the hotel entrance for her to make a break past him into the lobby and up to the bathroom on the mezzanine. It was so nice there. All gold fixtures and flocked wallpaper. Maybe she could use the hand dryer on her hair and warm up a bit, too. But mostly she just really wanted to pee.
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Posted on September 17, 2011 by writer
Down Time
by Will Gardner
“God, we’re so slow today.”
“I don’t know why you insist on being open past three – or even 2:30, for that
matter. No one wants knishes after lunch.”
“No one?”
She stared at him, blank. “You know what I mean. No one in Portland.”
“Okay, then.” He cleared his throat much louder than necessary. “I guess you
know what I got to do.”
Angie replied with a heavy sigh. “Where this time?”
“The Standard Insurance building.”
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Posted on September 17, 2011 by writer
City of Thorns
by Portland NaNo
Abe doesn’t know anything about space. Abe doesn’t work well with others. Abe doesn’t like being told what to do and would be much happier if everyone left him alone. Yet here he sits in a public bathroom off Block 30 on the street of Portland, with a man 20 years his junior. He probably would have been just sitting in his hovel waiting for his eventual death, if he had not allowed himself to be recruited by the PLA a week ago. It was a minor annoyance that his shop had been burned down in a riot, mostly because it gave him little to do with his days. He’d taken to wandering the street and he’d bumped into Thor.
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