Walter Conley got his start in comic books and has since gone on to write for a variety of media. His short fiction and poetry appear in anthologies, the small press and at such online sites as Danse Macabre, Gloom Cupboard and Mad Swirl. His artwork was recently posted at Litsnack and Pulp Metal Magazine. Walter's current focus is writing and recording songs with the group Katharine Hepcat. After bouncing between CT and the SoCal desert for most of his life, he has settled in central VA with his wife and two children.  Walter is on facebook (as himself and Katharine Hepcat), twitter and can be reached at pitchbrite@gmail.com.

Kick Sits (May-ish, 2011. Issue 28.)

Kick sits on a bench in front of her house. The concrete pad beneath his feet is so worn that the pebbles show through; it's like the surface of a wide, white ocean that has stilled upon a rocky shore. He wears sneakers without laces. His ankles are abnormally thin for his frame, which holds a solid 185lbs at 5' 10''. He is humming to himself, "Lake Charles" by Lucinda Williams, thinking about the girl called Maddie who lives here and who he loves and who will not come out and talk to him.

He's been here since last night. It rained yesterday afternoon. The breeze was cool until this morning, when the sun came up.

Inside the house, there is a faint noise. It could be Maddie or it could be the house itself crackling in the heat. He waits, but there is nothing more. Kick imagines her on the other side of the window, hushed and listening, too.

After a while, he stands. At the edge of the concrete pad is a rock shaped like a triangle. He picks it up, scratches the words "I don't know either" on the door, then walks to his car, gets in and slowly drives away.