Author: Jordan Faber
Note from the Editor, Issue 17
Welcome to a new issue of Bull & Cross, with three intriguing works of fiction. First up, we have the very smart “A Lesson on Pliny” from Claire...
A Lesson on Pliny
I’ve never been to Northern Africa, but I can promise that the sun was hot. Hot, tripling in size, and the texture of new rust. I stood at the edge of an untill...
Snake Island
The baying of the hounds echoed through the bayou. Chained at the ankles, Robin and Ian stumbled through the murky swamp water. Swarms of gnats and mosquitoes b...
Men at Work: Vaughan, a high school economics teacher
“It’s yellow and it doesn’t rust,” I said. “It’s easy to work into jewelry. It’s relatively scarce. That’s all that sets gold apart from other metallic elements...
Note from the Editor, Issue 16
It is my pleasure to introduce this month’s stories. Each of these stories caught me off-guard and demanded to be included. The first, Joe Seale’s d...
The Boy and the Misunderstanding
The man shakes his head and pounds a fist into the wall in a series of loud thuds. “You…make…me…sick…you…dad…blamed…sissy,” he spits out to the rhythm of his th...
The Neighbors
I weeded the yard around 5 a.m. to avoid the amused eyes of the neighbors, a thirtyish couple that employed lawn specialists, and smirked hello each time they s...
The Creationist
Dan was putting the finishing touches on the first dog the world’s seen in decades. Well, that isn’t exactly true. There are tons of robotic puppies...
Note from the Editor, Issue 15
For the 15th issue of Bull & Cross, I’m very pleased to present three wildly different stories from three fantastic authors. First up, we have David H...
The Stars, the Moon, a Trombone and You
I signed into Here My Call before going to work. Don’t know why I bothered. I never had any notifications. Who would respond to a call like mine? But this time ...
Note from the Editor, Issue 14
Well, friendly readers, here’s our fourteenth issue, with three more great stories. First up, we have “1961,” by Christine Taylor. This story ...
At The End Of Lout’s Street
The kids at the end of Lout’s Street called it “Her Road.” It was a quiet, sad street containing a single decrepit house. Ivy and brambles had crawled across th...
Eighteen Dollar Shoes
When the fishing derby was on, you could almost walk across Lake Erie, from Port Colborne to America. Hundreds of small boats, maybe a thousand, resembled stepp...
Note from the Editor, Issue 13
I am very happy to introduce three excellent stories this month! The first, Tim Clark’s “Catholic High School Confessions,” caused a minor dis...
Catholic High School Confessions
I grew up Catholic, and there is much about the solemnity, and pageantry that still inspires awe. There is much that is beautiful in a Catholic Mass, and the ri...
License Plate Peon
The ‘64 Jag XKE theft wasn’t worth the sentence but they framed me with five sport car grabs to clear the books I truly believe. I bowed to the judge like an aw...
Note from the Editor, Issue 12
Well, what a year. Counting the stories in this twelfth issue, Bull & Cross has had the distinct honor of publishing 39 sharp, entertaining, touching, scary...
All of the Stars in the Earth
Miller discovered Brutus’s corpse in the hayloft. The yellow tomcat had been scarce for days, well beyond the bounds of his usual secret life. Now he lay ...
Old School
Warfield is old school. He had figured out his methods early, found that they worked well for him, and has stuck with them without deviation ever since. Therefo...
On Second Thought
Arrival: Oxygen. Atomic number 8 sucked into lungs feeling the burn of an element plentiful, flawless in its ability to energize them. They draw it in, obliviou...
Note from the Editor, Issue 11
I’m very pleased to introduce three very good stories for your reading pleasure. Barring the end of all things, I think we’ll colonize Mars. And whe...
Rocket Science
Down the end of my street is a gully that has somehow escaped the ravages of suburban development. It hasn’t been stripped of vegetation and reshaped by b...
Note from the Editor, Issue 10
It’s my privilege to introduce three new pieces this month. The first is “Heartbeat,” by Michael Verderber. It was my privilege to publish ano...
To Richard Milhous Nixon, on his Birthday
When Thomas Cornell hacked and cleared land for a cabin, getting pine sap on his hands and wiping springs of sweat from his dusty brow, he didn’t know you would...
The Art of the Foley
On the front lawn of the hospice, a juvenile seagull picks at the remains of what appears to be a female blackbird. The gull plunges its beak into the breast of...
Note from the Editor, Issue 9
It’s the week before Christmas, so I’ll keep this brief. I am very happy to give you three wildly different stories by three fantastic authors. Firs...
The Loss of Superlatives
Rosie, an eighty-seven-year-old woman, who lived in a well-fortified home in a remote part of Maine, regretted her charge to eradicate the word “great” and now ...
Dreams out of Bugtussle
People get accustomed to seeing something one way, then it doesn’t matter how many changes you make, they won’t see the change until you make them s...
Note from the Editor, Issue 8
A couple of core truths: (1) The world is broken. I don’t think that’ll come as a shock to most of you. But what repeatedly comes as a shock to me i...
At the Zoo
The day following my release from the psych unit, my father took me on a trip to the zoo. We were the only ones there, save for a few mothers and their small ch...
Note from the Editor, Issue 7
I can’t read that much Franzen or Updike, but I can’t get enough of Chabon. I’d argue that’s because Chabon doesn’t hate me, and I...
His Favorites
It was a day for offerings, but only if she’d get up. From the bed, out her window, she squinted at the receding line of grey trees. Beyond was the yard, anothe...
An Army of Frogs
I’m a dead frog and I don’t say this with any pity or understanding or shame it’s just an observation that people seem to like us, like us a bit too much becaus...
Note from the Editor, Issue 6
This is Bull & Cross’ sixth issue, and I’m very happy to say that the stories just keep getting better. J. Bradley kicks us off with an excellen...
Catch and Release
Mitch asks me when was the last time I kissed a woman. I count my thumb and index finger on my right hand, hold it up for Mitch to see, add years at the end. Yo...
Bubble Wand
(I.) “Mm.” Kim looked around, startled, as he entered his bedroom where his sister was deep in sleep. Her brow was furrowed and she groaned again before rolling...
Introduction to Other Cultures
As the chair of the hiring committee, I kept sneaking the application to the top of the pile, until we had a live interview. I confess that I was startled when...