“SUICIDE,” by David Michael Wharton. Read by Todd Luoto.

As he waited for the crosswalk light to change, he noticed the bar across the street. There was always a bar within walking distance of these places, without fail, or a liquor store. They were like remoras, feeding from the belly of the Death Machine wherever it sprang up. He could see a few of them in there now, heads down, that uniquely blank look on their faces. Some of them had their death cards laid out on the bar, staring as if waiting for the ink to shift, for the universe to hiccup, for destiny to laugh and admit, “Just kidding.”

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David Michael Wharton is a freelance writer and journalist from Texas. When not sweating in the trenches as an editor for Creative Screenwriting Magazine, he hammers out screenplays and short fiction and swears one of these days he’s going to get around to that novel, damn it.

Todd Luoto is a filmmaker and screenwriter from Massachusetts. Currently he is a programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, and his film Oil Change is touring festivals around the country.

In the book, “Suicide” is illustrated by Brian McLachlan!