We stepped down the cobblestone steps, our backs to that gothic tower of bricks seeing us off into a damp night. Jesse’s face was blue as he stared down into his phone and said: C’mon, I think it’s this way. It’s west? I asked. No, it’s in this direct—I mean...
My god, I thought, this place will kill me one day… The door squeaked shut behind me; there was no turning back. The second floor of the office was as wide as a football field, with a maddening yellow tent and the stench of stale coffee and bleached paper. There was an unnerving clattering of phones, fax machines, and keyboards filling...
Vice published an article in ‘99 declaring RVA “a black hole”, “a sedative”, and “the easiest place in the world to do nothing and still have the best fucking time in the world”. After living there for 6 years in my early 20s, I couldn’t agree more. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Suddenly, I had forgotten why I was in the kitchen. So I fixed...
ed. note: This story is just for fun and obviously a work of fiction. Enjoy! I am Elrilion of planet Garcust. It is now I will recount the labor of my glory. Long is my reign as warrior king. Fell is the fatal might of Gemnon, my proven sword. Vanquished are my enemies. Severed and strewn amongst galaxies are the heads of those who conspire...
Step into an unsettling yet eerily familiar world with this latest fictional short story submission. This gripping narrative explores a dystopian reality where personal freedoms and women's reproductive rights are critically endangered. The protagonist's heart-wrenching journey, shaped by oppressive legislation and societal pressures, invites...
This Valentine's Day, Death Club Radio's Phil Ford considers the doomed romantic tradition of the Lover's Leap, and asks: where did this macabre folk legend come from? I like to think I am a practical, sensible person -- although many have told me otherwise -- but I still can’t fathom why two forlorn fools would jump off a cliff for love. Who...
In this special Black Friday edition of RVA Reader, Phil Ford tells us all about his long-running obsession with the time so long ago that meat rained down from a clear sky in Kentucky. It is that obsessive moment when you discover something you are compelled to completely explore, no matter how twisted or odd, and perhaps consistently look...
RVA Reader is an irregular series spotlighting fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction by Virginia authors. If you’re interested in seeing your work appear in future editions, send an email to hello@rvamag.com with the subject line “RVA Reader.” White Elephant I wonder if anybody in here would want to fuck tonight. Well, maybe not tonight,...
My girl and I talked it over and decided that since I was the one making hay in the sunshine, the registration stickers that came earlier in the week should go on my truck, and we’d use her car more at night. The sun was out, the sky was blue, but those streets out there were no less mean and the only way to get that money was to go out there...
“Hannibal was the best. No comparison.” Zane shook his head at this. He was the kind of pale that if you looked long enough you might be able to make out the road map of the veins in his face. The dark circles under his eyes made him look as if he was permanently fresh from an altercation. His hair was neat, faded perfectly and slicked back....
