Prey by Susannah Pabot art by Marina Stracke-Lassmann She walks out into the foggy dawn, her hands cradling a mug of hot coffee. Blood streaks down the front porch into the wet grass. Erratic, revealing a struggle, a small body held down, flesh torn apart. Another fresh kill. This time the female, the only one left. She checks the yard for body parts, paws twisted off, forgotten. Scraps of fur. Kneels in her bathrobe, scrubs the stained wood with bleach. Thinks of her children asleep upstairs. Soon they will be awake, running down the steps into a Sunday morning. What will she tell them this time? A fairy tale? The truth? Their father is gone and their house filled with broken things. Toys, furniture. Crockery. Countless cracks, tears, scratches. On the back of his dented pick-up, long ago, he called her ``my bad luck angel''. She wanted them to have something alive, warm, soft. Yesterday night she strengthened the hutch. Wound extra wire after their bedtime, sharp ends cutting into her skin. She thought she saw her boy's face in the window, watching her crouched in the darkness. All content in SmokeLong Quarterly copyright 2003-2010 by its authors.
	Susannah Elisabeth Pabot grew up between Austria and Cape Cod and lived in the UK for ten years, where she worked as a journalist and learning mentor for young children. She recently left London to live off rue Menilmontant in Paris with her French husband and growing family. Susannah's fiction and non-fiction has appeared online and in two print anthologies. She is at work on a short story collection and a novel based on her experiences of living in more than one culture. This is one of her first flash fiction publications. Read the interview. Marina Stracke-Lassmann is a freelance illustrator and web-page designer based in Vienna, Austria.
	Issue Twenty-Four (March 18, 2009): Barista by Sarah Black «» Night Vision by Edmond Caldwell «» Star Man by Bill Cook «» Bluegills by Thomas Cooper «» Seattle Gymnopédie by Scott Garson «» One Night at Crobar by Shane Goth «» Scrapple by Tiff Holland «» What If The Dungeon Closes by Tim Jones-Yelvington «» Toes by Darby Larson «» The Hamster by Tara Laskowski «» Dirtclouds by Charles Lennox «» Moat by Ravi Mangla «» A Witnessing at the K&W Cafeteria by Heather McDonald «» Roots by Jen Michalski «» I Use Commas like Ninja Stars by Sam Nam «» Turtle Creek by Gregory Napp «» Prey by Susannah Pabot «» By Saturday, We'd Be Singing by John Riley «» At the Foot of the Mountain by Ania Vesenny «» Interviews: Sarah Black «» Edmond Caldwell «» Bill Cook «» Thomas Cooper «» Scott Garson «» Shane Goth «» Tiff Holland «» Tim Jones-Yelvington «» Darby Larson «» Tara Laskowski «» Charles Lennox «» Ravi Mangla «» Heather McDonald «» Jen Michalski «» Sam Nam «» Gregory Napp «» Susannah Pabot «» John Riley «» Ania Vesenny «» Cover Art "No. 41 - 2007" by Marty D. Ison «» Letter From the Editor