MTO Mike Friend

An operating room nurse in a Level V trauma hospital, Mike was no stranger to blood. He'd seen hundreds of surgeries, massive burns, stabbings, and gunshot wounds. But no matter how many car accidents got wheeled into the OR, he never got used to the caprice of mass x acceleration in rearranging bones, organs, and …

MTO Adam Saint

Adam was the first on his block to get a robotic lawn mower. The kid who had been cutting his grass was gouging him and missing whole swaths. When Adam pointed out the sloppy workmanship, the kid shrugged and blamed it on dull blades. But Adam knew better; the only dull blade was the kid. …

MTO Ian Saint

Barefoot, bare-everything, Ian stood on top of the wreckage of the C-117D, his long hair lifted by fingers of wind. The photographer loved the juxtaposition of Ian's Nordic hair against a metallic sky. Because of the coming storm, no other tourists would be climbing all over the cockpit wreckage and getting in the way. The …

MTO Sean Seebach

It's funny, the things you do, not because you don't have the mettle or even the will, but because you've had your quota of annoying conversations, and when a man gets home from working a 12+ hour shift at Aldi, he's plumb out of energy. Enter Sean's neighbor, Harold. Ensconced on a folding chair in …

MTO Denise Friend

"Your dog has severe anxiety." The vet gazed reproachfully at Denise over his rimless glasses. Denise tried to focus on the vet's words, but the crimson spritz on his grizzled neck and white lab coat...all that blood was a worse distraction than disfigurement. It begged the questions: Don't you clean between? Or check the mirror? …

MTO Cynthia Hilston

Mom of three. Wife. Author. Editor. Publicist. Those tags simply did not do justice to the speed at which life traveled for Cyndi. Her heart had all these amazing ideas: themed cupcakes, trips to the zoo or museums or parks, date nights, notes of encouragement for this or that, birthday signs, cards, flowers, gifts, special …

MTO Mary Turzillo

Twelve-year-old Mary wiped an arm across her sweaty brow and leaned her bike against a cottonwood tree. The Animal House was like her own, but smaller and less ornate. The grass was unkempt, and an ominous pillar of smoke sometimes wafted from the stone chimney. Mary peddled to the wretched place as fast as she …

MTO Catie Beach

Catie's freakish flexibility stunned everyone. During a spontaneous beach yoga class she popped a bird-of-paradise like she was crossing her legs. Like, can't everyone do this? Um...no. Who could've known her flexibility would be related to her demise? That, and her fearlessness. Always down for a thrill, the idea of skydiving lit Catie up. Never …

MTO Roger Miller

Roger was out of stage blood. How had that happened? He could've sworn there was more than half a bottle left. The "zesty mint" flavor made a dab of blood on the tongue an effective breath mint. But that didn't explain half the bottle gone. And--four alarm fire--it was Friday the 13th. Roger and Beth …

MTO Will Saxon

Will looked up at the growing line of ill and infirm hostiles waiting to be addressed by an emergency room intake nurse. Nurse? Nurse? Wherefore art thou, nurse? Will's soul was rolling its eyes since he could not do it outwardly. With three call-offs and no travel nurses available, Will was the de facto receptionist. …