"The Non-Denominational Government Exorcist Makes His Rounds" by H. A. Eugene

He sat next to the elderly pilot’s hospital bed, hand raised in absolution as he read from the approved script: “Benevolent spirit, please understand, the Captain was only following orders.”

A little girl materialized at the foot of the hospital bed and threw her hands in the air. “Well, why didn’t you just say so? We were dancing at a wedding when we burned alive, but I guess that basically makes him innocent, right?”

He nodded solemnly as she gathered up her loose skin and jumped into the puddle of piss and tears that had accumulated in the pilot’s bedpan.

H. A. Eugene is an O. Henry-nominated writer of strange stories about food, work, and death. His work has appeared in X-R-A-Y Lit, Radon Journal, HAD, and Flash Fiction Online, among others. Witness him talking to himself on Bluesky @autobono.bsky.social and Threads @h_a_eugene.