One Shot Kill — Issue 3 —

a PUNK NOIR Magazine series

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Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmasto all you Punk Noiristas out in the world today and welcome to Issue 3 of PUNK NOIR’s twisted little series of one punch knock outs that have thus far rendered many readers punch drunk and deliciously disorientated. Yep, today’s flurry of punches is truly a great gift from good old Saint Nick so please do enjoy as it is the last.

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—Issue Three—

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Featuring: Zachary Wilhide, Terena Elizabeth Bell, Nathan Pettigrew, Dr. John A. Tures, William Draycott, David M. Simon, Keith Roysdon, Scott MacLeod, Lawrence Kithcart, and Edward Barnfield

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As he felt the shiv go into his belly, Sammie remembered that she’d said her husband liked getting his hands dirty.

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Zachary Wilhide is a writer and artist who lives in Virginia Beach, VA with his wife and cats. He has previously had stories published in Spelk Fiction, Close to the Bone, Yellow Mama Webzine, and Shotgun Honey, among others. His art currently resides at https://www.deviantart.com/whytedevil.”

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Herbert opened the front door to find everything missing — his sofa, his tv, his wife.

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Terena Elizabeth Bell is a fiction writer. Her debut short story collection, Tell Me What You See (Whiskey Tit), was named one of the “best books of the century (so far)” by New York Society Library. Get one of her stories delivered to your inbox every month by subscribing here: patreon.com/terenaelizabethbell.

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One shot to the head put my partner in a grave, and me in a cell for life, leaving me forever jealous and wishing I could trade fates with the duplicitous bitch who made it to hell first.

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Nathan Pettigrew was born and raised an hour south of New Orleans. He is the author of Tales from Terrebonne, forthcoming in 2026 from Rock and a Hard Place Press, and Managing Editor of Mythic Picnic.

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If the well-heeled ladies of the town had been just a little nicer to their stylist, perhaps their hairs wouldn’t have kept showing up so inconveniently at various crime scenes.

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Dr. John A. Tures began writing for the El Paso Herald-Post in high school. He wrote for his college paper at Trinity University in San Antonio and at Marquette University. He earned his doctorate at Florida State University, analyzed data in Washington DC, and is now a Professor at LaGrange College.

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It all began — as far as I, or the police could tell — exactly as it ended: without prejudice.

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As an Uncle Buck impersonator, William Draycott has more success than most. When in public he is often mistaken as a writer with words in The Yard Lab, Free Flash Fiction, The Cranked Anvil, Scaffold Literary Magazine, Dark Holme Publishing, and Prosetrics, much to their chagrin.

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The bullet tore through her chest before she could say her name, and for one brief moment I wished I had waited just a few more seconds before pulling the trigger.

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David M. Simon is an ad agency creative director by day, writer and illustrator by night (and weekends). He writes for both adults and kids. His short stories have appeared in several anthologies.

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The Bullock Boys called themselves the Bullet Boys when they were running guns, so it was a foregone conclusion they’d die in a hail of ironic bullets when the feds caught up with them.

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Keith Roysdon is a Tennessee writer whose 1984-set high school crime novel THAT OCTOBER was published in June 2025. His crime novel SEVEN ANGELS will be published in 2026.

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Ed used most of his bullet money to buy a fancy carnation to look sharp at the funeral, after all, it only took one.

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Scott MacLeod is a father of two who writes in Central Florida. His work has appeared recently in various publications, with more forthcoming. His Son of Ugly weekly flash fiction newsletter can be found on Substack at

https://scottmacleod1.substack.com

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I never fancied myself a painter, but here I am, doing my best Pollack in the snow, red paint scattered on white canvas, all for money I’ll never spend and promises that died as soon as they left her tongue.

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Lawrence Kithcart lives in Monroe, NC with his wife and kids and animals. His work has appeared in Punk Noir and Trash Cat Lit. He tries to read a short story a day and writes when he can steal time.

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His wife was at the party, his kids, and all of the skips from across the five boroughs, but the only real surprise was when his younger brother – three days fresh from a six-year stretch – stepped up and fired the first bullet.

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Edward Barnfield is a writer and researcher living in the Middle East. His stories have appeared in Rock and a Hard Place Press, The Molotov Cocktail, Third Street Review, Punk Noir, Third Flatiron, Galley Beggar Press, Shooter Literary and Triangulation, among others. He’s on Bluesky @edbarnfield.bsky.social.

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From the editor:

I’m going on Winter Leave now folks but just wanted to say ‘thank you’ from the bottom of my rotten scarred heart for all the love you’ve shown PN this year. Trying not to piss and moan too much but I’ve been through a bit of a war these last 18 months with my health which has completely sucked all of the oxygen out of my own writing endeavors for the time being but this scrappy little magazine and the support you lovely people have all shown has kept me in the game.

A Massive thanks also to M. E. Proctor and B. F. Jones for guest editing kick ass themes.

Thank you to all our readers

&

Wishing You All the Best for 2026

~ Stephen

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