Patrick Strickland

Patrick Strickland is a writer and journalist from Texas. His short stories have appeared at Pithead Chapel, The Coachella Review, South 85 Journal, and The Broadkill Review, among others. He’s the author of two nonfiction books, most recently including The Marauders: Standing Up to Vigilantes in the American Borderlands (2022).

Content by Patrick Strickland

Fiction,

General Holy War

BY Patrick Strickland

I need to get strong, I think. I do push-ups until I hit ten and do more until I lose count. I do push-ups until my arms can’t work. I stand up again and see myself in the mirror, but I don’t look any stronger. I think hard and long and can’t remember what kind of cigarettes my father smoked.