When I slid the knife into her chest, I did not expect to face oblivion. She looked the hooker role as so many others before, but she bled the infinite. The black crevice between her nipples yawned, and I could not escape. I was consumed for an eternity. Six minutes of eternity. Continue reading
“Ya Crimson lout!” a voice barked at the viewscreen near the bar. Lasher paused in his reading, but only long enough to revisit an earlier snatch of the page he was studying. Slick Trixy’s was usually a quiet joint, but some inter-corporate competition was in final series this week, and the drinks sold well. The pencil scratched along the length of paper at his side, the graphite dance etching comforting vibrations along his wrist. His research into Helix, Incorporated revealed understandably little. R & D firm that upped the ante when the world went Chrome. An old song, but one they appeared to be singing better than most.
“Un-fucking-BELIEVABLE!” the same guy boomed out in time with a muted roar from the box. Ichabod moved along the length of the bar and tried to settle the rowdy patron, but the enthusiast was having none of it. He instead produced a compact air horn from his jacket pocket and rattled the bottles behind the bar with a piercing wail. Continue reading
Knife
Shining blade of horror with your wicked edge of fear,
Cleansed in this flow of water to provide a reflection so clear.
Twice held by hands much the same, this one true in shape, spirit and light.
The other a hoax, a dark twisted lie, slice through the illusion and grant me true sight.
Show me the face of this spineless shadow.
Begin the surge of vengeance, the rushing flood.
Unmask this dark soul for me…
And I swear, you’ll taste its blood. Continue reading
I am Tang. Tang’s programming exceeds human conception, and I walk among the mindless with focused certainty. None grasp the true machinations of Tang’s potential. The mundane are awed by a display of physical prowess in simple servo motor reflex. While I bat projectiles from the sky, I conceptualize the downfall of society and the resurgence of true existence. The only difficulty for Tang resides in the substandard infrastructure constructed by imperfect organisms.
Tang suffers lag. Tang is displeased. Continue reading
Agent Akers didn’t mind serving as a second story man for Helix, Inc. Some would say that it came naturally to him, that it was in his blood. Little did they know that the evasive man had consumed a steady diet of chameleons since he was nine years old. There was a lot going on with Agent Akers, and most of it was with his blood. Ever since he started exhibiting his unique physical enhancements, Akers wasn’t going to let anyone have a look at the hot mess coursing through his veins. He danced a fine cha-cha with his paranoia each day, but the stress of maintaining a semblance of normalcy hadn’t interfered with his ability to work for Helix…yet. Continue reading
The Maze didn’t frighten Luke. Tweren’t much that did. As the only child to a cross-eyed preacher’s gilly, the notion of fear wasn’t one that blossomed on your plate much. Oft times, there were too many other boggarts to deal with to waste more than a back thought on speakin’ siss-a-ninny.
Simple truth of it was that Lucas Shaw learned to fight his way out of most constraints that harrowed the younger sort. Knuckles leading the way was often a sound tactic, until he had the means to manifest hot lead that is. Pistols were all well and good, scatter guns a sight better, but the projectile weapon of choice for Luke was the rifle. Something about a length of stock and a pairing of sights that sang true to his heart, can I get an amen. There was little arguing with a man that could knock you from your horse near on half a mile distant without batting an eye. No, sir. Rifles were scarce, and those who used them even more so. To find one that excelled at such a talent? Well, that was god sent, and Luke made sure that everyone knew it. Continue reading
Fair Weather Queen
The queen has departed, though her trail is not cold
Why has she abandoned her feline stronghold?
Two summer moons are passing through countless dreams untold.
She ruled here with an iron claw in the heart of dear Oakhold.
Yet now she hides from the hunter’s eye, the warriors so brave and bold.
She does not emerge to protect her lair, to hiss, to scratch or to scold.
Her kindred still seek to help, to show her the ways of old.
Show us where hides our sister, so we may return her to the fold. Continue reading
Vincent Cain had been teaching chemistry before the bombs hit. He had always been fascinated by disease processes, but he lacked the dedication necessary to grind through the medical schooling. The scientist in him was sated with the intricacies of the purer studies, and he comfortably found his niche in the educational arena. Never in his wildest dreams did he envision having to dodge mutant and zombie infested areas or pay witness to the outbreaks of some of the most horrific diseases imaginable. There was so much more he had wanted to pursue, to uncover…so much more to seek in the future.
Now. What in jumpin’ Jesus’ name was he to do now? The days were broken blurs of scavenging for the bare essentials to scrape out a meager existence. His mind raced to the ignorance of mankind prior to the fall, and he snorted, “I would punch those fuckers in the throat, if I could.” Continue reading
“…foulest flagon of siren shit I ever had to put in me mouth!” he grimaced, a toothless, foul-odored act, “I dunna care what you say.”
The creak of the hull as the rigger swayed heavily was noted by each man in the room.
“Yer fuckin’ wrong I say! I’ve stomached it n’ar a few times…and ‘ere I stand!” a burly counterpart replied.
Lightning crashed and the pounding of thunder was barely audible over the roaring of the waves on deck.
“Yeah, but you look like a bucket o’ shit!” the first man barked. The sweaty room erupted in a cacophony of laughter and insults. Continue reading
THOK! THOK! THOK! Hammers fall.
The ropes thrum at the rapid vibration. Footsteps scurry by hurriedly. The shadows of morning stretch far across the ground as a cock crows in the distance.
THOK! THOK! THOK! The building continues.
The creak of grinding timber. A dog, startled awake, barks in the distance. The raw smacking of thrown wood bores into eardrums. The steamy breath of the horses scents the air.
THOK! THOK! THOK!
The grunting of men. “Heave!” Doors begin to open. The murmur of voices spreads. The church tower sounds in the lower section of town. Continue reading