The hem of Anne’s dress draped over a box of TNT. She’d been sitting in the shade of the wagon for most of the day while her father drove the horses forward. The flat plains had given way to the Black Hills mountains and the scent of fresh pine was … Continue reading
In her final will and testament, Jamie Norris stated that her remains were to be cremated and pressed into a diamond. It only made sense with her line of work. The clear mineral had been the focus of her labor for the better part of a decade. It didn’t matter … Continue reading
On the hard pan of the Atacama Desert, Sol is the only god. The star’s brutality breaks the most stubborn of men and creatures, who have largely left it uninhabited. It’s more likely for a man to run into his own death than water. If the same wanderer happens to … Continue reading
If America had a quintessential smell, it would be found in the winds over the farmlands of the Midwest, in the summer’s heat against the backdrop of entire horizons filled with corn and grain. It’s in the sweet smell of water in irrigation ditches that give life and sustenance to … Continue reading
The only way to build a utopia is to destroy the dystopia. It’s like a long term construction project on uneven ground. It takes time to set the foundation, to clear out the very particles that cover the bedrock. Unfortunately humanity had been more like a mountain than a glimmering … Continue reading
In the mouths of children, the words “snow day” are sacred. It’s uttered in prayers, but hardly ever aloud. To speak it might jinx the gods of snow and school cancellation. When the 5 AM phone call blasted through the house, little Anna bolted upright in her bed and dove … Continue reading
Count Arlovski stared at the portrait that dominated his bedroom wall. The young man in the image was pale, but full of action and vigor. Long hair was strapped tight in a bun and a rapier was held in an outstretched hand. The military garb of the time wasn’t his … Continue reading
The liquid in the bucket was a bright crimson. Not quite blood, more of a Marlboro or sports car color. Julius resented that dye cost too much because it looked a hell of a lot more like blood and that was the point they were trying to make. Symbols were … Continue reading
The steel scaffolding of the oil rig surrounded the divers, encasing them in the skeletal spine of the structure. Time mattered down here in different ways. Cognitively Ricky knew that it was just past noon on the surface, and that the hot gulf sun was beating down on his friends. … Continue reading
The crystal ball in the center of the table was a sham. The velvet red curtains, the attire that looked like it was stolen from the closet of a pirate, it all made for the ambiance Barlow wanted. The sign on the door was marked in symbols that he found … Continue reading
