Dylan was having a not-pleasant-at-all flashback... ----- Chapter 5. New York City, 1980 Darkness gave way to awareness and a tight, painful feeling in his chest. Slowly, Dylan cracked open his eyes. He was lying on his side, in tall grass, back up against a small hard surface. Three tall shadows stood around him, two nearby, their reflective silvery eyes focused on him. The third stood a few feet away; he drove a shovel into the earth, and scooped away heaps of dirt as he dug a shallow grave. Struggling for breath, Dylan [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 9
February 19, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Captain Varan is having a tough workday... ----- Chapter 9. Varan: I refuse to let this beat me. "No, Z..Zakhla. I'm okay. Just… don't move too quick, okay?" I saw my old friend in a haze of sinister double vision; a part of me, the part that was focused on the job of finishing the readjustment of the combat simulation contact generator, recognized the old tilt of the head, the lopsided way Zakh held his second manipulator pair whenever he was worried, the way the light played on the lenses of his eyes. I could see how worried and [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: Revelation, Chapter 8
February 16, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Taelin Mel'Tasne had been sent out on a mission... ----- Chapter 8. Taelin: "Frankel! Good of you to meet me here." Taelin glanced around, verifying that no one else had come with the Station Monitor. His scanners blinked a silver confirmation directly to his retina, showing that all security monitors were also switched off. "I could hardly do anything else," the Monitor said with a small smile, "given who sent you." He also glanced around, but his was the look of a security man uncomfortable with having to be [ Continue reading... ]
French Roast Apocalypse: Chapter 4
February 15, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Dylan's about to have a flashback to a not-very-happy day... ----- Chapter 4. New York City, 2010/1980 Didn't I promise myself I'd never drink the blood of others? Dylan thought to himself. Immediately his brain responded, This blood is donated, from volunteers. It's not like I'm eating from a fresh kill. It's fine, and I really need some tonight. Yeah, good work on that rationalization, brain, Dylan thought, as he stared at the Doc Sacco's patio garden and thick vine covered lattice. The ghoul lived in a basement [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: REVELATION, Chapter 7
February 14, 2018 By Leave a Comment
And now we see Varan from another perspective... ----- Chapter 7. The Eönwyl: The Commander's face was pale, even with his naturally dark coloring. He wasn't injured that badly physically, but there was a reason she was the one doing Vigil and not his shipmates, especially his closest friend among the rest of the crew of Border Outpost Seven. They had seen what had happened to Diorre Jearsen, and – in some ways worse – what had happened when Zakhla, Varan's closest friend aside from Jearsen, entered. They were too close to [ Continue reading... ]
French Roast Apocalypse: Chapter 3
February 13, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Dylan and his friends had just heard horrifying news about Paris... ----- Chapter 3. New York City, 2010 For a moment, the entire table went silent, everyone staring at Douglas. Finally, Dylan managed to speak. "Kilotons… A nuke?" His gut churned. Both Sacco and Daniel looked just as horrified as Dylan felt. "Who in their right mind would nuke the frogs? Not that they've done anything useful. When was the last time they won a war?" "Does that matter?" Sacco said. His face was grave. "What horrible news." He [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: REVELATION, Chapter 6
February 12, 2018 By Leave a Comment
With this chapter, we pass the previous teaser chapters posted years back and enter brand-new territory... and meet a new protagonist! ----- Chapter 6. Taelin: "I can't believe they're calling me in today. What could possibly so sinking important, as Sash used to say?" Even as he recognized that he was sounding too petulant for a member of the Five Families, Taelin was fumbling with his cross-sash. "I have no idea, Taelin," his wife Treyuusei said, pulling his golden hair back into the currently-favored double-tail style and [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: REVELATION, Chapter 5
February 9, 2018 By 4 Comments
Jearsen and Varan were in trouble... (Here we reach the last of the chapters that have been previously posted. This chapter also contains what is probably the oldest unchanged writing in my entire catalog; some of this dates to the early 1980s.) ---- Chapter 5. Varan: Red fire-hammers slammed into the makeshift barricade. Being made of E-steel torn from the bulkheads behind us, it only gave a little, but even that little was too much. As the glare and smoke faded, I saw the sinuous chitin-covered forms winding with [ Continue reading... ]
French Roast Apocalypse: Chapter 2
February 8, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Dylan had sensed something, but didn't know what... ----- Chapter 2. New York City, 2010 It was later in the evening, and after dropping Angelus off at the SoHo Rehab Center, Dylan found his way to McSorley's Old Ale House. It was an old pub, dating back to 1853, and a constant, reliable landmark for the older members of the Rehab staff Dylan had befriended. It was an historic ale house with well-used wooden furniture that had seen better days; varnish was worn away in places, and the tables never had chairs that [ Continue reading... ]
Demons of the Past: REVELATION, Chapter 4
February 7, 2018 By Leave a Comment
So Varan and Jearsen had decided to take the plunge... ---- Chapter 4. Varan: The red target shimmered and exploded just a split-second before the blue. I was, unfortunately, blue. "And that," Diorre said gleefully, tossing back her red-gold hair, "makes it even, Navy Commander Varan." I tried to look offended, but found myself laughing instead. She deserved a little triumph there, as usually I beat her soundly in Doubles Targets. "Yes, it certainly does, Guard Sergeant First Jearsen." Then I pulled her head down the [ Continue reading... ]
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