James Pyles's Blog, page 140
July 7, 2018
The Amazing Adventures of Clayton and Julia
“The hangar lacks any conventional aircraft, but then, we didn’t come here for conventional aircraft, did we?” “Clayton, you’re out of your mind. You don’t even know if it will fly.” “My dearest Julia, it’s been sitting in this rust trap for over half a century, but I’ll bet my right family jewel this thing […]
The Exiles
“Have you ever wondered if we left anyone behind, husband?” The man and woman stood at the edge of a magnificent rock formation, their backs to the lake behind them, and facing the open ocean a thousand feet below. “Like us you mean, Tori? If we have, then we’ve visited a terrible curse upon the […]
July 6, 2018
Bobbie Jo’s Comeuppance
Bobbie Jo wouldn’t know class if it crawled into her knockoff Prada and went home with her. Of course, along with adopting ersatz haute couture, she made everyone call her Roberta after graduating from Einstein University in Sagan City. But a deal was a deal, and since her home colony world Drake had paid for […]
July 5, 2018
Vovin
The bridge between the exile of the Dark Hills and the tree city of the dragons Vovin was massive and ancient. Even the dragons and the elves had no name for it, nor did they know how it was built. It was wide enough to admit six golden dragons the size of Shay and Kaleen […]
The Karma of Rachel Silverstein
Rachel Silverstein found the Torah stifling. She’d been born and raised in Crown Heights, the home of the followers of the Rebbe in Brooklyn, and when she was twenty, she took a sabbatical to study in Israel. “But Rabbi, our traditions and practices are so primitive. I don’t understand why a woman can’t be a Rabbi, […]
July 4, 2018
Warriors and the Sons of Warriors
“People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” -attributed to George Orwell His name is Derek Johnson and he’s a disabled, homeless drunk living in an alley that stinks of piss. He’s also a Marine and a Vietnam vet. The three punks thought […]
Timeless Saint
He didn’t look a day older than the last time I saw him, but that was over forty years ago. He could still pass for a kid of nineteen, but I was almost seventy. I couldn’t believe it when I got the phone call telling me to meet him here. He stood alone as the […]
Warriors
They were just kids and they thought it was funny. He was a homeless Vietnam vet who had his foot blown off. The punks thought they were doing the world a favor by abusing him. I found them a mile away from where they left him and made them tell me where they’d left his […]
July 3, 2018
Kentville
“Grandpa has ears that truly listen, arms that always hold, love that’s never-ending, and a heart that’s made of gold.” –Anonymous Keisha marveled at her first sight of Kentville as Isaiah navigated the steam-driven Fliver-B out of the tunnel and into the morning sun. Like the entrance to the Batcave, the camouflaged doors swung shut, […]
Pushing Back Darkness
“A little bit of light pushes away a lot of darkness.” -Jewish proverb Racquel always felt nauseous when she tasted darkness. Other people think the dark is quiet, serene, and cool, like a summer’s evening, but it was really bitter, hot, and moist like a swamp, and tiny, beastly things swarmed unseen in the ebony […]
