James Pyles's Blog, page 163
February 27, 2018
When David Met Ana
“King’s Day, Ana?” “King’s Day, David.” The young couple was standing near the base of the Queen Wilhelmina Windmill at the western edge of Golden Gate Park. It was their third date and after brunch at the Cliff House, they decided to go for a walk. Ana Janssen was introducing David Silverstein to one of the […]
February 26, 2018
Dead Man’s Life
I’m dead. I used to be a man, a husband, Dad, Grandpa. Now I’m a corpse. Maybe my body is still lying in the hospital bed where I died, maybe it’s at the Funeral Home by now, or it could even be six feet under. I can’t tell how much time has passed since time […]
Let it Bleed: The Diversity Wedding
She sat there drinking her tenth cup of coffee while watching the sunrise’s sickly yellow light piercing her kitchen window. “Why did this have to happen to me?” Rosie stood up leaving the remains of her breakfast on the table and walked down the hall to use the bathroom for what seemed to be the […]
February 25, 2018
The Wraith and the Child
It must have been his surgery that caused the nightmares. He always found himself in the dark alone. No, not quite alone. There was another presence, something hiding in the shadows. The Wraith. “What do you want? Where are you?” He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He was sweating. “Don’t come near me. […]
The Momentary Sojourner
The long neglected boards of the path moaned like a ghost in torment under his boots. This was no longer the real world or at least the one he lived in. Ahead, perched on a rock outcropping was the owl, but not quite an owl. “Who? Who? Who are you?” Its cry was only slightly […]
February 24, 2018
Doom in the Maze of Dreams
Landon kept walking down, down, down the endless, onyx spiral staircase when he stubbed his toe or should have. It didn’t hurt. “Hey. Wait a minute. I know what’s going on. I’m dreaming. I’m having a lucid dream. Cool. That means I can control everything.” Great. I think I’ll fly the rest of the way […]
Retrieval
“We’re going to have to delay exploring the base of the escarpment until Reggie and Austin repair the lander’s main engines.” I don’t want us to encounter anything out there we can’t runaway from in a hurry if we have to.” Captain John Weiss was addressing the other four crew members of the freighter “Joseph […]
The Alien Cure
“The healing powers of the thermal springs here at Karlovy Vary have been known since the Bronze Age, Vasnev.” “Oh please don’t mention the Bronze Age, Ross. I have very unpleasant memories from that era.” “I was there too, you know. However we’re not here for our health.” “I thought we were supposed to be […]
February 23, 2018
Aftermath
The Eleventh Chapter in the Undead Life of Sean Becker Jonathan Harker had boarded the Amtrak train hours ago at the station on Folsom Street. He’d never been on a train in his life besides BART and the Napa Valley Wine Train but these were part of the instructions he’d been given. He’d have rather […]
Boots
“You keep saying you’ve got something for me.” Aiming down from the observation deck of the tower, Charles slowly pulled the trigger of the Remington and the first student dropped on the quad. He was surprised that all of the other people down there didn’t panic and run. Maybe if he killed enough people the […]
