James Pyles's Blog, page 214
February 20, 2017
Going Home
Sarah and her children had arrived at the airport by Amtrak. Against her better judgment, she’d let six-year-old Sam and four-year-old Kate order meals at the nearby McDonald’s. They were going home, the only real home she’d ever known. Her husband Ben had never liked her parents. They’d always seen Frank for who he was. […]
Curse of the Rising Mummy
The Eleventh Story in the Adventures of the Ambrosial Dragon: A Children’s Fantasy Series It had been almost a week since Landon had first encountered The Mysterious Mummy, and in spite of the initial scare he had gotten, the eight-year-old’s visit to Cairo seemed more or less ordinary. Okay, it wasn’t ordinary. He was visiting […]
February 19, 2017
The Summoning
Raul’s aged uncle found the dragon toy in an obscure curio shop in Venice. His nephew Raul loved dragons, so he sent it to him as a present. Sasha, Raul’s sister, brought in the mail after school. Raul saw the return address and took it to his room. If Step-Father saw it, he’d throw it away. Sasha grabbed a snack and […]
February 18, 2017
Cyrille
“Cyrille, we always knew there was something a little different about you, but we didn’t think it was this.” Mr. and Mrs. Johnston were sitting on the sofa in their living room confronting her. They were always kind, but a bit reserved. Cyrille had been renting a room from them for a little over a […]
A Last Look At Home
“I never thought I’d see Chūō-ku again.” “Does it look that different, Hiro?” “I miss the waterways. It’s different, but it’s home.” “I’m almost sorry I brought you here, given what’s about to happen to you.” “You said what happens to me happened over seventy years ago.” “You’ll still have to return.” “And die, I […]
February 17, 2017
The Trap
He was already in a fetal position, but the walls kept closing in. His muscles were stiff and tight from the pressure. He was about to be crushed. He could barely breathe. He wanted to scream, but there wasn’t enough air. “What am I going to do?” It was a desperate thought. “How am I […]
February 16, 2017
The Woman is Africa
It’s been over forty years and I can still remember her. She’s probably forgotten about me completely, and I don’t blame her. I didn’t make much of an impression. “What do you think of it, Jeff?” Diane showed me her completed art project. “Think she’ll get first prize in the Senior Art Fair?” It was […]
The Man Who Walked On Venus
“How’s the weather down there?” Jeremy Howard heard Amy Jefferson’s voice in his ears accompanied by just a hint of static. “Hot.” He chuckled. “472 degrees Celsius. Atmospheric pressure equivalent to being 900 meters under the surface of the ocean. The wind speed is 710 kilometers per hour with gusts up to 750.” “Sounds like a […]
February 15, 2017
Bee Drones
It had been forty years since Eijiro Miyako and his colleagues at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology developed the first generation robo-bees. Pesticides, land clearing, and the effects of climate change had resulted in a steady decline in the bee population. Without bees, many plant species, including crop plants from apples to […]
Redemption in a Playground
I used to be like this junk. Drinking, smoking, a broken plastic person. A terrible father. A worse husband. Disreputable, divorced, self-destructive. But that’s before they were born. My grandchildren. They made me believe in myself because they believe in me. Now the man I was is just like this stuff, discarded. I’m sitting on […]
