R.M. DuChene's Blog, page 14

The Unforgotten

"Mommy...When’s it going to be my turn?" Timmy Newland whined.            The Newlands had been standing in line to see Santa for the better part of an hour and had barely reached the half-way mark. Timmy tried to be patient; he tried to be the best behaving boy in the world, hoping that Santa would decide that he was good enough to give him his most favorite thing in the whole world that Christmas...an actual bike.           ...

Prey for the Children

Eric Thompson barely heard his mother's shout for him to be careful as he bounced out of the back door, his new puppy in his arms. Normally, he would answer her, but that day was different. That day, Eric could do whatever he wanted; that day, was his eighth birthday. He sat the small husky down in the middle of the backyard lawn, stepped back a couple of paces, and began to call for it.
"Candy," he said. "Candy, come here."
The puppy ignored him and wandered along the damp grass, pausing here...

Letters for Kimbellanne

My Dearest Kimbellanne,
It's been weeks since you dropped me off at the unit, kissed me goodbye and then drove off, refusing to look back at me, like we planned. I still keep thinking about the night before, when we were sitting in that coffee shop. You kept asking me what I'd do if I'd been called up. I laughed it off, but now I don't think it's that funny. It's like you knew it was coming.Even after the call, I assumed that it was just an alert. You know how the company loves to alert us, ge...

Goodbye Terry

Terry Drake had been banking with Finicare for many years. The bank had high rates for loans, low rates for savings, and their credit cards didn’t work at over half of the places he tried to use them. The one thing the bank did have, what kept him coming back; was her. Sometimes, he would make up excuses to go into the ancient looking building, just to see her bright smile and pretend to ask her out again. She would laugh off the gesture, remind him that she had a boyfriend, and then complete...

Night Blind

The bright light of the full moon lit up the small bobble-head Hawaiian dancer while it was performing for me, jiggling side to side on the dash board.  In contrast to the glowing moonlight shining through the windshield of my 2008 Yaris, the back seat came aglow from the bright white light that could only be a vehicle approaching me from the rear. I looked into the rear-view mirror and saw two bright orbs approaching. The headlights became brighter as the car closed in. This guy is goin...

The Zodiac Game

Mark Bagley lifted the old man's hip with one hand and pulled the bed pan out from under his ass with the other. After the half-filled human waste receptacle was freed, he placed it gently on a nearby wooden chair, then reached over to the night-stand and pulled out a few fresh wipes from a small plastic container. April fresh, Mark pulled up his pajama bottoms and tucked the blankets around him again.
"3:05," Mark said out loud, as he marked the time off on a small clip-board.
"You're getting...

THE TOURNEY

 Sir Mark Weedley gazed at his foe across the arena. He had come up through the list all morning and now, this one knight was the only thing that stood in his way. Mark had been waiting for this moment for months. His last time in the arena, he had fallen short of glory. This time would be different.
Sir Mark’s squire – James, picked up a heavy looking helmet and sword from the ground at Sir Mark’s feet. He gently placed the helmet on Sir Mark’s head and put the sword in his hand.
“Make...

SPECIMEN 11613

They appeared just above the horizon in the dimness of twilight; two bright orbs of light cutting through the curtain of semi-darkness. The lights appeared to be close together, but were slowly moving apart. Eventually, the headlights of the car were so close that the rest of the world seemed to be washed away in their intense brightness.
The small car was accelerating, barreling toward the intersection at the bottom of the hill; perhaps trying to make it through before the light turned red....

Reflections of Bella

REFLECTIONS OF BELLA
 
Bella and my dad had an argument the night before she vanished. I’m not sure what they were fighting about, but it must have been major because they were yelling at each other.
Just before the house became silent, I heard Bella’s stomping footfalls coming up the hallway, then her saying; “I wish I could just go away!” right before her door slammed shut. The next morning, Bella was gone. She didn’t leave a note or take any of her stuff, she just vanished.
Dad searched...

Proximate Evil

PROXIMATE EVIL
 
James Wynne walked into the kitchen without saying a word to his wife, pressed the button on the Keurig and adjusted his uniform as the machine slowly filled up his coffee cup. A minute later, coffee in hand, he sat down at the kitchen table opposite his significant other - who was busy flinging avian avengers at digitally rendered enemies – and turned on his laptop. After his computer was fully up and operational, James clicked the favorites tab and selected the bookmark...