Liam Perrin's Blog, page 10
February 23, 2017
The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 16
“I call them glimpses,” she said. “The things I see. Like a picture focused on one bit at a time,” she said. “Places or events or sometimes they’re just words, and it’s like someone talking in another room. I can only barely hear it if I’m perfectly still and listen hard. But it’s not like hearing really. It’s more like … remembering.”
She laughed and rubbed her arm.
“My mood seems to matter,” she said. “I don’t like what the glimpses say when I’m sad. I find something else to listen to.”
“Ar...
February 20, 2017
The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 15
He had set out to conquer the world, but the meetings were killing him. As the weapons dealer droned on, his mind wandered.
I should have started smaller, he thought. But where?
He gave the desktop globe a spin. He closed his eyes, waited a moment, then stopped the globe with his finger.
He opened his eyes. His finger pointed to the Atlantic Ocean.
He frowned. He gave the globe another spin, closed his eyes, stopped the globe: Pacific Ocean.
He clenched his jaw. The arms dealer paused. He spu...
February 16, 2017
The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 14
He suspected the dog could understand his spoken words. He suspected the dog could even, on occasion, discern his thoughts. Until today, he suspected the dog primarily used its abilities to acquire more food for itself. But today when he awoke there was a letter addressed to him, written on fine parchment, sealed with wax, embossed with a small paw print.
February 13, 2017
The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 13
The tiny ship hurtled toward the sun. Inside, five figures stood silhouetted against a glowing containment field. The ship began to shake. Tools rattled. Lights flickered. Rivets strained and popped. One of the figures raised a scarred arm and spoke.
“It ends with us, my friends,” it said.
The tiny ship became an orange-hot ball. The ball became a fiery yellow stream. The stream collapsed into a white-hot core and plunged into the sun.
Time passed. The universe was silent. The Sacrifice of th...
February 9, 2017
The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 12
“Do you know what bothers me the most about this?”
He did not. There were a great many things that bothered her. And what bothered her the most about any one of them at any given moment depended almost entirely upon, as far as he could tell, the weather. And since there were no windows here to look through nor doors to open nor radio to listen to that would tell him the weather, and since admitting that he did not know what she was thinking would set a match to the dry-wood scaffolding so rec...
January 19, 2017
The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 11
“That was the last one,” she said. Her lip quivered.
He stooped down and spoke softly. “Balderdash,” he said.
She frowned and raised her chin, looking him in the eye. “That was the last one, and you took it.”
With her hand on her hip and her accusing finger she looked so much like a cartoon of a girl that he could barely keep from laughing. In fact he couldn’t, and when a giggle escaped she gasped, punched him in the chest, and stomped up the gangplank.
He straightened himself, inverted the s...
January 18, 2017
The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 10
Day 3.
Because I cannot bear to speak these things aloud, nor record the details of my dereliction, I will write to you in allegory. My hope is that the substance of my struggle will be of some little help. The short of it is this: I set out 3 days ago for home. My hope passed this way some years ago, and it is said my trial is a mere 40 days in length. It is a barren and dangerous land in which I venture. It belongs to others. I have failed the task before, returning always to the Line. This...
January 17, 2017
The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 9
“That can’t be good,” she said.
He followed her gaze. “Oh,” he said. “Oh, dear.” He glanced at her. Her neck was stiff. Her mouth hung open. Her hand was at her throat.
“But why can’t we hear it?”
He grabbed her elbow. “Light,” he said, “travels faster than sound of course. And it’s very, very far away.”
“Oh, well that’s good,” she said, straining to watch as he pulled her along.
High above them, the yellow sun was slowly and quietly exploding.
January 16, 2017
The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 8
He squared his shoulders, set his jaw, and clenched his fists. This time. THIS time would be different. This time ALL of the parachutes would deploy.
He stepped out the door.
January 15, 2017
The Curiously Stunted, Incomprehensibly Disjointed, Perfectly Inadequate Adventures of Nicholas Cornelius Holloway – Episode 7
It perched atop the hill outside of town. A perfect field of tall, golden grass swayed beneath it.
It shifted. Glossy scales scraped like metal sheets. Sun glinted off sharp ridges. Steam curled from charred nostrils. Slowly, with its gaze fixed on Liam, it raised one massive talon.
Liam swallowed.
“Hello,” it said. And waved.
