“Officer, what you mean I can’t pump my own gas?” The shorter man scowled up from his car, biting off his words. The neon sign of the station flickered on and off while the smell of exhaust filled Officer Ortega’s nostrils.
Ortega sighed. “I’m sorry sir, that’s the law in New Jersey,”
Hayden DuPont peeled away the bear’s gut and poked his head into the morning air. Mushy fur sagged as Montana wind sliced through the beast’s opening. Intestines and fluids dripped. DuPont’s breath plumed. Relief flooded his chest.
Alive.
Naked and caked in dried blood, he crawled from the bear’s protective womb and toddled
The desert stretched as far as Ben could see, the horizon disappearing in a haze of heat waves. He touched a hand to his black mustache and attempted to ignore the boasts coming from the man walking beside his horse.
“My men are comin’ for me, marshal,” said Jack Chase. He wore a smile
July 10, 2040
A night like tonight would have shaken me as a rookie cop, but it didn’t seem to faze Aaron Verde. I engaged autopilot on the patrol car. My arms still ached from holding back the teenager. He wanted to kill his father. I couldn’t blame him, given the bruises on his
“Wish it was harder to believe you’re dirty, Ed,” the captain muttered, slapping handcuffs in place. “You made it easy for us.”
The case of laundered bills had given him away, but the insult still rankled.
Ed Johnson stewed on it the whole ride to the precinct, was still stewing as they led him
“You can’t change anything, Tom. You know that.”
I nodded. No one could fight the laws of time travel.
“No matter how much you’re tempted.”
“I know!” I forced my breath to steady. Jacob was helping me, against all rules. All reason. He was not the enemy. “Sorry.” I swallowed. “No matter what,
The door flung open before Marshal Roland Chadwick could finish pouring his morning coffee. The frontier town’s lawman, Sheriff Tiller, was away on his honeymoon, so Chadwick had offered to substitute. He sat at the sheriff’s desk, reading a worn copy of Emerson.
“Well?” the intruder asked, striding toward Chadwick with her dress swaying
You okay? Eli’s voice tickled Iris’s mind.
She rubbed the itchy spot behind her ear where the purple telepachip had been inserted. Just nervous. About the dive, about this new telepathic technology…
He chuckled. Aren’t you a pilot?
She glanced out the plane window at the clear lilac-blue sky. Somewhere, thousands of feet
I’ve always considered brevity to be blue. A concise plan, a neat introduction, and a minimalist finish—all speak of a calmness I adore.
Brevity is my greatest ally and my greatest foe. I speak in short sentences. I punctuate my speech with thoughts about the environment—the clues reside in the latter,
“Psi Team Leader, this is Command. Perimeter is secure. Go.”
Seeker Soren Pentam activated his helmet camera and radio. “Copy, Command.” He pounded the door with a gloved fist. “Tomaz Blue, this is the Protectorate! We have a writ for arrest and search!” He paused, counting seconds. His teammates, Enforcers Fennik and Jacosett,
Ramona had lived in the Fairdale Lodge for most of her fourteen years. She prided herself on meeting all the guests as they checked in.
So, when she stepped into the lobby, she was delighted to see Bobby, the hotel manager, with his mothy pork pie hat askew, handing room keys to two men
The Colt revolver’s song echoed through the barren terrain as gun smoke mixed with heavy snowfall. Marshal Roland Chadwick holstered his firearm, grimaced, and spat, watching bloody saliva crystalize and disappear into the white earth. The image reminded him of a disfigured candy cane. After all, it was Christmas Eve.
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