My father-in-law will probably die of Covid-19 tonight. My wife and one of my daughters are at the hospital. There’s a limit on how many people the hospital will let in and thus, I’m not.
I will probably write for a while. I am home alone with nothing better to do. However, if they come home before I’m done, I’ll stop writing and will probably use whatever I’ve finished as part of Monday’s update.
I don’t have a story in this Pen & Cape Society anthology, but many other writers I like do.
It combines the pulp period with GoldenAge superheroes in a tribute to the beginning of comics.
Above Hideaway
I walked through the spartan hallways of the flagship under pale blue lights. End of the hall, a hexagonal automatic door hissed open. I stepped on the lift. A young woman in a command jacket moved over, smiled, called me captain. Long brown hair, blue eyes. The same as mine. That’s what I hate about coming home – hard to tell who I’m related to. Half the crew probably shares a little DNA with me.
“Deck seventeen.”
“Yes sir.” She pressed the button. Continue reading April Fools!
I started posting Legion of Nothing on November 8, 2007.
Crazy, eh?
It all started with a phone call. Most things inevitably do these days.
Wait. Wait. I need a do-over.
It all ended with a phone call. Most things tended to these days. Ah. That’s better. Hendrick Hahn was lying on the bed in his hotel room when he got the call.
‘Hello.’
‘What do you want?’ Hendrick Hahn channels his inner asthma when he speaks.
‘Got a job for you. Great Lakes. The target is the Grand Lakes Heroes League.’ Continue reading April Fools Day Post: The End
As you can guess from the title, we’re returning to a normal posting schedule tomorrow.
I hope you enjoyed getting a window into other writer’s worlds, and I hope you’ll check their stories out. I know that one of the things that really helped me early on was a link from another writer. With any luck, I can do the same for them.
East Cape, South Africa
Saturday, the 8th of January, 2000
7:15 p.m.
Nine years, eleven months, and twelve days before the Pulse
Such a beauty. Maybe I’ll name you, Jordan Steyn thought as he carefully lifted the Musgrave hunting rifle off its hooks above his bedroom door. He enjoyed the feel of the metal and the smoothly polished wooden grip beneath his fingers. They assured him that he wasn’t helpless farm kid anymore. Unlike most boys his age, Jordan was ready to assume the responsibilities of life. Ensuring that his fingers were nowhere near the trigger, he walked across the room, pushed his school books aside, and set the rifle down on his desk. Old man Steyn had made it clear that he didn’t want his sixteen-year-old son to keep his Christmas present loaded, but Jordan figured his dad would never know.
Dad isn’t going to check, Jordan reassured himself. So as long as his best friend and confidante Steven kept his mouth shut, everything would be fine. Continue reading “5.8 Interlude (Samael)” from “Anathema” by Chrysalis
Jilly was in a daze.
The military schtick wasn’t for her. What with the siren stirring her from too little sleep and the general demands on personal time. It was the price, though. Hypothetically, it was all worth it. Just had to stick it out.
She lurched around her apartment, past her work area and blackboard to the kitchen. She touched the light switch and stuck a cup under her coffee machine. Turned an eye to her wrist and a holographic clock flipped on.
Eight minutes, she remembered. Continue reading “Damned I” by Shaeor
Today is my birthday, so there will be a couple more days of guest updates as I’m not writing tonight.
Next official update is Thursday.
In case you’re wondering what I did on my birthday, I’ll tell you:
I spent most of it putting away camping equipment. It rained while we were leaving this morning, so everything was wet when we got home.
You might be happy to know though that in addition to kayaking, waterskiing, visiting relatives, visiting friends, and practicing a little bass guitar, I also managed to plot out an “original Heroes League” story. I have no idea when it will appear, but it will.
“You need to do something about the power failure at the hospital! OW!”
Carrie Waterson grabbed the side of her head at the same time as her double. The second Carrie then vanished from Chartreuse’s bed, making Carrie wonder if she’d imagined seeing her other self in the first place. Though the lingering headache implied she hadn’t.
Carrie turned to her classmate. “You saw that too, right?” Continue reading “Power Play” by Gregory Taylor