08 Nov Purgatory
Chapter One: Surprise I lay my hands against the edge of the bathroom sink and stare at my reflection. I could still add a trickle of blood down the corner of my mouth...
10 Jun Vows
“Alice Smirnoff quits, and Bartholomew Brown makes prosecutor.” Shirly sighed as she draped her arm around Bart’s neck. “And to think, Mother said you’d never amount to anything.” “Well, you can hardly blame her.” Bart smirked, letting his hands linger on the curve of her hips....
30 Mar The Cage
Warrior Biting my cheek, I glance up at the clock on the wall. The minute hand crawls out from behind one of the bars protecting its face. Quarter till three. The lead ball that’s been sitting in my chest since Mariana dropped me off falls to...
25 Jul Dream
The Fool Stepping off the gravel path onto the grass, I stop to let my eyes take in the trees draped in vines all around me. Pedro, my youngest grandchild, takes my hand and helps me hobble over to a small stone bench, almost hidden under...
22 May The Journal of Jack Dalante
The sun hangs low in the western sky, painting the jungle in shades of pink and lavender. A cacophony of howls rise lending a primeval aura to the trees. The sounds speak to me. Some deep ache mixing with a fervent longing whispers at the...
24 Apr The Road to Bastrop
Early morning mist wraps the Texas highway like a burial shroud. A red BMW emerges from the fog behind us. I hold my breath and squint to see the license plate in the vanity mirror. It’s from Colorado. I breathe out and lean back in my seat. “So...
31 Mar Hero
I watch my fingers as I curl them into my palms. One by one, I force them to open and close. I see them. I feel the skin stretch under the dried blood coating my knuckles. But they don’t feel like my hands. Not anymore. A...
22 Jan Dryad
I guess if I squint hard, and crank my head just right, that there tree does kinda seem to have curves like a woman. But with the ice coverin’ the glass, Bob’s crap headlights, and the fat nasty pile of...