Stories and Paintings
A nearby burst of gunfire sent a family of cockatoos shrieking away into the night sky. In that moment, to my surprise and great relief, my mind became clear and focused on the job at hand. My bowels, in contrast, responded to the life-or-death situation by attempting an immediate evacuation. I managed just barely... Continue Reading →
Don’t stuff this up. You have one job. Those two rocks. Easy. If anyone comes past those rocks, shoot them. Is the safety off on this gun? Good lord, you’ve checked six times already. Just once more. Yep, it’s off. Don’t worry, it’s a bloody Uzi, the gun they use in the movies. Just... Continue Reading →
As a child I hated playing hide-and-seek. I would make excuses to avoid the game. When I couldn’t avoid it and was forced to play, I would always jump out from my hiding spot as soon as I heard the seeker approaching, rather than wait to be found. I never knew why. Crouched in... Continue Reading →
We walked back along the tunnel, took a left turn and headed up a long, steep ramp. “So, what are the clones going to do?” I asked. “They’ll split up,” said LaShawn. “With them running around, it will confuse Jimmy O’Shea’s men—the clones might even kill a few of them. And, hopefully, they’ll keep... Continue Reading →
Between LaShawn’s fingers oozed a greyish yellow goo. “See,” he said, holding the goo out for me to inspect, “no blood.” I leaned in and peered at the strange substance, then poked it with my finger. “Huh,” I said. “It’s like dough, runny dough.” “Exactly. No brains, no fragments of skull, just this stuff.”... Continue Reading →
We made a frantic exit stage right and bolted. LaShawn and I ran for the trench at the back of the yard, while Rory and Budgie split from us and made for the hills. I didn’t see where Nils went. Gunfire barked and whirred all around, interspersed with shouts and screams. The machine gun... Continue Reading →
A spurt of metallic barking shattered the moment, and three bullets smashed into the base of the stage. Any higher and they would have taken out Nils. I froze in terror, wishing not to die, not just yet. “Who was that?” demanded one of the men in black. He stepped forward from the line.... Continue Reading →
There was some mild applause from the crowd. I held down a soft D major chord, making an unattractive key change from the B-flat I had been playing during the introduction. LaShawn brought in a steady rhythm on the hi-hat cymbals. Budgie gave one of the tuning knobs on his guitar a hearty random... Continue Reading →
The combination of the crowd’s rapturous cheering and the overpowering green glare of an overhead stage light had me momentarily stupified. Lifting my hand to shield my eyes, I found my way behind Budgie’s guitar amp and to the keyboard. I adjusted the microphone stand in front of me. On the keyboard’s electronic display,... Continue Reading →
With speed and precision that would impress any seasoned roadie, Rory and Budgie rushed back and forward between the garage and the stage in the backyard, moving in total six amplifiers, three guitars, two distortion pedals, two microphones, two microphone stands, one keyboard, one keyboard stand, a five-piece drum kit, four cymbals, one drum... Continue Reading →
