Stories and Paintings
I opened my eyes to a vast, star-speckled sky. I don’t know how long I slept; it was still about eight o’clock at night, thanks to the proximal relativity disruptors. For a good minute my brain struggled to make sense of it all—I was lying on a mattress at the top of Budgie’s driveway,... Continue Reading →
For the most part, it went smoother than I expected. Keeping in rough formation, we made our way about the yard in good time. We only had to stop twice for Nils to make some adjustments on the remote. Taking out the first gunman was unpleasant. It was short struggle but a violent one.... Continue Reading →
“We’ve got no weapons, right?” “Nothing. Unless you’ve got something hidden up your sleeve.” “Nope.” “Okay then.” “Jeez, it’s hot.” “Yeah, I’m bloody melting here.” “What do you reckon that thing is? Some kind of laser?” “Dunno. Maybe.” “Oi, pay attention. We’re supposed to be brainstorming.” “I thought you said we had all the... Continue Reading →
Nils and I crept around behind the gigantic blade. I ran my fingers across its sleek surface and found it was somehow both hot and cold, but the hot and cold did not cancel each other out. The night had become disturbingly silent; either the two Rorys and Old Nils had defeated the heavily... Continue Reading →
I knelt for a few minutes beside Ezra, and would have liked to stay longer, but continued gunfire and explosions from the far side of the house reminded me that I had other friends who needed help. I placed Ezra’s hands together on his chest. Robin snorted at me, then her ears pricked up... Continue Reading →
The two Rorys, Ezra and I bolted up the hall. The creaking turned into a screech and grew louder, a heavy thump struck the roof. At the top of the stairs, Robin charged through our midst, almost bowling me over, before descending the staircase in two great leaps. Rory and his clone followed, and... Continue Reading →
After a deep breath, a quick prayer and a firm clench of my butt cheeks, I ran around the front corner of the shed and toward the house. The two Rorys were already there, one crouched at the door, the other standing at the window with his rifle poised. I joined the Rory crouching... Continue Reading →
It was eerily quiet. No gunfire, no tractor tyre engine, no growling rottweiler, no yelling, no explosions. I sat with my back leaning against the shed. One of the clones sat hunched next to me; he did not look well. At the end of the shed the other Rory clone peeked his head around... Continue Reading →
I followed Ezra across the hill—his dog had run off ahead of us (incidentally, up until then I hadn’t realised one of Ezra’s rottweilers was female. I thought since he named them after The Bee Gees they were all male). Through the trees I caught glimpses of flashing lights and fire and what I... Continue Reading →
Ten minutes passed in our small concrete fortress. The air was stuffy. Sweating my arse off under the afternoon sun had gifted me a noticeably stale aroma. Even Rory, usually anointed with a subtle touch of top-shelf aftershave, now had a whiff of old cheese about him. It added an extra unpleasantness to an... Continue Reading →
