The little bastard was going to monologue me again. Beanie was bad that way. He let out an evil laugh before he announced, “The streets will run red with the blood of humans this night!” Then he laughed again.  “Mmm-hmm,” I answered. “You have long underestimated us! You think that we are nothing more than … Continue reading The War of the Rabbits

Jack spoke with the calm, even cadence of a man who knew that he had a thousand soldiers at his back. The officers, who were beginning to think that they just might be former officers, had no choice but to listen to Jack’s speech, tied as they were to the supply wagons facing Jack and … Continue reading A Soldiers’ Home

The West had long been won by the time Ernie found the gun.  The Widow-Lady Edwards had hired him to look after the farm right after her husband died. Her brother Lyle ought to have helped her, but that involved work and that just wasn’t Lyle’s way. Ernie felt bad for Lucy, and she’d always … Continue reading The Peacemaker

You know how the signs here on New Alaska station ooze a certain enthusiasm? “North Star is the Future!” they all say. Pretty much everything else about the Polaris Project is like that. It just makes you sick if you pay too much attention to it, like when you were a kid and ate too … Continue reading Brothers and Sisters

“Your prose is flawless, but this is some seriously sexist shit.”  Betty felt a little bad about the lie that she used to start her critique of Mark’s story, but it was necessary. Mark’s expression went from smug to irate during the course of Betty’s single sentence evaluation. “What are you talking about? The protagonist … Continue reading Senseless Beta Readers