Category: Fiction

Just a taste please….

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So new project.  It’s actually the third book in my Sci Fi Trilogy, this one, Margin of Error, should be done this month, but here is an excerpt…..

 

“Did it come Dad?”

The man walked into the house looking carrying a basket full of envelopes.  “I don’t know yet, I have to get to the table and go through all of this stuff.”  He made his way to the kitchen table and sat the basket down.  Then he took a seat.  The eager boy was standing near him almost fidgeting with excitement.

He reached in and pulled out a stack of smaller letters, then slowly looked at each one, pausing to inspect who they were from.  After a few moments the child grew impatient, “DAD!!”

The man laughed as he set the pile aside, “I was just messing with you.  It’ll be bigger, so it should be on the bottom.”  He quickly took all of the smaller items out and set them off to the side, then he pulled out a pile of larger envelops, document size.  “It should be rather thin.  Most of these are bigger documents, so you shouldn’t even have to look at them if they seem too thick.”  He handed part of the pile to his son and they started looking.

“Here it is,” the boy said excitedly.

“Give it here then.”

“I want to open it.”

“I’m sure you do Brian.  But I paid for it, so I get to open it.  Besides I want to see what

your actual GPA is.”

“I told you already.”

“I know you did, and most of the time I let you handle everything that concerns your education.  Except this is your first real degree.”  He took a letter opener and unsealed the end of the envelope.  Then he peered inside.  Finally, he reached in and pulled out three sheets of paper, leaving the thicker piece inside.  He looked at the papers for a moment.

“Well?” the boy inquired.

“I see an A- here.”

“Yeah, Shakespeare.  I really didn’t like the way it was written.”

The man looked at his son with a frown.

“Really Dad?  Over a dead poet?”

Then he smiled.  “No, I’m just messing with you again.  Personally, I just used Cliff Notes whenever I had to deal with him.”

“Cliff Notes?”

“Like shorter summary versions of books, films, or what not.”

“You cheated?”

“Not technically.  Besides, you’re a lot more capable than I ever was.”

“So, what was my final?”

“Let’s see, 3.95.”

“Aww, I really wanted that 4.0.”

“Next time?”

“Yeah, I mean I have to.  You wouldn’t let me have more than one major.”

“That would’ve added a year or so.”

“And?”

“I wanted you done as fast as possible, so it could be today.  From now on you can triple or quadruple major if you want.”  The man set the papers down, then went to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a large box.  He set it front of the boy.  “Happy Birthday, Brian.”

The boy tore open the box and took out one of the fanciest frames he had ever seen.  “It’s beautiful dad.  Is it 17th century?”

“Good eye.  In the bottom of the box is some matting to help make your diploma fit.  It’s hard to try and find a nice frame from that era to match the size.”

“It doesn’t matter, I love it.”  He ran to his father and hugged him, “Can we put it in now?”

“Of course.”

Brian took the envelope and pulled out the fake parchment.  He held it in his hands and raised it to the window to examine it.  The “University of Chicago” was prominent on the top.  His eyes then moved to “Bachelor of Science in Physics”, finally to his name with the date next to it.  “Awarded this 15th day of July in the Year of our Lord 1981”.

“I liked physics Dad, but why did you want me to start here?”

“Because now you can get to work on the real stuff.  The computers that are coming out rely on the physics for the hardware.”

“But they’re not that good.  Ours are so much better.”

“I know, so now you get to work on your computer studies, and maybe some engineering.”

“Can I go to an actual school now or still from home?”

“Sorry sport, home.  No one would take you seriously on a real campus.”

“I know.  I just thought I’d ask.  He took his diploma and moved to the frame he had just gotten, sizing up what he would have to do to make it fit.  “Dad?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I get something more, um, fun for my birthday next year?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know.  What do eight-year old’s like?”

First part of a story, be warned though!

authorrowlandLeave a comment

Here is a little something I wrote.  Not my first Erotica, but I’m not very good at it so be warned.  It’s also very adult in nature and should be read only if you like this kind of stuff.  Very explicit, etc.

Demons and Lovers

She could only stand still with a growing sense of dread. The storm outside was like her dread, growing, but in a violent way. Her travels had brought her this far with no incident, but now it was all about to change. The only thing remotely close to take shelter in was a house on the hill. An old home, more the size of a castle. She debated whether to go to it or not, but a strike of lightning close enough for her to feel the heat roll off of changed her mind. The wetness of the storm was almost to her bones, or at least it felt that way. Things could always be worse, she told herself, but it wasn’t working and before she knew it her feet were carrying her towards the building that held the unknown.

What had become of her mount, more than that though, her friend. She had raised him from a colt and considered him closer than any person. But alas he was run off into the darkness when a former bolt of light caused a clasp of thunder so loud that it had stunned her and frightened him. Now she was alone in the night, scared, wet, and lost. The foreboding shadow on the hill she was now heading for was the only thing that made sense, good or bad.

The road, no trail that led up to the building was not either in the rain.  It was more of a trail of mud and debris.   The area around the place must not have been in good condition, as weeds, small rocks, and anything else that the slew of water could carry into the formerly matted down path was there, to include larger insects and spiders.  Several of which tried to grasp on to her lower extremities.

She had been foolish the prior morning.  Many of those at the Inn who were local had said it was going to rain, she had not listened and opted for a shorter dress to make her riding through the countryside more tolerable in the heat.  But she did put on longer stockings, which were now acting as something easy for the bugs to latch onto and try and make their way up her legs and onto her thighs.  She swatted at them as she made her way up the small creek, the former path.

Just as she thought she had gotten the last of them she felt her foot slip.  Then her face was wet.  She had fallen into the makeshift stream and was more soaked than before.  She stood carefully, not wanting to go down again in the mud, which also made walking more difficult.  It was so slippery now.  She looed down at herself and saw that her summer dress was clinging to every part of her and anyone from a distance would think she was out in this weather naked in just a cloak.

Normally, she would have been embarrassed, but she was now colder and more miserable than before and continued towards the home or whatever it was.  She finally made it to the front, which had a covering.  A moment of respite from the rain was welcome, but the cold was still with her.  A gust of wind blew fast and low between her legs.  It was so precise and quick that it made her quiver and shake for a moment.  She didn’t know what it was or the feeling and thought she liked it, but then she snapped back before being able to revel in it when the cold hit her more.

She pulled the cloak tightly around her to try and capture some kind of warmth.  Then she walked to the door or gate.  It was larger than most doors but not to the degree that it could be a gate.  The distinction quickly lost its way in her mind as her only thought was to get in and try to not freeze.  A large ring hung on the door.  She reached out and swung it down to knock on the door.  A loud echo boomed through the inside.

She stood, shivering.  Another crack of thunder erupted.  The light provided her a glimpse of the mechanism holding the knocker she had just used.  It was in the shape of nose that was on some sort of monster.  Something she had never seen before, but it looked like something her father had said in the stories that he had told her when she was a child.  She could also see statues to either side of the door that matched the thing on the door, but much larger and with bodies.  The one thing that was starkly different than other statues she had seen was that these ones appeared to be in positions of agony.  Or it might have been ecstasy, she couldn’t tell in the darkness and with only a flash of sight of them.

The temptation to go over and look closer, maybe even touch them came over her.  Something primal was calling to her.  She took a step towards the one on her left and an urge to caress it started to intrude into her thoughts.  Then the door opened.

The figure before her appeared to be an older woman.  She held a lantern in her left hand that hung by her waist, so her head wasn’t clear.  She looked into the building and then at the older woman.  Though her face was mostly shrouded in darkness she could tell that her gaze was on the drenched body before her.  The look was long, almost as the way a wolf at a sheep it plans on having for dinner.

She felt the longing looks had a type of hunger behind them.  It was eerie in a way she had never felt before.  Finally, the older woman broke the silence.  “Dear child, what are you doing out in a storm like this?  Get in here and sit by the fire.”

Without a word she walked inside and then heard the large door almost slam behind her.  The noise scared her, and she stood still a moment.  Then she jumped when a hand touched her back.

“You are a skittish thing, aren’t you?” the old woman said, “And soaked to the bone.  This way.”

She was led to a fire on the other side of the large entryway and shown a chair to sit in.  She did.  Then the woman continued, “I think we have some old clothes around here if you want to get out of those wet things.”

All she could do from the chair.

The old woman looked at her with curiosity, “If you are mute just nod, but it would make things easier if I knew your name child. You don’t have to say more than you feel you need to though.”

She looked at the old woman, whose face was in full view in the fire light.  She looked kindly enough, and even trustworthy.  Not that she had much choice at this point.  “My name is Tia.  And thank you for taking me in.”

“No, please.  Anyone would have.  It is awful out there and would be a crime to let anyone stay in it.”

“Still, thank you. And what should I call you?”

“Miranda works for me, my dear. You just sit there for a moment.”  Miranda grabbed a blanket from a couch that was nearby and draped it over the shivering Tia.  “I will fetch those clothes now.  There is some warm cider in the kettle in front of the fire if you want some.”  She then disappeared.

Tia saw the kettle and some cups near it.  She reached down and poured one.  As she sat back, wrapped in the warm blanket, she sipped.  The feeling of the warm liquid coursing its way down her throat was wonderful and she was content for a moment.  Then she saw them.

They were hanging there, just above the line of sight of someone who just walked in.  The darkness and her coldness made her not look up when she came in originally.  Now that she was more comfortable and was by the fire, the light was able to show her the images on the walls.  Mostly paintings, but a tapestry or two as well.  They looked like depictions of the statues outside.  As if an entire motif was in use for the place.

All Tia could do was stare at the ones closest, those that she could se the most of.  The urge that she had felt to touch the statues outside was returning as was a smaller version of the feeling she felt from the wind that blew on her.  But she knew that she couldn’t touch the paintings, they were too high and out of reach.  Instead her mind was telling her to touch herself in their place.  She wanted to.  She almost needed to.

Her right hand placed the cup, now empty, of cider down while her left pulled up her dress under the blanket.  Then her right hand went to where she wanted to touch.  She had never done it before, but it seemed so familiar and natural to her.  Soon she was becoming wet again, but in a new way.  She looked at the paintings again to refresh her need to keep touching.  That’s when she noticed what looked like several pairs of eyes peeking at her from a far corner of the room.

For a moment she was startled and stopped.  She looked at the corner again, but her eyes were driven back to the paintings on the wall.  It was as if all her inhibitions were now lost.  She started on herself again.  Soon she let go of the blanket and spread her legs in front of the fire.  Her hand started to move faster and faster, she began to feel better and better.  Then she let out a whimper as a feeling of pleasure took her over and she didn’t care who was watching.

After her climax she quickly came back to her senses and sat back in the chair and wrapped herself back up, feeling ashamed.  Miranda reappeared holding some clothes.  She drew closer and saw Tia’s face red.  “Oh, I really had hoped you would have warmed up faster.  I was afraid you might have gotten sick or such out there.”

Tia looked down, embarrassed.  Then Miranda looked down and saw drops of something on the floor.  She spoke as if she knew what had happened, “Don’t be ashamed of it darling.  This place has an effect on people of a, um, passionate nature.”

Tia looked up at her and a kindly look greeted her as Miranda held out the clothes. “Change into these and you’ll feel much better.  There is a room over there you can use.”  She said pointing towards the corner where Tia had seen the eyes.

She hesitated to get up.

“Is something wrong dear?” Miranda said.

“Um, I thought I saw someone watching me from over there.”

“Oh, them.  Don’t worry about them.  They are always curious when we get visitors.”

“Them?”

“Our children.  As long as you aren’t mean to them, they’ll be fine and stay out of your way.”

“Our?”

“My, you do have a lot of questions.  Yes, myself and the mistress of this place.  We take in those that others don’t want or those that we can offer more to than the world they knew.  But save your questions.  Get changed.”

Tia nodded and got up.  She made her way towards the corner and saw a door.  She opened it and went in.  The lantern in the room was brighter than the one Miranda had greeted her at the door with.  It was a large washroom and was almost fully revealed to her by the light.  Across its walls was a mural similar to the paintings that adorned the walls in the main hall.  There was almost no time before she felt the urge again.

She set the dry clothes on the basin and then took her own off.  Instead of changing though she grabbed the lantern and walked around the room to study the art in detail.  The images were of things she had no idea of, but that seemed to awaken carnal desires in her inner self.  There were things happening that she could recognize.  She knew of them because of things her mother had explained to her recently.  But the things partaking in the images were not all human.

They had human traits.  The men depicted were normal, some well-endowed, or so Tia thought.  Having never seen one in person made it hard to say.  The women, or what Tia thought were women were in various forms.  Some had wings, some horns, others fangs, and still others hooves as well as in various combinations.  They seemed to be partaking in the acts reserved for married couples.  Some of the art depicted many of them doing those things all at once.  Tia didn’t understand it all, but it was driving her to want to touch herself again.  The eyes of the feminine creatures seemed to be looking at her.  At one point she swore a pair even blinked.

Then a whispered voice from no where seemed to say, “Go ahead.  You know you want too.  It felt so good the last time.  It will be better this time.”

She didn’t need the voice, she had already planned on it again.  Tia laid the blanket out on the floor and with just her stockings on she lay down.  This time she spread her legs far apart and used both hands to touch herself.  She was wet once again, and it didn’t matter.  Now her eyes were open, and she was looking at the mural as she started to climax.  The art drove her more and more to want to feel better and better.  The added thought that the women in the pictures were watching her made it even better.

Soon her back was arching, and she was screaming, but didn’t realize that she was.  Finally, her back lowered and she could feel the soaked blanket beneath her.  She didn’t care.  She felt better than she ever had and more relaxed than she ever thought possible.  She laid there, still moaning and licked her fingers.  They tasted amazing.  She had no idea how long she had been here and how many times she had finished. And she didn’t care.

Vampires Chapter 3

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Chapter 3 – The Discovery

Greg pushed his cart down the sidewalk.  The streetlamps along the road gave off enough light for him to conduct his business.  He liked to go out in the early morning before the streets filled with people and cars.  It was quiet and calm.  He hated to interact with all the others once they appeared.  He made a conscious choice to avoid them whenever possible.  It wasn’t so much that he was opposed to people, but the way that they looked at him when he was out was uncomfortable to say the least.

The moonlight was enough to show his surroundings tonight as well.  It was a good night.  He liked the four o’clock hour.  All of the bars had closed and most of the more undesirables had called it a night as well.  It was a good time to collect the cans and other things that lay out in the dark world.  He would then take them to their respective recycling locations when he felt he had enough and then be able to get his essentials, food and cigarettes.

It wasn’t the life that he had planned for himself, he didn’t think that anyone in his situation had set out to be in it, but if one was able to adapt and learn it was surprisingly satisfying.  The key was to come to terms with it.  He had been in the dog eat dog world once and the stress had almost killed him.  Now he was happy to get by.  Between the parks in the spring and summer and the various shelters in the colder months he got by rather well.

The one thing he didn’t like was when those around him had a sad ending to their stories.  Those were mostly the people that couldn’t take being homeless.  Sure, there were a lot of addicts among his population, but they usually kept to themselves.  It was still depressing when something happened to them though.  That was another reason that Greg really never got close to anyone.  The thoughts of past friends that had moved on before he decided to become a loner came back to him as he entered the alley just to the side of The Shiny Badge.

It was a cop bar, but cops, on average, could get a little rowdier than most at times.  He also had an arrangement with the owner.  Greg had been his ears and eyes on the street for a few years when he was still a cop.  In return he had helped him out a bit, and now he left out whatever cans he had when he closed the bar at night.  Greg was here to pick those up, but on his way, he stopped at the dumpster to take a look.  One never knew what they might find.

The coat that he was wearing he had found in one about four blocks away the year before.  It had a hole in it and was covered in something.  Thankfully Greg had a sewing kit and just had to wash it.  Most likely it was just some spoiled kid who drank too much and stumbled, catching it on a door or something.  His standards resulted in it being discarded, and it became Greg’s win.  So, he lifted the right-side lid on the dumpster and looked in.  After a few minutes he determined that there was nothing of value in it.   He closed it and pushed his cart.  Then it stopped.

Greg tried to push a few more times, then finally went and looked at what was stopping it.  There was a pair of feet blocking the front wheel.  He leaned down.  He hoped it was just another bum like him passed out, but his gut was telling him differently.  His gut was right.

Greg got up and shifted his cart to go around the feet.  He went to the back of the alley and turned left.  The shock was still on him.  It’s not like he hadn’t seen a body before, but the suddenness of this one got to him.  He stopped and took deep breaths, trying to calm down.  He had gotten down and seen most of the body.  The man looked familiar.  He was a local dealer.  Not that Greg had a lot to do with him, but he had seen him around.  At least if it was who he thought, the clothes are what made him think it was who he thought it was.

He finally calmed down and got behind his cart.  Then he went a little further and took another left.  He was going to exit from the adjacent alley.  He thought about calling the police, but he wanted to get a bit away first.  He had to think for a few minutes to retrace his steps from the night.  He knew that if he did call it in that of course they would question him.  He wanted to make sure that someone of some camera could verify where he had been earlier.  If he got unlucky and got some rookie, he could be in for a long night or a rough time.  He had no money for a lawyer or anything.

Not that three hots and a cot for a few days in the county lock up would be the worst thing, but Greg’s biggest worry was his stuff.  If he was gone more than a few hours all of his stuff would be stolen and sold.  He didn’t want that.  There was an old pay phone a couple of blocks away.  It was outside the old bus station.  They moved it when the city decided to modernize itself.  Now it was being converted to fashionable townhouses, but the phone was still there.   He would pop out into the main road and make his way there.  He could have just as easily gone to the station himself, but that would mean a lot of questions.

He slowly made his way up the alley, that is when he saw it.  Another body.  This one was hastily hidden.  Sitting up right behind a stack of boxes that were along one of the walls.  The body was well dressed.  Not someone that would normally be in this area.  Greg immediately suspected that it was someone looking to score.  Then he thought of the first body.  They might be connected, but he wasn’t going to stick around to ponder it.

Now he knew he had to call it in.  But he hesitated.  The new body was right below a light.  The thing that stuck out besides the apparent fact that the person wasn’t from around here was the pair of holes in his neck.  There were small trails of blood right below them.  It was something out of a bad eighties’ horror movie.  Greg just stood there and stared for a long time.  He had never seen anything like it before and it was too odd not to look at.  This was one thing he wasn’t going to tell the cops.

The clothes on the body were a little scuffed, but overall in good condition.  That was odd considering that the man was dead.  It looked as if he almost gave in to his fate.  Anyone else would have fought and it would have shown.  It was all really odd to Greg.  Another thought came into his head, look for a wallet or something.  But the total absurdity of the situation made him shale it off.

Finally, he pushed his cart past the second body and out onto the road.  He made his was to the pay phone and lifted up the receiver.  He hesitated for a long while.  He just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something going on that was out of the ordinary.  In fact, he knew it.  But somewhere deep inside of his mind a little voice told him not to get involved.  Just to call and report it and then to move on.

His fingers made their way to the three digits.  “This is 9-1-1, what is your emergency?”

Greg paused when the voice on the other side finished.

“Hello?  Is anyone there?  Is there an emergency?”

“Not so much an emergency,” Greg started, “But I would like to report a crime.”

“What crime sir?”

“There are two dead bodies in the alley next to the Shiny Badge bar.”

“Are you sure they are dead?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Are you the one that did it?”

Greg was taken aback at the question, “No, I just found them and am calling in to report it.”

“Can I get your name sir?”

“No, I’m just calling it in.”  With that he hung up the phone and started pushing his cart in the opposite direction of the alley.  There was a soup kitchen nearby and they would be serving breakfast soon.  The line would be forming about now.

His plan was to get to the line and blend in.  The cops would get to the scene rather fast, but it would be a while before they started looking around for people.  They had to secure the scene and make sure there was nothing else going on.  That would be their focus and that was the window Greg had to disappear.  It was just too weird, and he wanted nothing to do with it.

Within five minutes after he hung up, he could hear the sirens.  A few more and the ambulances were in the area.  He was in line for a meal by the time they stopped.  He knew they were cordoning off the area.  He felt sorry for his old friend.  His business might be affected by this, at least for a few days.  That meant no cans in the alley for him either until the next week, if he was lucky.

As Greg made it through the line and got a plate of eggs and ham, he decided that he wouldn’t say a word to anyone.  The community liked to talk about what was going on in the area, but this was one of those rare cases where keeping his mouth shut might be better for him in the long run.  He had gotten by for quite a few years by playing it smart, this was just another one of those decisions that was smart in his opinion.

Greg found an empty table, sat down, and ate his breakfast in silence.

Vampires and Chapter 2

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I might say that I was late again to post, but then I realized it’s my site and I’m the boss, so I am never late, I am always on time.  That’s the thing when doing your own thing.  Then again I don’t want to disappoint my four readers.  If one can’t be consistent, then why even bother?

But here is chapter two of the Vampire story (https://wordpress.com/post/authorrowland.com/239 if you missed chapter 1):

Chapter 2 – Retirement

Rodriguez took another drink from his beer.  Before he could even set it down a shot appeared before him on the table.  It was in the middle of the room of the bar, and it was surrounded by at least thirty cops.  He was sure there were more around, but he couldn’t see beyond the number that formed the perimeter.  Then a chant started, “Drink! Drink! Drink!”  he reached down to grab the shot glass, filled with what, he didn’t know.  As he did, he noticed four more next to it.

“Are you guys trying to kill me?” he asked.

“No Rod, they just want to make sure you’re having a good time,” a voice said loudly over the chants.  The man was close enough to Rod so that he could hear.  It was Joe, his partner, no former partner.

“I’ve been at this for almost two hours now, I don’t know how much more I can do.”

“You can stop whenever you want, but the guys will be disappointed.  Besides you got a ride home whenever we call it.”

“Sure, why the hell not.  I was sure I wouldn’t even make it to today.”

He took the shot and slammed the glass down.  Then the next, and then three more times.  None of them tasted the same and he did them so fast he wasn’t even sure what it was that he was inhaling.  When the last one hit the table, he tilted his head back to let it all settle in.  Right about him was the banner, Congratulations on thirty-five years.  It had been a long road, and a bumpy one, but the end of his time as a detective was finally official.

Rod finally put some beer down his throat to alleviate the slight burn that remained from the shots.  Then he looked over at his friend, Joe.  “What are you gonna do without me Rookie?”

“Rookie?  I left that behind me like ten years ago.”

“Not to me.  To me you’ll always be a Rookie, rookie.  By the way are you still coming over this weekend for the barbeque?”

“No shit.  That’s your official retirement thing.  Tonight, is actually about you though and the guys.  The families can wait, now shut up and have another.”  As joe finished his sentence a waitress was placing another round on the table.

“Helen is gonna be pissed,” Rod said as he reached for the first of five in the new round of shots, “But what the hell, I am gonna miss you guys.”  As he downed each drink the crowd around him cheered, each holding their own drinks.  Soon he finished those as well, and then the crowd started to calm down and fall back a little.

“I hope you’ve had time to settle down,” a new voice said.  Rod looked up and saw the Captain.  He was holding a weirdly shaped item, wrapped in newspaper.  A confused look came over his face.  The Captain noticed it.  “Hey, I’m a cop not an artist.  You should be happy I was able to even wrap this thing.”  Those close to the captain started to laugh as they saw the less than good job, he had performed on the item.  He set it down in front of Rod.  “Well, go ahead, open it.”

Rod leaned forward and started to tear off the paper.  Once he was done, he just stared at the thing.  Finally, he spoke up, “It this what I think it is?”

“Yeah,” the captain said, “We got them from Helen.  She holds on to everything.  We got them bronzed.”

Rod picked up what appeared to be shoes but covered in metal and shiny.  On the first it had his academy graduation date and the second had his detective shield on it.  They were mounted to a shoddy base.  “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Joe replied, “We get this is a touching moment for you.”

“No, I have plenty to say, I just don’t what to start with, but none of it’s nice.”  The room erupted into laughter again.  “I swear I threw these things out, they were beyond saving, like Joe.”  More laughter ensued.  It wasn’t the funniest thing Rod had ever said but the condition of the room, mostly drunk, would have laughed at anything about now.

In turn the rest of the room started to set their smaller gifts down.  By the end of the night Rod was the proud owner of several books on fishing, and actual fishing rod, a set of golf clubs, and many ashtrays, even though he didn’t smoke, at least anymore.  After his speech, was excessively emotional and funny at the same time, his partner, former partner, Joe took him to his car.

“I have to get you to Helen in one piece now.”

“What time is it?”

“About three.”

“Did they stay open for us?” Rod asked.

“No, for you.”

Rod looked across the street.  The sign of the bar read, “The Shiny Badge”.  It was so cliché, he thought.  But it was a bar opened by a former cop that was less than three blocks from the precinct.  “That was nice of him.”

“Yes, it was, but don’t get too big a head, he does it for all you old timers packing it in to go play golf and fish.”

“You know Joe, I never told you this, but I hate golf and I don’t fish.”

“No, you never did, but I kind of knew.  I mean we’ve been together just over ten years man.  I’m sure if you ever did either of those things I would have known.  Shit, I mean most of the other guys do and go together when they do.  So, what are you saying?  You gonna donate all that stuff to charity or something?”

Rod looked as his partner as he opened the passenger side door.  He looked so young, at least to Rod.  He could pass for late twenties even though he knew he was thirty-six.  “You were one or two when I got my badge you know that?”

“Yes, I do, you’ve mentioned it more than a few times old timer.”

Joe’s blue eyes stood out to Rod in the little light of the streetlamp that was right there.  His dark hair added to his youthful appearance.  Rod was jealous, he hadn’t had that much hair in over a decade and even then, it was struggling to hang on.  He plopped down into the seat and tried to reach for the door.  The side of the road made the car sit at an angle, just awkward enough for him to have trouble reaching it.

Joe walked around to the other side of his older mercury to help with the door.  “Man, you are wasted.”

“Well duh, you guys kept the shots coming.  What was I supposed to do? Turn them down?”

“Good point.  Now put that damn leg in so I can close this and get you home.”

Rod pulled his leg into the car, with much effort, then the door was closed.  Soon, Joe was back in and they were on their way.  “Take it a little easy on the turns Rookie, I ain’t feeling entirely well.”  Joe put the window all the way down.

“Just don’t chuck up in here.”

Rod looked over at Joe, “You know what really scares me?”

Joe looked over at the old crusty cop, “What?”

“What I’m gonna do now.  So many other guys I knew that retired didn’t make it that long.  My whole life I’ve been busting chumps, now I’m the chump.”

“If you stay active you should be fine.  Besides you have the new grandkid, just chase him around everyday and soon you’ll forget all about us.”

“I don’t think that’ll ever happen.  Shit I still owe you for saving my ass,” he contemplated a moment, “two times.”

“Three, you keep forgetting about that time on Allen Street.”

“Bullshit, I still say that punk was just swinging blindly.”

“Whatever.  It doesn’t matter, you did more for me than I ever did for you.”

Rod looked at him, “No, I just did what a good partner does, that is expected.”

“Maybe, but tell you what, just keep in touch and have me over for your barbeques in the summer and we can call it even.”

“I can do that.”

“Your ribs are amazing.  I burn water, so good food will be more than enough to pay off your debts.” As Joe finished talking, he stopped the car.  They were in front of Rod’s place.

Joe looked at Rod, “I have something for you.”

“Really?”

“You didn’t notice I didn’t give you anything back at the party?”

Rod looked in the backseat at the three boxes of stuff, “I didn’t.  What is it another book on the best golf courses in the Midwest?”

“No, you old fart.”  Joes reached under his seat and handed Rod a box.

Rod took it and opened it.  There was a pistol in it.  He started to tear up, “My old piece.”

“Yup, I managed to snag it before they melted it down, well more like the Captain did.”

“I turned this in like what? Five years ago?”

“As I remember it right, they had to threaten you with an adverse eval to get it off you.  I mean who the hell uses revolvers?”

“It was my first issued pistol; it has sentimental value.  Thanks man.”

“The paperwork is in the bottom, just turn it in to the city to finish the registration.  I mean I thought you’d get a kick out of it.”

“It means a lot to me Joe.  You’re the best partner a guy could have asked for, and not too racist either, for a white guy.”

“Shut up ya fuckin wetback.”  Both the men started to laugh.  “Besides you always had the best Mexican jokes, I couldn’t top them.”

“I guess I’ll see you Saturday then?”

“Of course, now you go see that wife of yours and get some sleep.”

“To be honest I’d rather go back to the bar.”

Both men laughed some more as Rod got out.  “I’ll just drop this crap off on Saturday if that’s okay with you,” Joe yelled at him as he walked up the steps and waved his acknowledgement.  Joe smiled as Rod closed his front door, then he drove off heading home himself.

Vampires and POV

authorrowland1 Comment

Late again.  but to be honest I have been writing a lot of posts at once and then just scheduling them.  T His one is late, but fresh.  So to the point.  I have been trying something different lately and so far so good.  Back in school, like a month ago, I wrote a short story for my fiction class about inter dimensional magical vampires.  It was more of a tell and not show story and was 6000 words.  My plan was to use that for a synopsis for a longer tale.

Thing is when I went to look for it I couldn’t find it…… oops.  So I lost all that.  Now I had to try and recreate the idea from scratch.  It wasn’t too long ago so no real problem, but I did lose a good chunk of a day.  The one thing I wanted to do differently though, and had been thinking about a while was doing a POV approach.  That is with the different chapters following different characters.

Up until now, most of my writing has been third person and following one character.  So a spin is to do various chapters with different characters.  It has been fun thus far.  I also have set a goal of a chapter a day, and five days in I have five chapters and a solid word count.

It’s about setting goals and going with them.  I have had a hard time writing on older projects and being productive each day has literally been a pain in my ass.  This approach has been working and I feel as though I am getting back on par again.  By setting a goal and sticking with it I’m not pushing myself.

I have a nice little outline for the first part of the story and just do it piece by piece.  Once I am done I have a day or so to mull over the next part and how it fits into the overall narrative.  This allows it to stew and integrate any changes that I have made so far.  I still input the things that pop in my head as I write, but also creates a more coherent story.  At leas that’s is what I tell myself.  But it’s working so why not?

So for a treat here is the first chapter, still a little rough, but it works as a stand alone too.

Chapter 1 – The Score

Nelson turned the engine off.  He sat a moment.  He hated this part of town.  He knew he didn’t belong and normally he would just pull up and get what he needed through a simple exchange out of the window on one of the blocks he had passed.  The sad fact was that the police had been cracking down in the last few weeks.  His normal dealer was in the county lock up.  He had managed the last few times to find one of the competitors and get what he needed.  Tonight, he wasn’t as lucky though.

He did know that they liked to hangout at the bar just across from where he was sitting.  There was an occasion or two, maybe even more, where he had to meet his former dealer in the area when he was looking to score outside the normal time.  Since everyone was keeping low because of the increased police presence he thought they would be there.  He knew he would look out of place.  A well-dressed man from the finance world coming down to the run-down area of the city was not the norm.

Nelson sat a few more minutes watching the traffic go in and out of the bar.  He finally got out and crossed the road.  On his way he pointed his keys at the brand-new white BMW and clicked the button.  The alarm engaged and made the sound that they do.  A couple of men out front of the bar smoking looked at the car and then him.  He walked cautiously towards the front door.

His plan was to go in and order a drink or two.  He hoped that someone would approach him, knowing he didn’t belong and maybe offer him what he wanted.  It was a bad plan, but all he had right now.  He didn’t want to just go around asking.  Who knew that they might do if he asked the wrong person the wrong thing?  The door rung when he walked in.  He stopped and looked; it was just a simple bell that was hooked to the top of the door.  Nothing too fancy.

He went up to the bar, “Can I get a Bud Light?”

The bartender just looked at him a minute.  Then reached down into a cooler and handed Nelson the drink.  Nelson handed him a five in return.  He really didn’t like Bud Light, but it was the lowest brand he could think of and he could tolerate it.  He slowly sipped from the bottle as he looked around.  There were a few people in here, not a lot.   The cops must have caused most of the regulars to stay home.

The last time he was out front is looked much busier through the window.  A couple of people he did recognize.  Many other he did not.  He was about to order another beer when he felt a tap on his shoulder.  He turned and saw a man just under six foot looking at him.  Nelson was then met with a smile.  “I take it you aren’t a regular here?” the man said.  Nelson nodded.

The man continued, he was only one of a couple of other white people in the bar, “I assume then that you are looking for something that you can’t find at, shall we saw a higher end outfit?”

Nelson nodded again.

The man looked him up and down for a few moments.  “Your work must be hectic based on the way you’re dressed.  I imagine it blows.”  Then the man winked at him, “I might know how to remedy that, but I for that we’ll need to take this conversation somewhere else.”

Nelson waited for the man’s next move.  He apparently had found someone who was willing to provide what he was looking for.  The man took the glass he was holding and finished whatever it was he was drinking in one gulp, then slammed the glass on the bar, tossed a ten down and walked out of the bar.  Nelson tipped his bottle up, even though it was empty.  After about two minutes, he set it down and exited as well.  As he found his way back onto the sidewalk, he saw the stranger. He walked up to him.

“I have my wares nearby, if you drive, we can be there in a couple of minutes.”

Nelson was nervous but desperate, he nodded, and the two men went to his car and he drove to where he was told.  It was right by another bar, The Shiny Badge.  “Isn’t this a cop bar?” Nelson asked.

“What better place to conduct business, no one would suspect.”  The man got out and went into an alley next to the bar.  There was a lot of noise going on in it, even for the hour.  It was almost two in the morning on a weekday, so the streets were almost empty, if not the bar.  Not a lot of traffic regular or foot was good.  Nelson was sure that no one saw him go into the dark passage after the man.  He was about halfway down the alley behind a dumpster, he was holding up a bag, Nelson moved to him.

“So, what’s your poison?” the stranger asked.

“You were right in the bar, cocaine.”

“Oh, high tastes, I see.  Tell you what, just to put you at ease, I’ll let you have a line right here to know the stuff is top notch.”  He reached into the bag and pulled out a smaller container and handed it to Nelson.

Nelson opened it and saw his beloved addiction.  He dipped his finger in and took a hit, straight up his nose.  The euphoria hit him quickly, “Man that is some good shit.”  He shook a little as it worked its way to his brain.  It had been too long since he had some.  His stash had run out after a tough day at work.  “How much for the whole lot?” he asked.

“Your life,” the stranger replied.

Nelson, still high, looked at the man.  He had a straight face.  The tension was fierce for a second.  Then the stranger smiled.  Nelson, still coming to terms with what the man just said took a moment to start laughing.  Then they both were.  The dealer put the lid back on the container and placed it on the edge of the dumpster.  Nelson was still laughing and moved his hand to wipe his nose.  That was when he accidently knocked the container onto the ground.  He panicked and followed it down.

To his relief it did not spill of open.  He closed his eyes and breathed a moment.  When he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of shoes at the edge of the dumpster, beneath it.  He started to panic again, he followed the shoes to legs and then to a body, then a face, then the eyes.  The empty eyes of a dead man.  He stood quickly forgetting the container.

“Dammit I knew I should have moved that,” the stranger said.

“What’s going on?” Nelson almost screamed.

“I was hoping just a business transaction, but you had to go and find him, so now a double feeding I guess.”

“Feeding?”

“You know I actually like that you found him.  I was planning on just selling his stash to get some money to get out of city, but you look like everything I need.”  He approached Nelson quickly.

Nelson confused and not sure whether to run or scream, then the remembered no one was around.  He quickly ran towards the stranger and elbowed him to one side and ran down the alley away from the road.  He hoped it looped around behind the building.  Then he could make his way to his car and get out of there.  “I am done with drugs if I make it out of here,” he thought to himself as he turned left.

Nelson could see that the alley did turn back towards the road.  As he ran up, he grabbed a stick from a trash can, incase the man went around front.  As the alley was coming to an end, Nelson raised the stick in a defensive manner.  He saw nothing and as he was about to emerge onto the road, he heard a noise from above.  As he glanced up, he saw the stranger coming down.  Nelson fell to the ground.

“Where do you think you are going?” the man laughed as he placed a foot on Nelson’s chest.

Nelson went to hit him with his stick that he managed to hang on too.  The man grabbed it as it was about to make contact and tossed it aside.  Nelson tried to get up.  The stranger wasn’t that much bigger than him, but no matter what or how hard he tried he couldn’t seem to budge the man.

“You are a fighter, though much of a good one.”

The stranger stepped off Nelson, then reached down and pulled him up with one hand.  That is when Nelson saw the fangs.  More than that though.  The stranger opened his mouth as he pulled Nelson towards him and it was normal.  Then fangs grew from his incisors, then they were in his neck.  The pain was quick, then the feeling of life leaving him.  He was tossed to the ground.

Nelson watched as the man went through his pockets, taking everything that he had.  “I like it when you run, the adrenaline adds a little flavor.”  Soon all of his valuables, including the keys to his BMW had been confiscated.  Once that was done the stranger stared at him for what seemed like an eternity.  All Nelson could do was watch; he was too weak to do anything else.

Finally, he was picked up and felt the fangs reenter his flesh.  Soon the last of his life was drained from him and he was tossed again to the ground.  He watched as the man casually walked out of the alley and heard the beep of his car from the alarm being disarmed, then his eyes closed for the final time to eternally stare into oblivion.