It isn’t about feeding lasers to all those invading aliens, dishing out smith-forged steel to those marauding goblins. It’s about being the woman behind the smoking barrel; the female that grips the rawhide hilt. When she puts down the laser pistol, the gleaming, blood-soaked blade, the adventure persists. The adventure is being the new me—her.… Continue Reading
She could have stopped having a drink if she cared. If anyone cared. But she didn’t see much point in caring and neither did anyone else. When Attica was young, she wondered why it seemed as though nobody cared if she was around. Then she didn’t much care about being around.… Continue Reading
Men like James don’t know softness, don’t know a whole lot other than work. They still look for God, though. Even after hours on the floor at Honda, they crawl towards church fronts, hungry and tired and missing their wives and brothers and sisters and cousins and mothers. The gods they know during the day are not gentle like the one they are here looking for. … Continue Reading
I’ll tell the paramedics that cruelty happens in slow motion, that this was no exception. I’ll tell them that the moment to cede power was there, and then it was gone, or rather, the moment became something else once their bodies hit the pavement.… Continue Reading
Sisyphus waits for his cowboy boyfriend to call and tell him he’s fucked up, he’s real sorry, he’s on his way. He didn’t mean to send Sisyphus away again, he won’t do it again. Sisyphus is always waiting for the phone to ring, but he always has to be the one to call. Sisyphus always calls.… Continue Reading
Mom said the Lord blessed me with a gift that would make people who loved me happy and people who mistreated me dead. … Continue Reading
It wasn’t so much the shouting that scared as the menace sitting eagerly behind it, the sense the cocksure sergeant and the corporals who took his belligerent lead could act like this with impunity with buy-in right up the chain of command. Menace was the modus operandi indoctrination through intimidation, with a generous side order of humiliation.… Continue Reading
I told him the luckiest, bravest kids get dragon teeth instead of normal, adult teeth. I told him that dragons have big hearts like his, that need extra protecting. That’s why their teeth are sharper and stronger and longer than human teeth. Usually, a dragon about his age just needs to show his new teeth, and the threat will run away terrified. But if that doesn’t work, you need to bite. You need to bite down hard.… Continue Reading
If the Grabber existed, you’d hear its strange sounds created by those slight movements and the thoughts you’d think would be enough to reassure you that it was not the Grabber. It was a creaky swing set. That’s what. Not even a dying animal. A swing set. And there was never any reason for fear or the instinct that compels a human’s flight from danger, to be allowed its running wild.… Continue Reading
Where was this promised land? One melted doll in the high desert sun. Mother was old when she died. But she rose again and became a laughing, walking, talking living doll, even loving like a sweet sixteen in one of the allies. Here he was with his friend, Omar, to buy another doll. That would’ve been pleasing if he could, yet he could not choose one.… Continue Reading