The Strength of the Pack Part III: Silent Night Snow settled in Connor’s hair. Wind whipped at the thin, dirty shirt he was wearing and he lifted his hands automatically to warm them with his breath, even though the cold did not touch him. He was used to the cold and embraced it; numbness kept … Continue reading The Strength of the Pack: Part 3
Category: Story
The Strength of the Pack: Part 2
The Strength of the Pack Part II: The Scent of Fear Fireworks exploded in the night sky, stars and rockets in a myriad of colours crackling into nothingness to the admiration of the crowd below. It was a little overcast tonight, by comparison to the clear blue sky of the day, but the cloud cover … Continue reading The Strength of the Pack: Part 2
The Hands of a Healer
The Hands of a Healer Sam woke from his usual dreams irritable and tired. He looked at the alarm clock by the bed out of routine, rather than from a wish to know the time. Sunlight circumvented his attempts to block it out by creeping around the sides of the blinds and over the top … Continue reading The Hands of a Healer
The Island
The Island Jessica ran towards the edge of the lake, fallen acorns and old pine cones kicking up from her shoes. Grasshoppers leapt away from her rampage through their territory and butterflies swirled in the air, dancing their incomprehensible steps about her head. She ran for all she was worth, hair tied with blue ribbons … Continue reading The Island
The Strength of the Pack: Part 1
The Strength of the Pack Part I: The Best Laid Schemes He felt his hands slipping from the drainpipe but there was nothing he could do to prevent himself from falling. Bushes enveloped him as he fell, going over on his ankle and sprawling face down on the lawn. Laughter came from above. Connor looked … Continue reading The Strength of the Pack: Part 1
Recycling
Recycling The sun blazed brightly behind the cloud cover, turning the whole sky into a light box. Despite the glare of the sunshine, rain still sleeted heavily from the sky, sending humans scurrying for cover in shop doorways or huddling under umbrellas. Miniature rivers coursed in the gutters, converging into great lakes where the overworked … Continue reading Recycling
A Fox in the Night
A Fox in the Night Rufus awoke shuddering from a dream in which he had been running down twisting passageways in a cave formation. The curtain billowed in the breeze from the window, open even though it was well into winter. Cold sweat on Rufus’ skin turned colder as the draught hit him, but he … Continue reading A Fox in the Night
The Nightwatchman
The Nightwatchman Harry opened his eyes with a jerk, the faintest feeling of his head touching his chest cutting through the smoke of a dream. He could not remember what the dream had been about; it was still there, lurking at the back of his mind, but it refused to be pressed into the light. … Continue reading The Nightwatchman
The Storm
The Storm Huddled in the small porch of a hotel, Ben frowned at the weather and mentally measured the distance from the door to his car. Rain sheeted out of the sky, falling in a torrent that seemed ignorant of the fact that it was late June. Over the sound of the raindrops forming channels … Continue reading The Storm
Taking the Fifth
Taking the Fifth Ba da ba daa. Sandy whistled Beethoven’s Fifth to himself as he walked purposefully through the market. It was early morning, the grey light of an autumnal dawn spread itself tentatively across the narrow streets surrounding the open market place. The traders were already here, tying tarpaulin covers to metal structures that … Continue reading Taking the Fifth
Nick Palmer 