Collar 12 -- Pax Vo Biscum
I gasped and pulled Fletcher tightly into my embrace, feeling him grip me closely to him. The words clanged inside my head:_I think he sold me._ Nothing in my life had prepared me for the horror that I felt from those five words. Even Elizabeth's...
Model Behavior
Emerson wondered if it really was cold in here, or if it just seemed like it because he was clad only in underwear. Specifically, boxer shorts. More than that, boxer shorts that weren't even his. Seated on a bare wooden bench, the only furniture in...
A Single Candle, Part 2
"That sounds as close to impossible as makes no odds." "You're friggin' well told." As a rule, Dr. Newton Augustus Gutenberg did not use such language. This was, he thought, an occasion to break any number of rules. His experience in Chase's quarters...
A Single Candle, Part 1
When the flickering light beneath the door had faded at last, he knew it was over. It had taken longer this time. The red panda, cautious but prepared, waited another pawful of seconds, just to make sure that no more flickers could be seen. Padding to...
A Single Candle, Part 3
"Are you going to tell me now?" "What, and spoil dinner?" Newton offered a rueful smile as he looked over the happy ruins of the dinner that the two of them had shared in Chase's quarters. The coyote had done them proud, with his...
A Single Candle, Part 4
They ended up in Chase's quarters, for reasons of proximity to the lab, size of the room, and the availability of chilled bottled water. Newton had rarely felt more parched in all his life, and he was grateful to the coyote for reminding him not to...
We'll Always Have Coffee
The line never gets either longer or shorter, with the exception of brief lulls that allow the staff a chance to straighten up the place a bit. I know just about all of the staff, on most of the shifts, even when they juggle their schedules around....
Annabel Lee
The day, bright, cool, clear, was not what many would call "proper" for a funeral. It was an anomaly in this rainy spring, being the third in a string of dry days with little cloud cover. The mourners could not help but comment on how beautifully the...
The First Door
"Dr. Spenser? Benedict?" "Here, Zachary." "Why is it dark?" "I just asked you to keep your eyes closed for a little while. Do you feel ready to open them?" "I'm not sure. I have a feeling I know where we are." "We're in two places, Zachary. One is...
Real Love on a Train
I'll say this for her: It was an interesting venue for a break-up. Debbie never gave herself enough credit for her ingenuity, especially in the machinations of twisting the knife. She's a vixen, and the daughter of an alcoholic mother, so some would...
Readership, Part 2
Following the adage that "no good deed goes unpunished," Gwydion found himself padding down the hallway of the hospital the next morning, on his way to meet the fox whose life he had helped to save. He was accompanied by two males who couldn't have...
Tea is Served
"Like something from _The Addams Family."_ "Not nearly so ooky." As Cory Windrunner pushed the button that sounded a Westminster carillon, she had to admit that Gabriel had a point. The house was huge and sprawling, a mansion to lesser beings,...