The Punishment, Part 3
Kevin sat a upon a stool near a bar-like countertop, watching Fannar move expertly about the kitchen, preparing several dishes simultaneously. The little white wolf had come to wake him perhaps twenty minutes ago, giving him time to don his new...
The Punishment, Part 2
The large outdoor mall celebrated the arrival of new spring fruits and vegetables by becoming a virtual farmer's market, with temporary stalls and swiftly erected tents supplementing the shops and buildings long established in this section of town....
The Punishment, Part 1
The bar was only half full that evening, which was more than enough to ensure that its patrons were enjoying themselves. Pool tables were occupied, but not overcrowded; spaces at the bar ensured that one could get whatever libation might be desired,...
White Nights
_For Gabriel Clyde and Seth Drake, who know all too well_ The tall white Borzoi sat at his midnight table outside the café, enjoying the strange and magical sensations of the fragile light all around him. It was and it was not like twilight; it...
Found Time
"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." --Marcel Proust,_À la recherche du temps perdu_ "Right on time, Zachary. Please come in." The great crimson dragon welcomed the young Akita...
Restless Spirits
_"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -- George Santayana_ _"I've got news for Mr. Santayana: We're doomed to repeat the past no matter what. That's what it is to be alive." -- Kurt Vonnegut_ "Can I help you?" The...
The Desperate Hours
The large, powerful lion looked through the observation window into the hospital room beyond, his forepaw clenched desperately into a fist pressed against the glass, his face caught somewhere between terror and rage. The body in the bed beyond lay...
Triptych
When Malcolm was still but a kit, his mother often warned him about making silly faces, saying that he might wake up one morning to discover that his face had "frozen" that way. At this particular moment, he wondered if it might be true after all, as...
Discharge
_ Signum is a binary._ Zachary Parker despised formality, and minimalism was a close second. He had few options but to cooperate if he wanted to get out of here; despite what he'd been promised, he was being held "just a bit longer," and no one had...
Film at Eleven
"All right, folks, if I could have your attention please..." The compact, uniformed coyote looked around the bare anteroom of the local sheriff's office, almost biting his lip to keep from expressing his delight that the group was so small. It had...
Forever Afternoon
_"Post sonos, relinquat nuntius."_ As the dull note sounded in his ear for the third time that afternoon, the young lion smiled sadly and disconnected his cell phone. "Still no answer." "I'm sorry, Bobby." Feigning nonchalance, the athlete set...
Blowback
_"WHAT THE BLOODY FUCKING HELL DID YOU DO?!"_ The well-dressed wolverine, breathing carefully through his aristocratic nose in long, deep draughts, kept his muzzle clamped shut so that the scream that his mind had so carefully constructed did not,...