NOC ch19: Down the Garden Path
Marcus Lewis's throat went dry. The jackalope nearly choked on his drink, the carbonated beverage stopping midway down his throat, bubbles scratching inside and leaving him struggling to get a breath of air. "Huh?" he said, unable to put together any...
NOC ch18: Snake in the Grass
Marcus Lewis was a bundle of shot nerves. The last two days had taken everything out of him and he needed, more than anything else, to have a moment to breathe. To talk with someone about everything, to try and get his thoughts sorted. This week felt...
NOC ch25: Marcus, Phoenix
"This fuckin' town..." Officer Morgan squatted down, looking over at the sprawled out body in front of him. The old groundhog grunted as he rose back up, feeling the creak of joints that reminded him of every single one of his fifty seven years of...
NOC ch24: Showdown
Television made it look so much easier to break into a house. Climbing up onto the garage roof wasn't too difficult, Marcus's lapine legs had plenty of strength to launch him up there. The problem was the window itself. The jackalope had figured he...
NOC ch23: Event Horizon
Aaron Dixon was never one for creature comforts. When he had... acquired his current residence, the idea of putting a bunch of expensive furniture inside never crossed his mind. The most he needed was a place to eat, a place to sleep, and a good...
NOC Ch22: Purity Test
Marcus Lewis struggled to fall asleep that night. Not for the reasons he'd had in the days and weeks prior, though. He wasn't struggling with anxiety about his future, stress about school, fear. Even hours later and with more alcohol in him, the...
NOC ch21: Harsh Lessons
"There'sss the couch. Bathroom at the top of the ssstairs." That was all Aaron said before heading upstairs and leaving Marcus to himself. The teen hadn't expected some kind of grand tour, but getting brought into a stranger's house and then just...
NOC ch17: Kismet
"Wake up! Wake up!" The opening lyrics of a conveniently-titled death metal song blasted out of her cell phone, signaling the start of her day. It wasn't the morning, or at least it barely wasn't, but it had been a number of years since Melody Bennett...
NOC ch16: Le Cheval de Guerre
"Hey, turn that shit off, will ya?" Karl MacLeod did his best to wipe grease from the feathers on his hands (where they still grew in, anyway), stepping out of the main garage and towards the back room of Deyarmin's Garage. It was getting late in the...