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...
The Stallion's Tale, Part 1
_Eight years ago..._ Gabriel pushed the wheelbarrow carefully across the dusty expanse of dimpled hardpan, having learned the hard way that moving too quickly could cause the entire load of muck to fly just about everywhere at once. Stripped to the...
A Homo, a Hetero, and a Metro Walk Into a Bar
"All right, guys, one round on me, and then we're off to the movies, whadda ya say?" There's nothing quite as difficult as trying to keep up the morale of the morally impaired, and as much as I loved my friends, they were about as hopeless as it...
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,...
Quiet Voices
**_Saturday Afternoon_** Emmanuel had run at a maintenance pace for the past five or six kilometers, enjoying the fresh air of the country rather than the less-than-pleasant air of the city or the canned air of an indoor track. Running was his...
Communion
Zachary Parker wasn't sure if he was nervous or excited. He'd taken a Psych 101 class that had explained that, as far as the body was concerned, the physiological sensations were the same, what with adrenaline (and other stuff he couldn't remember the...
Trouble Shared
Benedict looked up in surprise at the knock on his open office door. "My dear Dr. Wind Runner!" he offered with quiet yet sincere enthusiasm. "Whatever are you doing in this chilly if venerable building of what we hope will be education?" The...
Because We Have Wings
**_Monday_** There is nothing better than waking up naturally, rising slowly from the depths of sleep because of the clear, slowly growing dawn bringing golden light into your bedroom windows -- or, in this case, into the high windows set into the...
Dreams Take Flight
**_Sunday Night_** The storm was strong, but not violent. What thunder there was stayed at a respectful distance, and after it passed, all that was left was the firm, steady drumming upon the roof high above. The horses seemed content to stay in...
The Late Train
The railway platform hadn't changed since the days that it had first come into being. No matter the time of day, no matter the weather, the season, the year, the century, it still felt of necessity and enforced patience. It wasn't "clean" in the way...