Ladder Racing, spring 2019 (Chapter 4)
March 24th I make my morning coffee and check my phone. There's a message from an unknown number on it. _Hey, it's Paul. How are you feeling? Text me._ I have no idea how he got my number, but I recall my shoes. There might have been a phone number...
In Darkness, Every Rose Is Black - Chapter 14
## Chapter 14 "How is that wound doing?" Duck asks. "Not healed yet," I answer him. The pain in my wound isn't half as awful as the pain in my heart. "I have slept better, I guess." "Indeed, fox." Duck says in a tone which suggests in no...
In Darkness, Every Rose Is Black - Chapter 02
## Chapter 2 My eyes take their sweet time in adjusting to the change in light down here. The few places where sunshine penetrates the planking above, it shines onto empty hammocks, strung in a messy array, like laundry strings across an alley. The...
In Darkness, Every Rose Is Black - Chapter 01
## Chapter 1 My vision shakes. Directly in front of my snout, I can see the puddle of what was my breakfast earlier, soaking into the yellow sands. The blood. Oh, Gods, the smell of it is everywhere. But I'm still alive. My limbs shake, I can barely...
Somebody's Got To Do The Dirty Work - Part 2
Tonight, my luck finally pays out. Kicking me while Fido looks on is clearly not enough for Marcel to get his rocks off. He opens the door to my cell some hours after when I'd normally have been fed, no lantern, no knife, no nothing. Just a set of...
Somebody's Got To Do The Dirty Work - Part 1
Dalmatia at night is a sight to behold. Provided you've got my night eyes, that is. If not, all you can see is torchlight, flickering like an upside down starfield. Moving amongst it, small dots of light move set paths. Guards with torches. One with a...
The Conqueror [short story]
I take a deep sip from the aromatic drink beside me; a fine roasted tea from the east. Unsweetened. Saturated with herbs. This tea shop is a haunt of mine, and they know my preferences. As does the friend across the table from me. The fox leans...
In Darkness, Every Rose Is Black - Chapter 11
## Chapter 11 When I enter Duck's quarters late that night, I'm dry, for the first time in weeks. My coat even smells of soap, although not a perfumed kind. I've missed this feeling, and it's put me in an even better mood. Kit has already returned to...
In Darkness, Every Rose Is Black - Chapter 10
## Chapter 10 "About your rude interjection the other day," Duck opens as I enter his cabin late one evening, more than a week hence. "The weasel is predictably hesitant to explain his opinions of the captain, and I would dearly like to avoid...
In Darkness, Every Rose Is Black - Chapter 09
## Chapter 9 I awake with Kit's smell all over me, as has been routine for quite a while now. What on earth did I get up to last night? I've never been so drunk before in my life and I can't remember a thing after the third cup. But I don't feel...
In Darkness, Every Rose Is Black - Chapter 08
## Chapter 8 Duck and I enter the captain's cabin around dinner time. As instructed, I remain standing behind Duck when the captain bids him sit by his table. Kit brings us the food, never once taking his eyes off the captain even when I try to catch...
In Darkness, Every Rose Is Black - Chapter 07
## Chapter 7 Today is the last day of the month I'd been given to consider my answer to the Dalmatian. And yet, I distract myself with my daily routines. Occasionally I try to sneak some minor improvement into Kit's dish without him noticing, but I'm...