Category: Original Fiction
-
The Cottage – Part Twenty Four – (Short Story)
“It is a science as mercurial as whimsy. The tides that pool between the stars are arranged like shifting sands. It is not a thing for the mind of man. That is the reason for intermediaries. A Hessian may master English but neither the English or German or any of the nations fathom the speech…
-
The Cottage – Part Twenty Three – (Short Story)
Three loud knocks raised him. Groggy and cursing Jim trudged past the glare of midday windows. The rude awakening nullified caution and he swung wide the door. “What the fuck do you want?” He demanded of the strange mustachioed face that greeted him. “Are you always this charming?” A soft midwestern accent questioned in return.…
-
The Cottage – Part Twenty Two – (Short Story)
The first sensation was confusion. The second was thirst. Jim had never been that thirsty. He was ungainly on his feet and had to grip the closet door to keep from rejoining the floor. He swung it open and found everything normal. There were no cosmic abysses, orbs, or goblin swarms. There was nothing but…
-
The Cottage – Part Twenty One – (Short Story)
He awoke in a desert. There was nothing about save for countless dunes that undulated like waves in every direction. The reddish sand was cold. In fact everything was cold despite the brightest sun that Jim had ever beheld. It was well nigh white in luminosity. So ferocious was its radiance that he was forced…
-
The Cottage – Part Twenty – (Short Story)
It was quiet for a spell. Jim had a week free of chirping and stealthy footfalls. He wondered if Dutch’s weird remedy had actually worked. The thought made him laugh. ‘Of course they stopped stalking round. They’re part of the same Scooby Doo schtick. I dunno why they don’t just fess up and offer a…
-
The Cottage – Part Nineteen – (Short Story)
There it was balanced just so on the couch’s arm. Everything was the same. Manila colored, red lettered, and all – it was Hant’s letter. The very correspondence he’d so recently consigned to the fire. “No.” He said rising to his feet and reeling. “No, no, no, no , no….” ‘They drugged me.’ ‘Keep it…
-
The Cottage – Part Eighteen – (Short Story)
Jim did not see. His return to the cottage was not accompanied by a deepend reverence. Quite the opposite, his recklessness increased. “This is all bullshit.” He said as he tossed his uncle’s letter into the fire. Whenever he heard the chirping he’d run out like a wildman, Mossberg in hand, and fire wildly at…
-
The Cottage – Part Seventeen – (Short Story)
Stone, oak, leather, and mahogany gave the lodge a Victorian feel. Jim wasn’t sure if this was whimsy or the place was truly that ancient. Everything was well kept and tidy. Maybe it was the real deal. With enough care something a hundred years old could be kept new. He looked at the calendar, ‘1986…
-
The Cottage – Part Sixteen – (Short Story)
“How the hell did you get this boat here?” Jim wondered out loud as the lake’s utter seclusion fully registered. “I didn’t.” “Ok…so your family did?” “No.” “I don’t get it.” “I had it built here.” “Oh!” Jim said smacking his head. Despite being a simple enough thing to guess the economic disparity between him…
-
The Cottage – Part Fifteen – (Short Story)
Shock was the first sensation that greeted Jim, followed closely by nausea. He blinked stupidly in the harsh noonday sun, choking now and again on some cool unidentified liquid that rolled down his face. The strong smell of rich tobacco caused Jim to cough. “That’s done it then. Cough it up. Didn’t mean to choke…