Category Archives: Stories

A Heart of Pure Tin

The funny thing about tinker-trogs (or troglodytus mechanicus, as suggested by an overeager taxonomist who would later prove, in the eyes of his employers at least, to be as redundant as the above suggestion), is that they are deliberately built … Continue reading

Stories

Pinnacle Star: The Seven Failures of The Little Professor

PROLOG There once was a boy named Weather, but nobody called him that; he was called the Little Professor. Necessity compelled him to walk before he could crawl, though he took the time to learn crawling once his schedule had … Continue reading

Pinnacle Star, Stories

Under the Word: Death Takes a Half-Day, Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 The Tragic Inevitability of Wednesdays *Plat* Pratilda Shadow had been working in Chicago for about twenty years, and in all that time had effortlessly managed to evade pigeon droppings. It was such a sitcom cliche, in fact, that … Continue reading

Stories, Under the Word

Under the Word: A Cat in Chicago, Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 Wherein our Hero Falls Ass-Backward into a Job on His First Day in the Big City Belleraphon was spinning her cellphone around on her desk, barely watching. The black phone performed half circles on the matte grey desk, silently … Continue reading

Stories, Under the Word

The Maelstroms of Europa: PART 5

Carnifex lay quietly gasping on his rock. It was only a few seconds, though, before he managed some deep, calming breaths. He would not beg or whimper or give up. He would not let her break him. He lied there, trying … Continue reading

Maelstroms of Europa, Stories

The Maelstroms of Europa: PART 4

LetsGo was a stupid name for a robot. To say that LetsGo was a triumph of Form at the expense of Function would be only half correct. It was the epitome of the tin-can tinker-toy, puttering about the frozen fields … Continue reading

Maelstroms of Europa, Stories

The Maelstroms of Europa: PART 3

Sponde thought of the sunrise. Not because he may have seen his last (which he hadn’t), nor even because he was homesick (which he was). No, Sponde thought of the sunrise because he was watching his gargantuan coworker slowly lift … Continue reading

Maelstroms of Europa, Stories

Under The Word: A Cat in Chicago, Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Wherein our Hero is Quite Conveniently, Though not Very Poetically, Orphaned Noel could almost feel the vomit burning holes in the back of his teeth. His grass-stained hands and wrists ached as they, along with his equally grass-stained knees, … Continue reading

Stories, Under the Word

Bound Beyond 3

Chapter the 3rd He was both unseen and unheard, but he could hear them. Neither the musician plucking away in the far corner nor the trio of ancient drunkards whining and wailing of the golden past could drown out these … Continue reading

Bound Beyond, Stories

Bound Beyond 2

Chapter the 2nd “Nothing like a good riot!” Officer Beacons hollered as he commenced the bludgeoning of his fifth carny of the evening. This particular carny, being of the younger persuasion, abandoned her protests rather early. Beacons stared down at … Continue reading

Bound Beyond, Stories