I lay on my back. I couldn’t see a ceiling or walls. For a moment I thought I must be outside, below the night sky. But there were no stars, no moon. And the blackness was too black, perfect in its uniformity. So I had to be inside, the lights off, in total darkness—only this wasn’t right either....
But that was okay. Because this was real, I was awake, I wasn’t brain dead— “Will! Wake up, bro! Wake the fuck up!” I rolled onto my side. The chains clinked. Everything from my shoulders down was pins and needles. “Rob?” I groaned. “Will!” he barked, his voice hoarse, nasally. “Where the fuck ar...
Seeing him so helpless made her think about her mother on her deathbed, frail, feverish, a breathing tube taped to her nose. This had been eight months after she was diagnosed with inoperable ovarian cancer. Initially doctors gave her one year to live without chemotherapy, five with the treatment...
He’d driven his foot into his back and heard the spine snap. Then he’d kicked him in the right temple, where a major artery and nerve were located, to make sure the job was done. The smartest thing to do now, he decided, was to leave the body where it was. He knew if he brought it back to the car...
Scarlett opened her eyes. Blackness. The thumping continued, loud and hollow, from somewhere above her. She heard the hum of tires, felt the sense of speed. “Hello?” she said. “Scarlett?” “Sal?” Suddenly hands cradled her head, fingers brushing her hair back from her face. She smelled the spicy-r...
I don’t recall how many times she called it, or at what intervals, only that I kept hearing it repeated over and over. For a while I thought I might be dreaming, but reality slowly penetrated my slumber, telling me I should probably get up, something might have happened. Reluctantly I propped mys...