Gwen sat quietly, deep in thought as the room emptied. Slade sat beside her and leaned down to get on her level. He knew how she felt. It was a big step and a difficult task to deceive someone who is a friend and superior. Her face held the look of concern and fear. "Don't concern yourself with Raven. She is a smart lawyer and knows how to protect herself. She knows that giving information about police activity before it...

I awoke on my side, staring at my alarm clock. The red LED lights were declaring the fact that was 2:58 in the morning. In the second that the time registered in my mind, the LED’s rearranged and it became 2:59. I gradually became aware of the fact that I needed the bathroom and, inwardly groaning that I had to get out of my warm bed and walk to the bathroom, I tried to get up. I said try because that’s exactly what happe...

SETTING: Two policemen are chatting as the detective and his apprentice approach them. POLICE OFFICER 1: Here, quick, drink this coffee. You need to be sober when giving them your statement. CONSTABLE: (takes a huge gulp and shuts his eyes immediately.) Ah! This one is laced with whiskey you idiot! Shit, you made it worse. POLICE OFFICER 1: Sorry chief. Let me get you another- CONSTABLE: No, you have done enough, no scram...

My heart is not opened easily,few true friends have I along with my wife.But for those very few,I make room in my heart for life.It’s not easy, and I wish it were not so,for over the years, friends do come and go.I hate to lose touch and cling on to history,when I was as important as they are to me.Love is hard when it’s a one-way street,giving them your soul dreaming when you will meet.I offer my affection and write them...

Growing Up Ranch Chapter 3 My Bike Toby What boy doesn't dream of the day when he has his very own bike? A way to fly down the street; wind in your hair; running wild all on your own. I had similar dreams, but my "bike" was a good fast horse.Not even most of the farm and ranch kids I knew would grow up riding horses or ponies nearly every day. On the SPAR ranch, there was no paving of any sort; a hard packed dirt path was...

"Merry fuckin' Christmas," I said to myself as I walked across the parking lot and entered the barThe Cork and Bottle was a neighborhood joint that had a reputation for attracting a rough crowd. I wasn't worried as I could give better than I got if it came to that. It was Christmas Eve, and a lot of the places I frequent were closed, this was the only place I saw that was opened.I took a seat at the far end of the bar and...

Watching the birds flying across the horizon and into the misty glare of the morning sun’s dark light, and no one knows where they are from or asks where they are going. Having me remember that Madman who used to hold court and would sit asking questions as he shared his form of wisdom of things he has known for a long time, or possibly knowing something of the shape of things to come. No matter what is found or seen out...

Standing here by the waterside, and I am not waiting for the end for I am carrying with me solitude and a searching eye along with a book I was given that is made up of nothing but lies. In the blackest night burn the brightest stars and these are the times when it seems I have to return to basics or return back to the start of all and reminds me that some things are in vain. As I stand here wondering who will be walking...

Tonight, I can not sleepBecause the eye of the Universe is watching meThe strands of the fabric of everything weave through my thoughtsAnd pull themselves through my breathThe voice of All rolls over my tongue In the unfathomable blathering of wavesOr maybe it’s just insanity, some specter of my own makingContrived subconsciously so that I will feel chosen or safeBut chosen by whom? A god long forsaken? Why?Yet this Prese...

“Growing Up Ranch” Chapter Two Our House - The Cabin I grew up in a house, but not one like everybody else had. My house was a genuine log cabin built around 1898 as a homestead cabin by Ernest Newell. It was by cabin standards pretty large, but its size was limited to the length of the tallest tree large enough to build with, about sixteen feet long by sixteen feet wide. The cabin was two stories tall, but the original b...

Jamestown Fort, January 1609 Sarah awoke in the dark. The first thing she noticed was the cold. It had seeped through the clothing she wore, through the blanket that she had wrapped herself in, through the very ground; reaching for her like the icy, cold fingers of death. She exhaled and watched her breath become visible in the grey, early light of dawn that crept through the cracks of the door. Immediately after the cold...

Would you take a chance on me? You’d know what you’d be getting, I’m exactly what it says on the tin. I’d be that man you can rely on, there for you through thick and thin. Would you take a chance on me? I’d do my fair share of the housework, cooking, cleaning and ironing galore. I’d be that man you can rely on, there for you to cherish and adore. Would you take a chance on me? I’d be a great dad for the little one, enter...

Suddenly, the warning of the tribal elder and Wasad’s explanation came rushing back to us. The entire, horrible truth came crashing down upon me in a rush. I realized that the body we had seen in the hole was indeed a ghoul. The images we had seen of the torture and execution were not an attempt by the Republican Guard to execute an innocent man, but an attempt to rid themselves of a scourge. We also came to the sickening...

Once packed, we had nothing else to do but hurry up and wait. Sam and I were conflicted about leaving. We felt that it was wrong that we were leaving Chris, but we had searched all over for him, the grunts had searched for him, but there was absolutely no trace. We kept hoping against hope that he would show up by random chance one day, but as the days went by and there was no Chris, we began to lose hope. Finally, the da...

At around 5 o'clock the next morning, I was awakened by Sam shaking my shoulder. “Dave, you need to get up,” he said. “What? What? Why? What's happening? What’s going on?” was my reply. “It's Chris,” Sam said. “He's missing; he's not here.” “What do you mean he’s missing,” I asked, sitting up. I wiped the sleep from my eyes, and I saw that Sam was speaking the truth. There was no sign of Chris. We hadn’t had any equipment...