“It’s all lies,” Seth told us, as he passed the joint to Cam. “The government will never tell you anything important.” Seth and Cam and Kyle huddled in the shadows of Cheyenne Mountain military base, partying, telling conspiracy theories as if they were ghost stories. Civilians could not enter the actual Cheyenne Mountain military base, but the city had built a public park below the military base. The park served as a no...

I was maybe four? Fifty-plus years later, the images remain distinct. Between my parents on the front seat of their Oldsmobile, I stood mesmerized by the convoy of passing U.S. Army vehicles. There must have been at least 100 of the olive green Jeeps, tankers and all manner of show of force. “Where are they going?” “How many are there?” “Do they have guns?” I peppered my parents with questions. I don’t recall the answers....

The dull "pop" rings muffled in my ears as Thor's hammer sends my body flying through the air, landing in the dirt near my vehicle. I try to sit up, ears ringing, as Jonesy bends to shake me. "Ma'am! Ma'am", he says. I see his parched lips move but don't hear the words over the humming in my head. I realize someone has just turned my body inside out as I lean forward, half-slumped over, with one eye failing to open. The r...

Everyone has a story to tell, about who they are, where they came from, what their names mean. Not to boast (okay, I’m boasting a tad) I happen to believe there’s something extra magical about mine. While I don’t believe in organized religion, you might even say it was God’s doing; I happen to believe it’s fate. In order to know my story, you first have to look before me, even before my parents, but to theirs. Their Fathe...

Sitting in the church pew lost in thought, listening to the Veteran speak of his friends that had gone before him. My mind wanders back to a simple time of Flags, parades, and trips to the cemetery.Every year my little sister and I would save our weekly allowance to buy tiny American flags for Memorial Day. We worked hard earning that money but seem to come up short so our Granny would pay the difference on our one-hundre...

I just answered one of those calls that I get from the Vet Center the day before I go in for an appointment with my counselor. One of the nice things about having been in a war is that I get a free shrink for the rest of my foreseeable future. I remember seeing Dr. Sydney Freedman on M*A*S*H when I was a kid. There was an episode where Hawk-Eye was sick with a cold, that was psychosomatic because a friend had thrown him o...

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...

Chris and I both groaned. We knew Sam was one to go a little bit too far, but this was too much. “That’s absolutely disgusting,” I said. “That used to be a person. That is so disrespectful. You’re unbelievable. How would you feel if someone pissed on you when you were dead?” “I wouldn’t care,” Sam called back over his shoulder as he finished up. “I’d be dead. Plus, I already told you this country and these people cost me...

Chris jumped in after Sam got out, and, on our signal, he mashed the accelerator down, and he was off. As we watched him race around the track, I considered asked Sam if he had felt uneasy in the warehouse like I had, but decided against it. Sam was a good friend, but he could be brutal and borderline cruel if you were acting, in his opinion, like anything other than a man. I turned my attention back to Chris as he raced...

The Ghoul The following happened about ten years ago. There are times that I still wake up in the middle of the night, sweating in the grips of a nightmare. When this occurs, I know that getting back to sleep will be a losing proposition, so I instead get up and make a pot of coffee. As time has passed, the nightmares have lessened, but like a virus, they have never truly left. I will have a good couple weeks, maybe even...

Chapter 4The drug induced sleep was dreamless, and I awoke with a start. There was a strange sensation on the left side of my body. I looked down and was startled at the sight of the machine now attached to me. It felt weird, but at the same time, strangely familiar. I looked it up and down, examining the bundles of black electo-plast muscle fibers and the gun-metal grey of its artificial bones and joints. It looked like...

Introduction, (conclusion)Chapter 6Sounds of commotion drew my attention away from my latest victim. I looked up just as half a dozen slaves opened up with the dead guard's laze-rifles. Their fire was wildly inaccurate, and only a couple of shots hit anywhere close.I could have easily stood there and killed them all, but it was time to extract. I would obey Gunney's last order and take no further chances with my life. Fle...

Unt o uch a b le Pr o l o g u e C h a p te r 1 Prologue Chapter 1My first mission under direct orders from the Imperial Inquisition was an absolute disaster; landing Gunnery Sergeant Maximus Christoff and myself on a backwater world at the edge of the Imperium. I begin here because I now realize that the entirety of my life prior to this event was inconsequential compared to everything that was and is to follow.Subjuga Tw...