Author: vanishingpirates

Early Mourning Clouds
Chapter 2Early Mourning Clouds Meghan A commotion out in the kitchen made the message being delivered in clipped tones over a crackling line almost impossible to understand. Meghan covered her outer ear with her free hand and said, “I’m sorry, …

Gone Fishing
Late Spring of 1953 when Dad finally home from Korea the first thing Scratch wanted to do was go fishing. Fishing with Dad didn’t involve fishing. Oh, he’d weight his line all right but he never tied a hook on …

Before the Dawn
Chapter 1Before the Dawn 1955 Scratch Scratch had an itch. He wiggled his bat one last time, tensed, took a half-step forward, cocked his wrists … and relaxed as the little white bullet fizzed past the outside corner snapping the …

Blanket of the Dark
On the freshest morning of spring Meghan Thomas pirouetted to the front door, picked up the letter and opened it. ‘Dear Sir, Antheus College is pleased to …’ She was in. With the shadow of the Great Depression finally starting …

April’s Fool
Beachhead Bar 8:00pm. Be ready to talk business. Harry’d said he wanted to settle things. Now some fool reckoned he’d got an edge. Harry burned the note. 7:45 pm: Harry enters the Beachhead. Sits in a corner. Doesn’t order a …

Monday the Thirteenth
Friday the thirteenth can be very inconvenient but when it falls on a Monday it can be positively annoying. One Monday such as this with the stars of misfortune perfectly aligned a disembodied head, during a teleconference with Head Office, …