Author Archives: (Not actually a Lady) Ruthless

Memories hurt more in the summeror mine do, at least;I can only speak for myself,myself being all that I know-human feeling has long beenother to me, each mood and whim returning as unfamiliaras the scent of outerspace;they say that it smells like char,and somehow that speaks to memore than people ever didbecause I knowhow itContinue reading “The Rhythm Of A Number”

They stood together, perplexed, staring at the door in the middle of the field. It was at least eight foot high, made of old old steel and reinforced glass, like something torn off the side of a machine. The kind of thing that fell from the sky in science fiction novels, only the door hadn’tContinue reading “THE DOOR FROM NOWHERE”

I was nine years old when the voice first spoke to me. At first I didn’t notice it. Walking home from school on a balmy August afternoon there were a dozen clashing sounds: traffic buzzing on the sidewalk, other kids shrieking with laughter as they shoved by me, the saccharine, jaunty melody of an icecreamContinue reading “Penance”

Babysitting the neighbour’s kid when I was fourteen was the first job I ever had, and should have been the easiest, by far. I had three younger brothers I’d been left alone with every friday night until the last one entered middle school, and thus had childcare down to a fine art. Even before meetingContinue reading “The Caterpillar Man”

For two weeks my dog wouldn’t stop barking at the ceiling, but I only decided to check on the upstairs neighbour when the apartment above mine started to smell. I should have gone up sooner. I should have known something was wrong. But we’re all so used to keeping to ourselves, minding our own business,Continue reading “The Room Above Mine”

“It’s rejecting again, isn’t it.” It was a statement, not a question, flat and almost casual in delivery. The woman who said it lay sprawled on her back on a rumpled bed, rubbing the raised scar at her hairline with one hand, flicking ash off the end of a cigarette with the other. Both wereContinue reading “The Bad And The Beautiful”

I work for the disposal sector of my city’s Department Of Public Works; at least, I used to, before it all went to shit. It was an easy enough job, although not particularly glamorous, unless scraping flattened raccoons and dead deer off the highway makes you feel fancy. Any time someone needed an animal corpseContinue reading “Road Kill”

I see something in the mirror that isn’t me. At least, not yet; all it will take is the right doctor. A good one. I had one, for a while, after a decade of unsatisfactory work. Now that there are nurses handing out cheap under the table injectables on practically every street it’s easy toContinue reading “Something In The Mirror”

I haven’t left my house in ten years; after all, where would I go if I did? The windows have been boarded up for as long as I can remember, but children still throw stones and empty glass bottles at the outside of them, knowing I can hear from within. I don’t think any ofContinue reading “"I Haven't Left The House In Ten Years…"”