Month: April 2016

The Boogeyman

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I’ve never really gotten the hang of mornings.

Most days, I drag myself out of bed, my eyes squeezed shut as I fumble around for the damn beeping of my alarm. Once I silence the repugnant device, I sit there for a few more moments, just wishing that I could flop back down, that I didn’t need to get up for work.

Shave, brush teeth, splash some water in my sagging face in the bathroom. Pull on some khakis after running a quick check for any stains or tears, stumble downstairs to get some coffee into my still-sleepy system before departing.

I always make sure that I have enough time to sit at my kitchen table for a few minutes, just sipping at the steaming mug of brown water and caffeine. Every morning, I’m tempted to sleep through those five minutes, but I never do.

Those five minutes are my own time, the only five minutes of my life that belong to no one but me.

So when someone thumped into my kitchen and set a cup of coffee down on the other side of the table, I looked up with annoyance. My mouth started to open, an annoyed little comment on my tongue.

The words died there, shriveling up and drying my mouth until it filled with dust. Continue reading →

[AGttA] Chapter 5.2: Luxurious Accommodations

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Continued from Chapter 5.1, here.

Read it from the beginning, starting here.

Axiom 5: Learn as much as possible.

Inside the Starbucks building, Eremiel didn’t grow any less snotty.  

“I always forget how dirty you mortals tend to be,” he commented, looking around with distaste.  “Compared to the Shining City, you always seem to have dirt bits everywhere, stuck in all the corners.”

“Well, with the whole end of the world and all, we don’t have as much time to clean up and kep things tidy,” I grumped back at him.  “You know, since we’re focused mostly on just trying to stay alive and such.”

Eremiel just sniffed and kept on wandering around the interior, looking disdainful.

This time, when I saw Alice glaring at him, I knew exactly how she felt – and agreed with her. Continue reading →

“Three bullets. No more, no less.”

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I flicked the revolver’s chamber open, although I didn’t need to count the number of rounds inside.

Three bullets. No more, no less. That was how many they issued each applicant.

I closed the chamber of the revolver, hearing it click into place. I hefted the gun, getting a feel for it, checking the sights to make sure they lined up. Crouched on the white tiles, I did my best to strain my ears, to hear past the thumping of my heart.

Three bullets. Three enemies. We couldn’t miss a shot. To get into the Academy, I had to show perfection. Continue reading →