The fleet floated soundlessly down the river, the canoes cutting through the black night water. The sliver of moon floated reflected on the surface, not providing much light, and the braves took comfort in the darkness. They were armed to the teeth, and their dark silhouettes revealed pointy arrows and the blades of spears and hatchets. The time of the peace pipe was over and Chief Mantis lit up a war pipe of rare herbs that was meant to agitate and bring forth a desire for bloodletting and vengeance.

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This British guy named Marvin sat reloading software on his computer- it took hours and he rolled his chair about the little grey room, fluorescent lights flickering. Occasionally he hit “okay” and checked agreement checkboxes on various menus that popped up. He lifted his baseball hat, rubbed his scalp, and returned the hat to his head. Then the wall exploded inward and a behemoth came crashing to the floor, chunks of drywall flying everywhere. Marvin looked up, wiping plaster dust from his eyes. The behemoth lay twitching amid the debris, red eyes glaring. Continue reading →

Antlers from a mounted reindeer head cast long shadows on the log cabin wall. The whole room was a flickering orange from the fire in the fireplace. The girl curled up on the bearskin rug was my wife and I puffed away at a pipe, wearing a flannel robe. Our little baby slept silently in a crib beside the bed. I stared into the fire, watching the burning coals seem to breathe as the flames did the mambo over the logs.

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