The Zyne Project
Page 14
***
Hundreds of miles away, April sat on a veranda as the cruise ship made its way across the Atlantic, headed for the Bahamas. She stared at the deep blue waves that seemed to go on for miles, creating hypnotic rhythms while the sun danced along the edges.
She was weeping softly, remembering the man who had taught her so much. She’d loved Dan from the start, but never told him. And now…it was too late.
Remembering that fateful night, she recalled how she had found her mentor…
He was lying on the side of the road, barely breathing. Gently picking him up, she managed to somehow drag him to the backseat of her car and laid him across the seat. Dan woke for just a brief moment and stared at her, giving a small smile.
“Good…good to see you…” he had whispered. Then, his eyes had closed again.
She’d raced to the nearest hospital, which was still more than five miles away and tried to keep the conversation going. Even though he hadn’t answered her, she knew that he could hear her…in some distant recess of his mind.
When her car pulled up to the emergency room entrance, she’d gotten in the backseat and tried to lift him. But Dan wouldn’t move. Instead he opened his eyes again and whispered, “It’s too late.”
“No, no…”she’d cried, but stopped when he weakly put his hand on her arm.
“Don’t cry. We did our best. Don’t forget me…”
He closed his eyes as the shaking began…
Sighing, April looked at the canister in her hands. It was the same canister she’d been holding in the video. Only it hadn’t been holding gas…it was holding Dan’s cremated remains.
Holding out the canister, she said a quick and quiet prayer, and then opened the lid, allowing the contents to escape. The dust flowed out quickly and seamlessly…floating into the air for a moment…and then landing gently amongst the waves.
A small smile on her lips, April tossed the empty canister overboard. She looked back one more time at the brilliant view and closed her eyes while the sun kissed her skin with the promise of a better future.
THE END
More books from Biting Dog Publications
at
Amazon
Fresh Blood Old Bones
Anthology
Fresh Blood, Old Bones showcases the work of new and established writers in horror, fantasy, and science fiction (with bizarre thrown in for good measure). Enjoy eighteen tales as true masters of the genre (including Joe R. Lansdale, Nancy Collins, and Neal Barrett Jr.) combine their talents with stories from up-and-comers including Tim Bryant, Monica J. O'Rourke, John Paul Allen, and many others.
Dark Blessings
John Paul Allen
Dark Blessings is a collection of stories that takes the reader down paths only author John Paul Allen could imagine...Sinister notes from a secret neighbor...a soul gets a second chance...a road trip to hell...a child with an unusual appetite...death cries on an answering machine...a child's reluctant salvation...and a closet lover with deadly intentions...A look beyond reason and sanity and into the mind of madness.
House Guest
John Paul Allen
Chastity Bream doesn't dance anymore. She also can't walk, speak or think. She's fed through a tube, turned twice a day and left alone in her bed. That is except for him - the one in her closet, who comes out to tend to her needs. And his.
Monkey Love
John Paul Allen
When Professor Sandra Rixx lost her husband in a terrorist bombing, she turned toward her work for salvation. When Richard kept his vow and returned three years later, she learned to mix business with pleasure. Sometimes we can't help who we love. Sometimes we can't help what we love.
Kransen House
Sara Brooke
Newlyweds Ben and Ana Kransen are moving into the house with their in-laws. They’ve got high hopes and expectations for a better life. But soon after they move in, strange things start to happen. Noises fill the air, dark rooms unlock nightmares of the past, and it becomes clear that some people are not welcome in the Kransen House. Shortly after moving in, their lives are infiltrated by death, evil, and an unspoken religion. Ana knows something is wrong and her family is in danger. Left with few choices, she must find a way to save the ones she loves or face the consequences of an evil legacy.
Still Lake
Sara Brooke
It’s always been there, but now something has changed.
Flening has always been a quiet, friendly town. Nestled in the forests of Northwest Florida, its home to a small population of familiar faces and the natural beauty of Still Lake.
But now, the town is changing. People are getting sick and some are going crazy. A mysterious illness is sweeping through, destroying families, and threatening to spread further.
People are changing.
Dr. Craig Lenton is desperately trying to stop the sickness before he and the people he loves become part of the carnage, but time is running out and the calm waters of Still Lake may be hiding something sinister and evil underneath…
Cold Turkey
Nancy A. Collins
Vampire hunter Sonja Blue has battled everything from the undead to ogres. But her greatest enemy is The Other, the demonic entity that dwells within the darkest recesses of her mind and battles for control of their shared body. For years there has been an uneasy truce between the two--until The Other pushes Sonja over the edge by endangering the man who loves her. Sonja takes revenge, enlisting the aid of the demon Malfeis to contain The Other once and for all. But can Sonja Blue starve out The Other without destroying herself as well?
A Dozen Black Roses: Revised Edition
Nancy A. Collins
In the urban No Man's Land known as Deadtown two equally matched vampires bosses are locked in a cold war for dominance: the foppish drug kingpin Lord Sinjon, and the brutal Lord Esher, who traffics in black magic as well as firearms. Things heat up when the punk vampire/vampire-slayer Sonja Blue arrives, and she begins to play the rival factions against each other in order to cleanse Deadtown of its undead inhabitants once and for all.
Search and Destroy
Nancy A. Collins
Sonja Blue is back! In a world full of sparkling vampires, it's time someone finally brought the hurt! Before there was Sookie Stackhouse, Anita Blake, or even Buffy, there was Sonja Blue, the Stoker Award-winning tough-as-nails, wisecracking vampire/vampire slayer. Just as Iggy Pop set the tone for the Punk Revolution, Sonja Blue blazed the trail for the multitude of urban fantasy heroines that would follow her. And now she's back with a vengeance in Search and Destroy, her first original short story in 10 years. Homeless people are disappearing from the suburban No Man's Land known as The Scrub, and Sonja Blue is there to find out why--and put an end to it as only she can.
Knuckles and Tales
Nancy A. Collins
Knuckles and Tales is a collection of atmospheric, disturbing, spooky, and downright weird Southern Gothic short stories by award-winning author Nancy A Collins, best known for her edgy novels featuring the punk vampire/vampire slayer Sonja Blue. The original hardback edition of Knuckles and Tales was nominated by both the Horror Writers Association and the International Horror Guild for Best Collection of 2002. The stories on display in Knuckles and Tales range from suspense and psychological horror to dark fantasy and black comedy, with the occasional weird love story thrown in for good measure. Knuckles and Tales features two never before published novelettes in the Seven Devils Cycle: "Junior Teeter And The Bad Shine" and "the Pumpkin Child", as well as the previously unpublished short story "Big Easy".
Aldair in Albion
Neal Barrett Jr.
On the day that Aldair found that his world had abruptly turned upside down, his history- changing quest began. And he did not even then know that it was to be a quest.
Aldair had been a true acolyte of the Faith when it happened. And then he found himself an accursed outcast, the one against whom all hands were raised.
His only friends were those who had been his most vicious enemies. His only course led to the lands of horror. And his final goal had to be—that most forbidden of all lands, the dwelling place of the dead, that island of total terror known as Albion.
Neal Barrett's novel is an adventure in an unexpected futurity equal in inventive surprises to his highly praised —STRESS PATTERN.
Aldair, Master of Ships
Neal Barrett Jr.
To Find Man
"I have done more than my share of wandering.
In a few short years, I have been slave, scholar and master of ships. I have played no small part in the death of two great empires. I have nearly been eaten whole by the shapeless thing that guards the Great River. I have even soared above the earth like a large ungainly bird….
"Finally, I have come to know the handiwork of Man, in the sad and fearful land of Merrkia, across the Misty Sea. The terrible secret of that race has come to light at last, though it is a thing I can scarcely fathom even now. And if I have learned nothing more in my travels, I can say in all truth that I am proud to be the beast I am….
—Aidair, late of the Venicii.
The Earth was still green and fully populated — its "men" were the products of a science that might have begun with the Dr. Moreau of Wellsian legend.
Fate had chosen Aldair to seek the truth about Man. Why had Man created these new beast-races — and above all where had man gone? Truly, an astonishing adventure in future projection.
Aldair, Across the Misty Sea
Neal Barrett Jr.
"Highly recommended,” was the verdict of the
Science Fiction Review on the first Aldair novel, which brought a young not-quite-man into exploration of a world strikingly similar to ours yet different. The comparison made then with Clifford Simak's
City holds true for this new account of Aldair and his world.
For his world and ours are the same ...but his lies in the future and seems destined to parallel the history of our own. Where is humanity? What legacy has true mankind left to its manlike descendants that they must relive our past?
For Aldair has been forced into the role of a future
Magellan, who must travel down the coasts of unmapped continents, facing monsters, winged wizards and great dangers, to find a knowledge older than the history of his entire race.
Aldair: The Legion of Beasts
Neal Barrett Jr.
"One of the strangest adventurers in the history of science fiction. It is millennia from now and mankind has vanished from the Earth, under mysterious circumstances...
But he has left a legacy behind him: a host of intelligent species artificially enhanced by means of humanity's genetic science. Aldair is one such product, an intelligent, upright pig.
Serious intriguing adventure, with some of the most carefully crafted settings I've read in years.Barrett seems to have surpassed himself in this series:' —SE Chronicle
Through Darkest America
Neal Barrett Jr.
Post Apocalypse America: Bluevale was about all Howie had seen of the world. Even his Pa, who knew everything, didn’t know much about the way it was before the war. Scriptures said all of the unclean animals had been wiped out. Howie didn’t know what that meant exactly. He’d seen horses. And stock of course. Stock looked like humans. ‘Cept stock had no soul. That’s why they was meat. Contains Bonus Chapter!
Dawn’s Uncertain Light
Neal Barrett Jr.
After The Fall...
America's Great Dream is over. Centuries ago it was devastated by the ultimate war. The effects still linger. Food is scarce, water even scarcer and human compassion nowhere to be found. Even so, society is slowly rebuilding itself. But is it a society whose thirst for success is built on an enormous, barbaric lie:
Silver Island
...an almost legendary place to most Americans.
The citadel where the government is building a new and better nation from the ashes of the war-ravaged land. Everyone envies the few children who are chosen to be sent to Silver Island to help realize that dream. At least, that's what Howie Ryder was told when his little sister became one of the Chosen. And that's what he believed before the soldiers slaughtered his parents. Six years on, Howie has discovered the horrifying truth about Silver Island. And will do anything -- anything -- to rescue his sister from its grip...
A Day at the Fair
Neal Barrett Jr.
Off to the south you could see 'em---two big Portugees floatin' high and slow, flat-looking bodies all pearly blue in the sun. They weren't real hungry, or looking for anything special, just drifting along, trailing their stingers like long rags of rain 'gainst the ground.
The Transformed Mouse
Jack Ketchum
Here's something from the delightfully warped mind of Jack Ketchum! The Transformed Mouse: A Fable that’s right folks, a fable! One for adults though, adapted from the 2nd century Panchatantra. And unless you're afraid of the elements, or of mice, there's nary a scare in it. Just good wacky fun!
Murder Mysteries: A Play for Voices
Neil Gaiman
In Heaven's City of Angels before the fall, the first crime has been committed: an Angel has been murdered. While the Angelic Hosts labor to create the universe, one of their number is mysteriously slain by one of their own. Raguel, Angel of Vengeance, is commanded to discover both motive and murderer...
Snow Glass Apples: A Play for Voices
Neil Gaiman
A young princess … her skin as white as snow … her hair as black as coal ... her lips as red as blood … an innocent young girl victimized by her evil stepmother.
Or is she?
Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples” turns the traditional “Snow White” fairytale on its head and tells the story from the point of view of the “wicked” stepmother, who knows the truth about this less-than-innocent girl and attempts to save the kingdom from her unnatural and monstrous stepdaughter.
Suffer The Flesh
Monica J O'Rourke
"Zoey Masterson didn’t know what pain was before, but she’s learning fast. Kidnapped off the Manhattan streets and whisked away from the safe, normal world she once knew, she finds herself the victim of one reprehensible man’s vision. "Somewhere between ecstasy and pain, learn to Suffer the Flesh."
Jasmine & Garlic
Monica J O'Rourke
A “routine” obstetric visit quickly becomes a nightmare for unsuspecting mom-to-be Cassandra. But even worse than the exam itself is what Dr. Windling has in store for her and her unborn child …
Mr Peepers
Akela Cooper
When her brother is mysteriously killed a young woman returns home to close his affairs. But when she gets an ominous warning from her brother, she has to stay and investigate his death which may have been caused by a malevolent demon masquerading as a cat.
Hallelujah
Akela Cooper
Mary is a young woman with a dark secret: she's got a demon living inside her. Literally. But it isn't the demon she fears, it's her father, a Baptist preacher who has tried everything in his power to break his daughter's spirit. But when her father's church is attacked by the Ku Klux Klan, Mary must call upon the demon to help seek revenge.
Tinder Box Blues
Akela Cooper
A confederate soldier gets more than he bargained for when he strikes a deal with an old slave woman. But when he tries to keep her most precious gift for himself, he finds treasure isn't the only thing hidden under Massa's tree.
Hard Night
Bram D Eisenthal
A twisted, terrifying, humorous and somewhat sexy short about a night almost 40 years ago when the lustful dead ravaged Quebec’s sleepy cottage country. Proof that radiation is to zombies what Viagra is to mortal men (and some women).
>