Light.

It was too hot.

Uncomfortable.

If I could just worm my way deeper into unconsciousness I wouldn’t have to face . . . anything.

Something nuzzled against the top of my head. My skin crawled. Not daring to open an eye too wide lest I see too clea…

The girl took a step back from me, a hand creeping to her mouth.

“Umm, is that normal?” she asked, nodding toward the blood streaks running down the spears of grass.

Normal? I tried to connect anything to that word but nothing came to mind. Trying to th…

I couldn’t help but groan. Standing up had not been a good idea. Everything hurt.

“Do you know that guy?” the girl asked.

An icy spike shot up my spine. Panic swarmed at the edge of my vision like beating wings. I hunched down and grabbed her arm. “What…

An uncomfortable tingling ran across my shoulders and up the back of my neck; the sensation of insects crawling across my grave.

“Where did he go? People don’t just disappear!” I didn’t quite shout.

The girl looked away and said softly, “People disappea…

I hurry back home with the other half of the loaf. I need to get home before the screaming starts and the nosy neighbours start asking questions again. She is asleep on the stained red velvet settee. She has been asleep for the whole day. Her breath is sh…

It wasn't until they were playing "Taps" that it really hit John. Three hours of hand shakes and condolences, and it was a 19 year old cadet with a bugle that struck home.

General Larson was dead.

He'd taken a ship from McMurdo to Montevideo, a red ey…

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