I will now be releasing content on Patreon, as well as here, that I'm going to make people pay for. Well, try to. First up is a short story I wrote over New Year's. Writing has always been a passion for me and I've always found short stories fun to write. This one was more fun than most.
It, and all my fiction to come, will be available on my Patreon for the whopping tier 1 price of $1. More tiers will be coming soon with more exciting things. Real world things I'll be making that you can actually hold in your hands. This year is already a very busy one.
I was going to say "Stay tuned" but that's another phrase that Trump has ruined.
Instead, here's a little snippet of my short story
"Last New Year's With Ricky" to whet your appetite. It was supposed to be a tiny story about New Year's. What it ended up being, however, is part one of a three part story. I hope you'll consider subscribing to read the whole thing, as well as the second and third parts coming soon.
Later.
- Soos
He
was on her before she knew what was happening. He came from the
street and hit her in her right side, driving her into a recessed
doorway and off of the pavement. Mary glimpsed a red sweater and a
dirty old coat as she slammed into the shop's door with sickening
force. Feeling him behind her, she spun and lashed out with her right
elbow, catching her attacker in the temple. His head bounced of the
stone of the entryway and he fell past her. Then Mary ran.
She
was running into David's shop before she even realized where she was
going, covering the half mile at a dead sprint. She'd felt him
chasing her. She hadn't looked back once to see if he was behind her,
something had told her not to, and she assumed he was behind her
still.
“Mary?!
You alright?” David asked. Seeing her distress immediately, he came
out from behind the counter to meet her.
"A
man grabbed me." she blurted, trying to catch her breath.
"Chasing me."
"He's
chasing you now?" David asked, walking back to the counter. Mary
nodded. David nodded back and, reaching down over the counter,
producted a well worn cricket bat
"Ok.
He might be gone. I don't know. I think he was trying to... You
know..." she didn't want to say it. She didn't have to.
"Wait
here, ok? I'll make sure he's gone. Just stay here. Go get you a
drink of something, it's on me. Ok?” his brow furrowed angrily as
he talked. She'd never seen him anything but happy before. He noticed
her studying his frown and smiled reassuringly at her. He had such
nice, straight white teeth. "It's fine. While I'm gone get you a
drink or something, yeah? Grab one for Ricky, too. My treat. I'll
make sure this bloke is gone."
"Should
I call the police?" Mary asked him. She wanted to help somehow
but she wasn't going back outside.
"Um...
Nah. If he's gone what are they gonna do, right? And they usually
just show up to fuck things up, anyway. Don't wanna get someone's mum
shot on New Year's, right?"
Mary
nodded, stiffly. The mention of Ricky's name had caught her off guard
and she could feel the anger boiling up again. If the police escorted
her home and found her fuckhead of a husband skagged out in his chair
the night would be a damn sight worse. David disappeared through the
dark doorway. She couldn't see him outside but she could hear him
yelling. David had always been nice to her. She and Ricky had lived
here for seven years now and this was their closest shop. Ricky liked
his beer, and she her wine, so they'd been pretty regular customers
of his. She'd always thought that he was sort of sexy, really, but
she'd been with Ricky. Now, standing alone in his store as he
defended her honor outside, she couldn't help but wonder. He was
shorter than Ricky but taller than her. He was mostly bald but kept
his hair really short. Mary didn't much care for long hair anymore,
anyway. Ricky's was always greasy and nasty. It'd mat if she didn't
make him let her brush it. She wondered then if he was still sleeping
happily in his favorite chair, high as a kite, and content. "Fucking
asshole." She muttered, again.
“You
know what?” she said to herself, “Fuck it.”
She
walked to the back of the shop, grabbed two bottles of cheap wine
from the fridge, and brought them back to the counter to wait for
David. If Ricky can go off and get smashed then she could, too. It
was New Year's eve, after all. She glanced at the clock behind the
counter, by the cigarettes that she was trying very hard not to
notice, and saw that it was 11:11pm.
"Make
a wish." Mary said to no one in particular.
Almost
time for the ball to drop. Maybe she'd ask David to join her. The
thought made her grin.
Then,
she heard him scream.
Read the thrilling conclusion here! ----> https://www.patreon.com/posts/last-new-years-16209918
