Long Tale Press

001: Drowning

This day had finally come. Sally hummed as she flittered about the kitchen like a nectar-drunk butterfly, checking on the meal she had prepared for dinner. She was so happy. Her lover, Joe, handsome and confident, was sitting at the dining room table. "More wine?" She called to him.

"Yes, please. It's a favorite of mine."

"Oh? I didn't know that. Lucky me." She entered and waggled the bottle before handing it to him.

"Not luck." He was serious. "Fate. I've never met a woman who suited me so well. You seem to anticipate my every desire. You know what I want before I do. I don't understand it but I appreciate it."

He reached for her but she stepped out of range. "I have to get dinner on the table." She winked, teased him with a hip wiggle and returned to the kitchen. A moment later she was back with a steaming bowl of orange-colored soup. She placed it on the table. "Ta-da! The first course."

"Mmm. It smells wonderful. What's in it?"

"Ah, it's a secret family recipe. I'll tell you what I can after dinner. If you like it."

"Of course I'll like it. You're one of the best cooks I know." He watched as she ladled the steaming liquid into bowls.

As one, they dipped their spoons in and brought them to their mouths; his eyes on his soup, her eyes on his mouth. She savored the soup and the view as they ate for a few long moments in silence. "So? Do you like it?"

"I do. I really do. I've not tasted anything like this before. It's sweet but savory. It's got a flavor I don't recognize. What is it?" He tasted the soup again and again, trying to identify the flavor.

"I'm not surprised. You don't eat anything with nuts and most people don't eat butternut squash at all." The shocked look on his face was everything she had hoped it would be.

"But... nuts. I'm allergic." He looked down at the soup in horror, his face flushing; the itching and swelling rose in a deadly tide.

"I know. I've always known. Ah, dear. It's been so long since we knew each other last." She watched him grasp at his neck and the table. "When we met again, I was insulted that you didn't remember me but not surprised. After all, I was just that goofy girl at the end of the street. The one you always made fun of. The one you almost killed that day in the pool. It was just a prank to impress your friends. But, I almost died."

Joe staggered up from the table, clutching his throat, gasping for air. He looked around with wild, fear-filled eyes.

She stepped back out of his way. "I wanted you to know what I went through. I wanted you to feel what it was like to drown. I wanted you to know what it feels like to be left for dead. It took years for me to remember what had happened; even longer before I would go near open water. Meeting you again was fate. You were right about that. I never forgot you but I had put you in the back of my mind. Fate brought you to me. After that, it was easy to find out all about you; your wants, your needs, your fears... your allergies. Then, it was only a matter of time."

He stumbled and fell, hitting the floor hard with a hand outstretched towards the phone. His mouth opened and closed in an effort to draw air past a throat that had swollen shut.

"It will be tragic of course. A happy new couple. A special dinner. An inconvenient phone call from mother. Five minutes away to get her off the phone then a return to a scene of inexplicable horror. A frantic call to 911. But, of course, it'll be too late." She walked over, hunkered down and stroked his graying, swollen face. "I'll be so broken-hearted. It really will be terrible. I'm not sure how I'm going to stand the loss of you. I might have to move away."

She glanced up from his dying face as the phone rang then bent for a last kiss, stealing his last breath along with it. Then she rose to answer the phone. "Oh! Hello mother. I can't talk long. You've caught me at dinner with Joe..."

Inspiration: A fabulous butternut squash soup with a cashew salsa garnish. It was very tasty. Then, I remembered Alex's allergy to nuts and realized he could never have something like this. It would kill him.

002: Snipe Hunting

"Do you think Shawn will be gone for much longer?" Chris poked at the campfire with a stick.

"Hell, that boy'll be gone 'til daybreak!" Dean cawed laughter and up-ended the beer can he had been drinking from.

Henry laughed along with his brother. "Yeah. Then, we'll have to go rescue him."

"I don't think we should've done this. Shawn's not like us. He could get hurt, you know. He's a city boy."

Dean threw the empty beer can at Chris. "Stop whining. You're startin' to sound like that citified brat. Snipe huntin's a long held tradition 'round these here parts. He wanted to join in. By morning, he'll be one of us."

"If he's not dead," Chris muttered.

"What was that, Meathead?"

Henry saw his brother gearing up for a brawl and tried to head it off at the pass. "Listen! I think he's back." It was a gamble but it worked. Dean scowled and peered into the dark. "Boy! Is that you? Shawn?"

"Yeah. It's me. I got it."

The voice came out of the darkness to their right. It startled them all. "I got it. I got the snipe." Shawn said again.

The three men looked around at each other not quite certain if they should grin or be worried. By silent agreement, Dean took the lead. "What'd you get? Let's see it." Shawn stepped more into the light from the fire. He looked like he'd been in a tussle with a bear. "Shit, boy! You ok?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I think so. I didn't know what a snipe was. You knew that. But, you were right when you said I'd know it when I saw it." Something limp dangled from his hand. He tossed it towards the fire. It landed with a moist plop.

The three men first recoiled from the thing that had landed in their midst. Then, drunken nerves of steel and brains of Jell-O took over. They peered at the thing that looked like a cross between a six-legged spider and an octopus. It was brown and shiny. What must have been its blood was black in the firelight.

"Holy shit," Chris breathed. "What is that thing?"

"It's a snipe. I told you." Shawn answered from his place on the edge of the firelight. "At first, I didn't know where to go. I figured you guys were playing a joke on me but, you know, it's all in good fun. I had to start looking somewhere. So, I headed towards Crater Cave. I couldn't believe it when I saw that." He gestured to the dead thing at their feet. "I didn't mean to kill it. I was just tryin' to capture it. You know, to bring back a live snipe. I didn't want to kill it. But, it was real fragile."

The three men looked back and forth between the alien creature and the man they had tried to dupe. No one could believe what they were seeing. Dean kept thinking they were rich. Henry kept thinking Dean was about to do something stupid. Chris kept thinking that something was very wrong. Only one of them was right.

"He wasn't alone. He had a mate. A wife." Shawn continued in that flat tone. "She was angry. They had children to feed and she needed her husband to help her. This planet's too alien for them. They haven't been here long. I was the first human they'd seen. She attacked me. She was mad. I would be, too, if someone killed my wife. She wasn't thinking when she attacked. They have emotions. Just like you and me."

Chris looked down and saw a stick move, wrapping itself around his ankle. More sticks... no, tentacles, wrapped themselves about his leg before he could react. The sudden cries from his companions told him that this, whatever this was, was happening to all of them. He tried to shake it off but at least one of the tentacles slithered up under his pant leg and he felt the sharp sting of a bite. He turned to run, to just get away, and saw both Dean and Henry trying to flee from several of the snipe things that had the men in their grip. But, his legs were so heavy. He didn't want to run. He just wanted to sit down. His body obeyed the body's urge to sit instead of his mind's instinct to flee. He sat, looking at Shawn who had moved into the camp, watching.

"The first bite was in anger. The second was an animal instinct. You see, snipes are parasites. They prefer to co-exist with their hosts. But, they hadn't found anything in the forest that could sustain them. They were dying. They had, in fact, resigned themselves to death and extinction. Only two family pods were left from the fifty that crashed. The wife was the brains of the family. With her second bite, she knew that she had found a creature she could live with. But, in examining my brain, my thoughts, she discovered what a barbaric people we are. She's decided that the snipes will keep their presence silent for now. She is formulating a plan for the future. I'm not sure what it is. She doesn't share her thoughts with me. At least, not yet." Shawn sat down on one of the coolers and watched as the three men were overcome by the snipe's children.

Chris saw, in that moment, the snipe riding Shawn's back like the mythical monkey and the tentacle attached to him at the base of his skull. He felt a tentacle brush the back of his neck and wondered if it would hurt. He hoped to hell not. He was about to find out either way.

Inspiration: Someone mentioned college hazing. That got me thinking about jokes people play on each other which lead to "snipe hunting" and the sudden idea of what if someone did actually come back with a snipe.

003: Bedside Manner

Nicole was always careful to consider those in her care as she doled out their medicine. She kept in mind their dispositions, whether they were agitated, overly tired, angry or, more rare, calm and happy. She kept in mind their over all health and weight as well. Sedatives could be tricky business; especially the ones she used. Not enough and her patients would be lethargic but active – a danger to themselves and others. Too much and they would not be roused when they needed to be.

For example, the woman in 1A was very slender and calm - one dose for her. No more. But, the man in 2A was a different story. He had been scowling and grouchy since she laid eyes on him this morning. He was big man and demanding, promising to be very difficult with her and her colleagues if she did not get his dose just right. She considered his weight and disposition then upped his dosage one more level to ensure that he calmed down and remained calm for the majority of her shift.

She delivered the medicine to all of her charges, just ten in all this morning, with a smile and a kind word. Then, she went back to her other duties, occasionally checking on her people to make sure all was well and there were no unexpected side effects. After about twenty minutes, Dana came up to visit her. "My god, it's a zoo today."

"Not everywhere." Nicole smiled.

Dana looked out at those in Nicole's care. "I don't know how you do it. I really don't. I thought that guy in 2A was going to be hell all day, demanding this and that and being all handsy. He patted me on the fanny as I walked by earlier, too. But, look at him now; all snuggled down and comfy. What's your secret?"

Nicole shrugged. "I think it's my bedside manner. I do my best to serve each and everyone individually, talk with them, sooth them."

"You're amazing. You have the patience of a saint."

"Thank you. I suppose it's because I was a nurse in another life. I had to deal with people who were scared and those who were in pain all the time. I got good at it, soothing all of the hurts and fears as best I could. This job isn't much different. Really, it isn't. People are scared or impatient or worried or hurting. I just do what I can to make it better for them and everyone around them."

Dana started to respond but the sudden insistent chime of a call button distracted both women. "Ah, well. Back into the trenches."

"Good luck."

"Yeah. Thanks."

Nicole watched Dana walk by her peaceful, sleeping wards in First Class and make her way into the hell known as Coach. Never again did she have to work that part of the plane. Not since she got her promotion and received nothing but good comments from her people. There had not been one single complaint since she moved to First Class. Every one of her colleagues was amazed at her success in that section of the plane notoriously filled with difficult, demanding people. They wanted to know her secret but she would never give it up. She could never be certain they would understand or be able to take appropriate care of their charges in the same way she did. It was her duty and one she took very seriously.

Inspiration: Flying to the Bay Area from Seattle, I got to see some seriously pain-in-the-butt first class passengers. They were really inconsiderate. Enough that one of the stewardess hushed a couple of people during the safety speech. I was wondering how she dealt with cranky passengers day in and day out. My thought was drugs - for the stewardesses, not the passengers.

004: Diamonds Are Forever

Brian packaged the last of his orders with care with the LifeGem return address and sent them on their way. He hoped they would bring solace to those grieving over lost ones. Then, he closed down the lab for the day. After a light, solitary dinner of Chinese food at his favorite family-owned Chinese place, Brian headed home.

"Hello Cerberus." He greeted his cat with a stroke on the head. "We have a new member of the family." The cat peered at him with keenly intelligent eyes and turned, walking to the basement door. "Eager to meet him, I see. All right. No rest for the wicked."

The basement did not look like the normal basement of a bachelor or any normal person for that matter. It was brightly lit with many display cases filled with thousands of loose gems in many colors lining the walls. Each display case was labeled with titles such as "Medical," "Financial," "Technical" and "Religious." Others were labeled with words like "Pretty," "Kind," "Hateful" and "Revenge." Looking closer, each loose gem had an identifying card placed in front of it with a name, age, and cause of death. These were for quick reference only. The rest of the information was stored in his extensive files.

Brian sat at his desk, pulled out a file from his filing cabinet and a small package from his pocket. Cerberus sat on the desk watching. "This is Mr. Marren, my former boss." On a card, he wrote, 'Joseph Marren. Age 36. Car Accident.' He rose and placed it in front of an empty spot in his 'Revenge' display case. Returning to the desk, he pulled out a small box of ritual implements. Each of which he put on: an ornate necklace, a matching ring and a worn purple sash. "It is time for my old boss to meet his new one."

The cat said nothing but picked up the package, leapt from the desk and placed it in the middle of the ritual circle on the floor. The cat remained within the circle, watching the specially prepared package. Brian stood outside the circle. He spoke several words of Power that few others in the world could understand. The package within the circle burst into flame and a transparent Joseph Marren appeared where the package had been.

"What? Where? Brian? What's going on?"

"Shut up, you useless sack of shit. I have want to say that to you for a long, long time."

Mr. Marren sputtered in outrage. "Now see here! You cannot speak to me like that."

"Cerberus?" Brian smiled. Immediately, the cat sprang forward and slashed at the spirit with vicious claws.

Joseph yelped in pain and kicked at the cat. He froze when his foot passed right through the little beast.

"Rule number one: You will call me 'Master' from now on. Rule number two: You will never again interrupt me. Do you understand me?"

Joseph nodded slowly, frightened and confused. "Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes, Master."

"Good. Ok. You're dead. You died in a car accident. Your widow, of course, sent your remains to LifeGem to turn into a synthetic diamond. I took the liberty of making my own gem. You have no idea how much easier it is to keep a spirit around when you have their remains in gem form. No worries of it decaying." He paused, savoring the look of horror on his former boss's face. "Yes, you're a spirit and now my servant."

"Why?" Joseph look at his translucent hands and wanted to cry.

"Why not? The technology works perfectly with the Old Ways. It makes things easier. It's the whole reason I became a technician there. It's the whole reason I put up with you for so long. Where else can a man so easily gather the remains of the dead? A little bit is all I need to work my will."

"You're mad! You can't. I can't be... I died. I should be free. I should go on. Set me free. Please, set me free."

"No. I don't think so. Not until the Second Coming - if it ever comes. I have use of you already. Tell me about your wife. She's very pretty. What's her favorite color? What's her favorite flower?"

"No! I will not!"

"Yes, you will. Now!"

Compelled by forces beyond his ken, Joseph answered in a flat voice. "Her favorite color is purple. Her favorite flower is the carnation."

Brian nodded. "I think I will pay her a condolence visit and bring her your other stone. I had it mounted in the bracelet setting she wanted but didn't think she could afford. Of course, I didn't want to just send it to her in the mail. A personal visit would be so much more appropriate. She probably needs someone to console her in her time of grief. I'll be happy to provide that consolation for her."

Joseph sputtered, "You wouldn't! Not my Elizabeth!"

"I would. I will. I'm not a man easily thwarted. Oh, you can come watch me. You can visit your other LifeGem but you cannot interact with anything around it. All you can do is watch. This place," he gestured around him, "is the only place you can interact with your environment but only when I call you and send you out on tasks. Be careful, though, Cerberus likes to play with my servants and I let him."

"How can you do this? How can you keep me trapped here?"

Brian walked through the circle and picked up the little purple stone. He placed it carefully within his "Revenge" display case behind Joseph Marren's sign and smiled. "Diamonds aren't the only things that are forever."

Inspiration: LifeGems actually exist. They can take the ashes or hair of the person and turn them into synthetic diamond of different colors. At first, I was horrified by the idea. Now, I'm intrigued. My husband has told me if he dies before me I can turn him into a LifeGem if I want but he reserves the right to haunt me as necessary. After some thought, I agreed and gave him the same stipulation.

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