Arms, legs, the usual.
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Stories
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Ares the dog
Miranda decided that today was going to be a good day. Today, she was going Outside for the first time. As mission commander, it was her privilege to be the first human to set foot on another planet. Six months of claustrophobic coasting in zero-G had ...
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Ebay provides all
James stood, washing up and thinking. He wore an apron to keep splashes off his brand new linen skirt. And that was why he was thinking. Outside, the darkness lay unresponsive against the windows, imperfect mirrors reflecting his thoughts and offering ...
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Olivia has a bad day
The hospital was either too cold or too hot, she could never remember which. As promised, Holly held her hand as a sequence of nurses took her vitals, tutted over the fact that she was obviously a junkie, and sutured the cut on her temple. They were al...
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A letter from home
Alarm suffused Shannon Reid’s delicate features as she came into the bedroom. Her husband, normally so rugged, sat on the bed like a wounded child. She shifted her gaze slowly from his face down to the thing held between limp fingers. It was a le...
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Reflections in the barley
spoiler alert If you want to read the whole story first, go to http://ficly.com/stories/11014 now. Katie stood tall, watching the familiar yet ever-changing dance of the wind in the barley. David’s strong hand enfolded hers; her free hand rested...
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Two years on
Katie’s phone played the happy little tune which meant Charlotte. She answered, laughing, “Charlie, speak after the beep.” “Katie, it’s serious. BBC One. Now.” She fumbled for the remote and turned on the TV. “...
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Chewing the miles
At six o’clock, Charlotte and Frank roused Katie, helped her into a wheelchair and wrapped her in a blanket. There’d be time to dress later. Wei watched them go with a closed expression. It looked like they’d be gone before this Malco...
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Wake up, we're moving again
Katie swam up from the anaesthetic very slowly. Her tummy hurt like hell, but it was a much better sort of hurt than she’d had before. It was still dark and she was alone. Through the curtain around her bed, she could hear the nurse, Wei, if she ...
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An arrival and a departure
Charlotte met them by the dingy goods-entrance to a hospital Katie had never been to before. Norman carried her inside and laid her on a trolley, handing a wad of print-outs to a nurse who introduced herself as Wei. Norman wished her good luck and vani...
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Choose life
Katie was sitting up now, as the van drove on. She sipped gingerly at the water Norman had given her. “What happened?” “Weeeellll,” he said, “looks like you drove too close to a Cylink node. A bit like a WiFi hotspot: they...
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Incoming message from hub 24
From: Cylink regional hub #24 To : Brian CY-4A5E, Wendy CY-4A01 Data: Katherine CY-50FE absconded voluntarily with enemy at 2213 today. Pursuit forced CY unit over All Saints Road node #F258E2. Node activated CY unit defence plan #3. Biological unit wi...
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Back in Norman's van
It seemed to take forever for the van to reach point 8. Katie rolled around in the back, clutching her tummy, her whole world on fire, able only to wonder what was going on. Eventually, Libby slowed the van and Norman opened the door and jumped in. He ...
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Rough van ride
“There’s a Cylink node on All Saints Road,” Libby was a little distracted by the driving, “I should have remembered.” To the radio, she said “She needs Norman and fast. I’m putting Charlie off at point 5. Where...
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All Saints Road
It happened on the way home from Aikido. An off-white van much like Norman’s pulled up alongside her as she cycled and Charlotte’s head appeared in the window. “Katie! Get in. Quickly.” Katie jammed on the brakes. The van did th...
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Twisting and writhing
Katie lay awake long into the night, simultaneously upset and furious. Damn Mikey for walking her home. He said he wanted to make sure nothing happened to her. He hadn’t seemed to consider the possibility that she wanted something to happen…...
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Bowling like a drunk
It was Thursday, and that meant bowling. Tonight, though, she was a mess: Frank’s team were to snatch her as she walked home and nervous energy thrilled through her system. She was bowling like a drunk. “What’s the matter?” Mich...
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No welcome in the barley
Katie had spent much of the morning in the field, walking up and down the tractor lines amid acre upon acre of swirling barley. The wind was light, so the song of the power lines was mute beneath their steady crackle. The barley usually calmed her, cal...
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Please, anywhere but home
The colour drained from Katie’s face. It was getting late, even though the summer sun was still well above the horizon. She was sitting on Charlotte’s bed once more, taking comfort from her friend as Frank told her the last thing she wanted...
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A closer look
Norman’s van was as inconspicuous as they come, off-white with a nondescipt logo on the side, and not even “clean me” marked in the dirt on the back. The casual obeserver’s eye slid right off it without stopping. Katie lay insid...
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Charlotte's room. Night time.
It was late. Katie lay on a low inflatable mattress, in borrowed night-clothes, staring up at the ceiling of Charlotte’s bedroom. “They took me there. They did stuff to me. In a big metal ball. You climb in and it hypnotises you and …...
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Another ball, smaller this time
Without really meaning to, Frank Delaney walked into Charlotte’s room without knocking. The scene that met his eyes was, at first, surprising then, as he realised more, poured ice down his spine. Katie was lying on his daughter’s bed, skirt...
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The power in the barley
Sixteen, now, and Katie was raging. The fire in her cheeks enhanced the natural highlights in her hair, which threatened to burst free from the barley-motif hair grip. Annual trips to The Centre had only served to subdue the pain temporarily. Every yea...
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Wind in the barley
Katie danced with the barley. She threw her arms out and spun round, now running, now still. The barley danced around her as far as the eye could see, waving its ripe yellowness in the joyful embrace of the wind, patterns always changing, always intric...
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Balls. Lots of balls.
The windows went on forever. From the floor, seemingly up to the sky, marching forwards for at least a hundred metres. The late afternoon sun streamed in, bringing the verdant green of the grass to life even against the polished black marble of the roo...
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"Red Star Rising" in ten words.
Thread coming: dragons ready. Holder greedy: artist witness. Bravery conquers.
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Dear Luke
Dear Luke, Please explain to me, in words of three syllables or fewer, how you reached the conclusion you did. We are standing in a room full of naked boys, you have an erection and I am the one who is gay? Maybe, one day, you’ll get a life. Mayb...
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Wind in the power-lines
The child lay still, awake but mostly divorced from space and time, on a couch in the centre of a sphere. It was dark at the moment, the only sound that reached her ears was the rising, falling hum of wind in power-lines. Sensors stroked and probed her...
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Encounter with difference
“Ah, Mr. Jennings, thank you for coming in so quickly.” The principal looked over her glasses at Jennings, who regarded her levelly. “You understand why I called you?” “Not really.” “Michael assaulted another c...
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Not a good day at the office
It was the only way to adequately fuel up. Father John’s words ringing in her ears, she shot through the main doors at speed and turned left down the street. In the distance, she could see her targets. The pitstop had cost her time: she piled on ...
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Now sequel this
“The body of Christ.” “Amen” “The blood of Christ.” “Amen” “Now run!”
