"Bill Hollister is near to retirement, going through the motions of a job that's a far cry from the one he started in his youth. All he wants to do is run out the clock and retire, but when a dangerous man threatens all that he still holds sacred, he realises he has one last duty to perform."
This story was inspired by a short piece of writing by Wil Wheaton ("We Are All Going To Reseda"). The villain of the piece owes a lot to the Evil Fox Executive featured in Joel Watson's web-comic, HijiNKS Ensue. Wil's a really talented writer and actor and Joel produces laugh-out-loud geeky fun several times a week. You should check out their work and buy their books.
It's my first attempt at self-publishing my work, although I have subbed and sold stories through traditional channels before. I'm hoping that this experiment will show whether I can make a living from my writing.
Available for download from Amazon:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Amazon EU
and in epub format from Lulu.com.
Please let me know if there are other formats you'd like to have available and I'll see what I can do.
Excerpt
"The small glass tube clinked as Bill Hollister slid it into the groove on top of the X-Tractr. The metal ring clicked into place as the vial nestled alongside two more identical tubes. He tested the weight of the X-Tractr, the gun-like gadget finding the familiar calluses on his palm. His finger stroked the trigger. A slight pressure and twin prongs pounced from the end, sharp spikes waiting to bite.
"Are you going to jump?" He glanced up at the low wall, where the twenty-something blonde stood, toes curled over the edge. Her torn, bloody nightdress fluttered in the light breeze as she swayed above the forty-storey void. She looked down at him over her shoulder, her despair dulling her blue eyes.
"Aren't you meant to talk me down?" Her voice wavered. Their eyes met and he saw the familiar emptiness in them. He wouldn't waste the time hoping for a different outcome. In her mind, she'd already jumped.
Hollister sighed. "Could I say anything that would change your mind?"
Her filthy, bleeding feet shuffled on the stone as she turned to face him. Bloody handprints stained the front of the nightdress and her face was specked with crimson. Mascara had run with her tears, smearing her cheeks with streaks of black.
"He promised", she said. "He said he'd get me into the movies. He lied. He took everything from me, so I took it all from him."
Hollister sat forward, staring at the blood. The gravel covering the roof was grinding through his pants and his discomfort was making him irritable. He ran a hand over his slick, graying hair; the neat comb lines from the morning's grooming still perfect this late in the evening. The setting sun was reflected from the glass-fronted buildings all around, Los Angeles' downtown skyscrapers surrounding them, silent sentinels spectating.
"I've heard that a hundred times before, girl," he said. "And I'll hear it a hundred times more. I have a job to do. If you aren't going to go through with this, tell me now because I have a dozen other places I could be. Are you going to give me what I need?"
She gave him the confused look he'd become so used to. "What do you want? I have nothing left!"
Hollister shook his head. "No, you do. Your hope. Your dreams. They might be crushed, but they're still in there. If you're done with them, I can take them."
"Take what you want", she said. "I'm done."
No comments:
Post a Comment