PEN


	WRITING EXAMPLES

Extracting Daniel

I sat, he sat. I turned the key to the ignition, he buckled. Creature of habit. I checked the mirrors, looked around for anyone or anything that might notice, then muttered “Shit, fucking Cops,” and Danny boy turned his head away from me and my little gizmo. He jumped when the Vaccination gun stabbed his neck, but the drugs went right into his jugular. He tried to bat me off with those skinny sticks but his angry little ‘WTF’ tantrum was washed away by the sleepies. He even got to snoring. How cute.

I drove west for about an hour. Outskirts of the last part of the Burbs. Grass and trees and construction halted until further notice in an un-incorporated part of a town. It was perfect, under a fight over the grasslands or wetlands or some shit. No one for miles… Literally. And me with a job to do. I popped the chain and drove into the construction site, bumping over the cold wet ruts of mud and bones. Pulled around to the second to last house complex. A palace by comparison to what I grew up in, but built for shit. My asshole of a mother still lives in that hell hole and still has the same light bulbs, far as I know. Everything they make these days is just such crap.

Danny boy was light as a feather, and stunk like stale cigarettes. The stench made me mad. Good thing too. I was going to have to do a number on old stinky, and I worked best when I really disliked a guy. Maybe later he’d duke his pants and set me off proper


	One Eyed King A man of non-descript age, stature, and appearance was escorted by a police officer into the office of the Mayor of Chicago one bright shining cold April morning. A little over an hour later, Mayor Richard J. Daley, his wife, and an entourage of Chicago politicians accompanied this heretofore unknown visitor of civility and delicate stature; along with some staff members, skipped the luncheon they were scheduled to attend, boarded a private plane, and inside of a few hours had exited a hastily arranged limousine convoy and entered the building where Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger did most of his business. Later that evening the two important men, their wives in tow and a plethora of assistants and security detail were well on their way to the polar opposite of the North American Continent, Washington DC. They flew unbidden to see the President of the United States, considered the most powerful man in the world, by some. That evening; after some decidedly well received dinner, in the Orange Room at the White House residence, top heads of state and key Republican Cabinet members were called for an emergency meeting. They arrived, collected, boarded, and spiritedly took off in three presidential helicopters from the back lawn of sixteen hundred Pennsylvania Avenue. All three birds flew as night crows for Camp David, some seventy miles north - northwest. And that night, in seclusion, away from prying eyes and with all the recording instrumentation of any kind turned off or blocked, the world was conquered by one innocuous little man in one cold busy day in April of two thousand and eight.

	POLL DANCER At the same time, Angeline floated up to their level to announce the hors d'oeuvres as they were presented with a flourish by the neat yet ostentatious waiters. They produced from behind their backs ornate Russian Tea glasses and a gold embroidered transparent Carafe of piping hot fragrant tea. Angeline narrated as they poured the steaming liquid, “The apéritif before you is a blend of Soviet Zavarka, Japanese Gyokuro, and Tieguanyin tea with a high proof Aspen liquor. Your hors d'oeuvre course for this evening is an expertly prepared Chef specialty. De-venomed Australian Sea Snake Reme’ medalions with a Velouté glaze over a bed of Sonoran Farm Kelp slow broiled and served on a tablet of Authentic Banion wood.” The waiters; seeming to have much more behind them than at first glance, produced one plate each of a finely presented cone of greens streaked with lines of a fragrant dressing. For the first time since she had touched him, Anton25 removed his paw from under Connie21’s graceful hand and quickly brought the tea glass under his nose. He closed his eyes and inhaled the herbal steam. It did not help to clear his head. With eyes still closed, he began to sip the drink and could barely taste the alcohol undertone. It was delicious. Angeline continued; turning her attention to Connie21 who was now staring at her without warmth, “The Niçoise Greens are a complex-“ Connie21 had raised her forearm slightly from the table during Angeline’s diatribe, showed the holographic hostess the back of her tilted hand and snapped it level, thumb outstretched. The action; coupled with a look of sheer contempt, connoted “Leave” all in one crumb sweeping motion of her right hand. the semi transparent hostess stopped in mid sentence, turned without word and glided out of sight below the hovering grav base. The waiters were already down to the Anatolian covered floor and the stepped plates lifted back up and out of sight but not before two HoverCams tonged against the disks and were swept from view.

TITAN

The landing site was as strange a place as Abe could imagine. As the small group was lowered smoothly on the ship’s landing platform, his eyes widened in astonishment. Something so technological; so artificial, to be nestled in a place like this, to be bordered with such opulent serenity, was yet another shock to his system. ‘By the Gods’ he thought to himself. He was becoming quite the zealot in his old age. The sun peeked out between heavy pink puffs of clouds dotted in a fine procession in all directions. He turned around slowly seeking something in the skies overheard other than these perfect little clouds with golden streams of sunlight dancing across the vista but every millimeter of sky was the same. His astonishment was not lost on the new companions/captors, who could have disembarked underground, but had surface landed for just this experience, just for their new hostage/refugee/artifact to experience. It was intended.

The land was a motionless living sea of the most luxurious rolling waves covered with a living shag of cerulean blue grass undulating in windswept chaos. Some hills seemed as big as mountains and all was a turbulent reef in still life. Abe had the immediate sensation of being in a negative image of sorts. It was as though someone had played with the chroma on his old television from the 20th century. But the light from the sun; his sun, was the same warm beautiful yellow, and everyone’s face; although so different from what he was used to, seemed to look normal in the light from his home star.

Since so many things had taken his breath away in the intervening weeks, so many things to adjust to, after so many ‘freak outs’ over what the people of this time and age considered nominal, he had decided to ignore the warning bells concerning his predicament and just soak in the utter splendor that was Venus in the 27th century. “Who does your landscaping?” Zeke stared at him as did the woman. The others moved ahead, ignoring the continued jabberings of the cave man. “Wish I had my clubs.” At this, Zeke turned his head and tilted up an eyebrow as he had seen. “Fascinating, Captain.” It was exactly as Abe had taught him. He could not help smiling.

Waiting Simple

But this time, it was the man and he came all the way up from the basement. He had tapped on the door without entering “Señora…” he stated quietly as though not to frighten or even wake her. The man quietly tapped again and repeated himself. This time Hannah lifted the edge of the box to look at the dark outline that was his face outside the slightly open door. “Excúse Señora, pero el fuego ha salido.” From inside the box the man could see Hannah’s glistening eyes, unblinking. “Fuego. No fuego. Out.” His hand gestures pantomimed fire and then the universal baseball sign for ‘yer out.’

Hannah slowly moved out into the room, her breath instantly visible against the motionless frigid air. The chill immediately grabbed her and she pulled out her comforter around her body. “Use whatever you want. Break up the furniture. I don’t care.” The man stood at the door, not daring to enter an inch, but he did speak up and gestured for her to follow him “Señora, viene por favor abajo. Es demasiado frío en esta casa. Usted conseguirá enfermo.” Hannah just stared at him, not angry, not even resolute, and certainly not understanding him. But then she did understand. He was telling her that she would be better off downstairs, downstairs where she could live just a little longer so she could freeze to death in her basement. The basement was full of Eric’s things, all his trophies, his office, his billiards table. He had called it his ‘man cave’ and Hannah Everet – Wilson had no intention of dying in any cave.

If only her bedroom had a fireplace. The thought of her whole name inside her mind made her think of her father again, and all at once, she could not help but cry for all that was lost. Her family, her friends, her husband, all gone…at least she would follow soon and finally know if they waited for her in the searing heat of the eternal afterlife.