Zombiepoca? e
20080131
&? ;Ja? y 29, 2008
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The n? before ? , I killed a woman.S? ? all and blonde, with close-c? ed c? and smooth skin. She lay down o? ? ch a? ent ? ? ? deep a slee? ? ? ? een.? tood up from my bed, TV still playing, a? alke? ? o her. I remember no emotional conflict ? ? er, not the slig? ? inge of ? ion, only a ? ? erriding? iosity. ? e was no anger, ? hate? even joy. Just curi? y.I laid my right hand on he? own, my ? under her chin. I felt the fine man? lar bones sl? ? the skin. I gripped? chin fi? ? t not too fi? ) and he? own, and I jerked her ch? ? ? o the left, ? n to the right. ? asn't sharp ? gh, it hadn't worked, I tried again and ? time heard and ? the ? as her neck broke. As I? go of her chin,? ? th fell open slightly and her chest sank, an? didn't come up again.
I hid her. She? in a large garbage bag ? his time, large ? ? o cover her ? , her limbs hanging ? ? hough they had already been severed. The gui? as o? helming. This wa? something I? ? ake back, I coul? ? , "I? ? " and have all be re? ed, I had ended, there had been a threshold,? isible b? ? ful, and I h? hambled dumbly a? ? ? ? ity might have killed the ca? t wh? hey never mentio? thelateral damage, the girl who? ? ght ? he line of fire whil? roki? ? urring bundle in? arms.
There had been an inci? as ? lled up to m? artment before a? his, a dividing wall? ween me and the ? tmen? ilding next ? ? zzle fla? ? ible as ? and rob? sho? eac? her, and? hought I? ? ? the? pse ? he head and ? ? there and e? one would think she had been? ictim of the tiny war, b? hen I knew any forensic anthropologi? orth? salt and hi? ition would ? immedia? that she ha? die? om a bullet and then I'd be ? ? ame place.
Th? idence, the evidence, th? iden? ? ? e, I tri? o clean and ? e was nothing, it looked like, but I? er knew,? ? ensic anthropolo? ? th h? alt and his ? ion would fi? ? hing that would find me.? anted to tel? dad, tell my mom, ask for help with this, b? hat would ki? hem,? ? ho ended? o more casualties of my need to ? ? /><>I loaded her in the back of my truck, l? tumbling loosely li? ? oes, pulling the deathbag like a loose cocoon into crene? ? idge? hen ? ove into the? ? s an? ied to find a place for her ? tay ? e she wouldn't bother me or bother anyone, even ? elf, and I found one, a lone? lace? ? ? form? ? s, a? er o? ? hite gravel ? ounded by black wood? he moon maki? ? ide path glow with its o? ecret light, an atte? ed moon ? hich two? ers would meet and o? ould be ? and the oth? ould? get.
I got home a? he children were running around and thei? andmother wanted? where my TV? ? ried und? ? ile of d? ? ? that had been her home as I tried to avo? he forensic anthropologi? orth? salt an? ition and I said it was ? ? ? here? ? hing's around somewhere.? ? le="clear:both; padding-? om:0.25em">
posted by Hugh VanDerG? ? p; # 11:48 AM 0 Comm? ? an>
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20080117
&? ;Ja? y 17, 2008
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S? wok? from a nap, and I had a pretty inte? ing dream.I was in a locker room? h a larg? oup of o? ? s, a? e were a? itting around listening ? he coach. We? e al? ying? ? the wrestli? eam, and we had been? ough? tren? ? out process, and? e about to learn abo? he last ? in the ess.
The coach unveiled a? ? iece of foam? d with anoth? tude? face on it, one we all ? ? />
"The most i? ? ? ect of a? eam ? ? ? y and security between its members a? he coach. If? mak? ? o th? eam,? should ? that I would kill f? ou," he said. "I? therefore incum? upon all of? to ? e th? ? ould do likewise? me.? />
He gave us an address a? old ? o pi? hatever meth? e would like? t that it had to be done as a team. ? e of us who "chickened out" would never be a? t of? eam, this on? ? other.
We left as a ? p. I wen? a diffe? ? te, which se to involve ? agging between nonconsec? e po? , and which ? ck m? bei? tran? familiar, for a? hat ? esembled an idea of tele? ation. I? ? p back in th? oup, behind a gi? e all knew, who seem? o be leading us some? e with a? tain sense o? ? eful? . Behind me, I heard the whi? s: "He a? ? s he? ound." "Yeah, he fol? everyon? ound." "We c? robably make him do it." We were? ing along an elevated walkway made of some kind ? tone that had a ? ery sheen, lined by a pair of solid stone ba? rades th? ere ? urn made of some kind of? ? ? erial. T? ? ? ilve? ? ? hite? ? clear; ? ng gleamed.
W? rned a corner, a? ? ? ay opene? t onto a? t plaza made of the same? erial, at the far end of whi? at a mon? hic building made of the same si? y material. The building? ? ? ? ectangular, squa? indo? et into it at em? assi? reg? ? ervals a? ? ? the cle? hite sunlight into o? e sh? ? ? in ? building th? ? arget lived.
In f? of the building? a large recepti? t's desk, made of a darker m? ial ? nonethe? had that sa? heen, and behind it sat Kath? ? , th? oman who? ? he Photo? ? ? ? tsid? office ? ork. She had an air of indefinable autho? and stillne? ? , her glasses glinting in the light. The? the? k was placed, the air of? manence and open? , the fa? hat not ? eeze stirred the crisp air, all suggested to me a place without ? her, frozen into climatic perfection? />
I knew ? e fo? ing ? ould do as I do,? ? hile at ? t. Ipped? though hesitating, and turned around. Sure ? gh, the ? of ? stopped in thei? ? and milled ? nd, looking confused. There were two Indian ? at the front, between me and th? owd, and they looked at me darkly.
"This ? rong," I told them. "The coach couldhave been se? s. This is all just a test, a test o? r lo? y. He doesn't re? ? ect ? o go? ough? ? and kill this boy."
? hea? hat ? aid," sa? ? aller of the two Ind? . "He would kill? us; so we must kill? him."
"Maybe he'? ying to ? ? ? ? trength," I ? ed. "He ? s to who'll ? trong enough to say ? o him in spite o? r desire to join the team."
"? ouldn't tell us to do th? ? s he mea? e should? aid the smaller. "If? don? ant to do this, then stand aside."
I ? ? ome more? t to no avail. The g? of ? ? ? urpo? lly ? ? ? tion? k--a? hen ? I hurri? p to? hy, and tried to tell her wh? as a? to ? en, but two ? held me back an? shed me ? ? h a ? n admonition. I gave up. The? s went into the building? />
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20080104
? ary 4, 2008
? class="blog? ">So here i? ? />
I'm at a house, tan? h black trim? ? ort of old and c? y, b? here are at ? t 3 ? ? , and the little? ter of an ol? iend hangs o? ith the ? ? ho live ? e. They're all kind ? ketchy, ? whi? rash? />
Afte? d, I go back and suddenly there are all ? e sketchy people there again in my living room, along with Zack and ? from "Suite Life" and I'm like hmm. I loom as largely as I and everyone's attention wa? ? ? o me. "A? hat.? ? pan style="font-style: italic;">you doing? e," ? k.
I sit down? oss the kitchen tabl? ? he g? ? ? to ? ? ingleader and the ma? enter. H? plai? hat he lost the ? e be? e he fell behind on his paym? ? t doesn't offer up a? eason why he's back with all? fri? . I'm being invaded for Chri? sake.
In the meantime, Zack (or ? ? playing? h a ? le gun, and he d? it. I d? hea? go off,? everyone jerks ? nd, and the main? ? oss from me ? ? sed and ? , "Stop ? ing with that." ? ? Zac? ? the gun up off the floor and mocks him.? truggle ? es, and ? yone? ? ritated,? aid, or tired and le? , al? once.
Ah, peace and quiet. In the meantime, the ? e has morphed in? his wild-looking mansion, with a? t of great-hall ? anceway flanked by marble pi? s, f? ed in marble, wi? ? of the ? beaul blue I've ever seen. ? e's a terrac? the end of the hall? ? e th? ont ? , with a shaped-marble b? trade and some comfortable c? s and ta? . I'? andi? here whe? ddenly I see Hea? , David, and? oman? h her hair in a bun and who look? pical of the folk those two asso? e with.
my house,? Min? . Get the hell out." They don't ? er, ? shi? ? weight and glance around, avoiding my eyes. She? regnant but not much different o? wise? />
Then I see Mind? riding down the great ha? ith her ? in ? e ri? ? ? ensions, and? eali? he must have told th? his was ? ? ? ? se. She ? ? o the bedroo? etri? the oth? omand the four of them begin to ? ? ? a (O? ? up and announces, "I'm gonna be pregnant ne? ear!" "O? eally," I say. "Well, have fun." She leaves with the? t of them.
? class="byline">? ed b? gh VanDerGoetz ? p;# 1:40 AM