Category Archives: May 2020 – Survival

Survival

Posted on by under 2020, May 2020 - Survival

Cat was a clever cat.

She had escaped the traps that were put down on occasion to catch the feral cats that lived around the old factory.

It was really hard to do this though, the smell of the food in there was really enticing as the whole colony was starving. She had seen others go in and some came back but a lot didn’t.

Unfortunately, cat was very tired, she was still only young but felt very old. She had had so many litters of kittens, and was finding it harder and harder to feed them. She was so hungry herself and knew by their mewling that they were starving.

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The Prize

Posted on by under 2020, May 2020 - Survival

Depending on who is asking, Dominic has two standard answers. Either:

I work as a customer service advisor

(He works on the shop floor at B and Q and sometimes shows people where items are to be found)

Or, he says:

I am an artist; a writer.

To some extent the selected response depends on where he is and what he is wearing. For example, he is far more likely to be a writer if wearing his battered Lenin cap and drinking in an unfamiliar pub.

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Nightmare

Posted on by under 2020, May 2020 - Survival

Racing through the undergrowth my heart pounding, slipping and sliding on the uneven ground. My brain racing. Which way to run? Sounds crashing behind me. Who are they, why are they chasing me?

Gut wrenching fear. Where am I? Animals and birds screeching in the trees, sending out alarm calls. A swelling of sounds. Humid air filling my lungs like treacle. I know I can’t carry on for much longer, but terror is pushing me forward.

The canopy starts to open up and a river bank appears. Without thought I dive straight in and start swimming. Reaching the middle of the river I see a log drifting towards me. Floating towards me as it nears, I can see two evil eyes focused on me. As it gets nearer it opens its huge mouth, fangs glint in the sunshine. It almost seems to smile at me.

I’m screaming out loud, then a hand touches me. Gently my mother’s voice is coaxing me to wake up. Trembling I fall into her arms crying, ‘It’s going to eat me.’ Smiling, she said, ‘Told you not to have cheese before bed, it gives you nightmares!!!!’

Let’s go

Posted on by under 2020, May 2020 - Survival

The Mass was interminable and the priest couldn’t even remember his name. The burial was worse, raining non-stop. And in the pub afterwards, distant relatives sat gawping at her. They were part of Robert’s extended brood from the countryside. Uncouthness clung to them like agricultural muck on your shoes.

            They were the first to leave, most of them with barely a word of commiseration. A middle-aged cousin stopped by her table, as unsure of himself as a ewe before a sheepdog.

            ‘So like, y’ know… he’ll be missed. Good fellow he was… yeah.’

            Missed? By whom? she’d wanted to say. But the ‘whom’ would probably have confused him.

            ‘Time to go home, Mum.’

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See you on the other side

Posted on by under 2020, May 2020 - Survival

Those were my brother’s last words to me as our phone call ended.  I was quite taken aback.  Was this outbreak really going to be that serious?  Those words haunted me for days.

His letter from his GP had stated to stay in for twelve weeks, shielding they called it.  We would still be able to phone each other, or even use Skype or Zoom, but would that really be enough.

I had not even considered him in the past, when I jetted off around the world for months on end, so why did this feel different.  As the daily death tolls rose, so did my worries.

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Things That Will Happen After the Divorce

Posted on by under 2020, May 2020 - Survival

You’ll think it’s killing you at first. You’ll want to stay in bed, picking apart everything you’ve said and done (and not said and done) in the last year. What if you’d listened more, moaned less, worn lipstick…?

The last thing you’ll want to do is clad yourself in Lycra and gasp for breath in the gym. You’ll think the place is full of self-obsessed freaks, like that airhead he left you for. But Helen will drag you along.

A routine will form. Those new trainers, the neon pink ones Helen said you should splash out on, will beckon to you every morning before dawn. You’ll sweat a little more and cry a little less. Five rounds of squats, eight reps each. Increase the weight by five kilograms. Go to work. Go to bed. Repeat.

There will be nights when the pain will wind itself around your neck and burrow into your heart. On your anniversary. When his favourite song comes on the radio. When you’ll be at a party and your friends will study the floor and shift their feet when you ask if they’ve seen him. If they’ve met her. Yes, they’ll say, then change the subject.

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The Science of Seconds

Posted on by under 2020, May 2020 - Survival

This is the shortened version. You can read the full version here.

It is twenty-four years since Contact and I’m drinking coffee while sitting behind my desk in New Scotland Yard. I cleared some space by moving a paper mountain to one side and set my cup down.

“Boss”, declared Detective Sergeant Kieran Mulrooney, as he strode towards me with a memorandum in his fist. “Read this…”

“Let me see.” It was from Intelligence. They were monitoring some scholars in Camden. Hard-wired bugs you understand. We don’t use radio, not since Scrixn’s warning, anyway.

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