“Your real father, Devil’s Palm, he is a very bad man. He killed thousands of innocent people, and most of them died in a cruel and horrible fashion, either by his devices, diseases, or by his insane experimentations. You must understand, I ended him, for the greater good,” the Herbalist said before he left.

“And how dare he insult my father! So what if he killed many people? In this world, in this jianghu, it is kill or be killed! Much must be sacrificed to push the boundaries further in the name of science. My father was a radical man, but the Herbalist is not that different. He kills too. He uses beautiful reasons and excuses, the ‘failures’ he regretted. And no one blames him for that. But I know his dirty secrets,” (more…)

Josh shielded his eyes from the hot sun, and saw the same unremarkable view he had seen for about a week now; nothing but blue, rolling waves. He reached down and grabbed a half-full bottle of water, taking a sip. He sat back down onto the bow and let his head hang between his knees while the cruel rays of the summer sun beat on the back of his neck. (more…)

Often, more than not, he is in two places at the one time.

This place, now, he is known as Mad Dog. (more…)

The old farmer awoke when heard the whomp-whomp of a helicopter’s blades echoing down the valley with its steep rocky walls.  It reminded him of the American military helicopters he had fought when he was young.  As quickly as the noise came, it left.  (more…)

Lieutenant  Penny  Warren,  former  SAS  now Republican New Zealand Army, slouched  in her chair, wearily  glowering  at  her  Deep  Reconnaisance  Activities  Patrol  Echelon  attaché in the  confines  of the debriefing  and  interrogation  room. (more…)

Head South?

She shrugged. I shrugged too.

She had brought along her camera and a few sets of batteries inside a black, leather messenger bag. If something particularly morbid snagged her attention, she would ask if we could stop so she could snap a shot of it. (more…)

Alcatraz Island, San Francisco, California, United States of America  

[Before the Great Panic, this island was little more than a monument to an inescapable prison that had held some of the most notorious criminals this country has known. Today, it acts as a mental health clinic, treating the many survivors whose mental health was devastated during the war. (more…)

Up in Northland, the Nga Puhi iwi hold sway. It was, and still is, an area of breathtaking natural beauty and nearly continuous indigenous Maori settlement. (more…)

SEQUEL TO THE PEZZOLANTI COLLAR

I roll off her, sweating and breathing hard. Almost instantly, my brief dalliance with euphoria ebbs away. My desires slaked, and the image of Dr. Pezzolanti creeps back into the forefront of my mind. (more…)

Patrick parked near his in-law’s graves. The sunset was nearly finished, and the graveyard was appropriately dark. He flashed Lilly a glittering rockstar grin — clearly visible despite the coming gloom. (more…)