tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42847590344571709082024-02-18T23:10:22.125-05:00Feast for the PenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00405366382203129429noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-50667807880899658992013-10-29T13:42:00.001-04:002013-11-15T15:57:25.883-05:00Vote On Your Favorite Doctor Who T-Shirt Design!We're always looking for fun Doctor Who t-shirts, but are always sad that we can't find the designs we're looking for, so we made some ourselves. Once we saw how they came out we thought it would be great to share these with everyone else and actually produce and sell the design that received the most votes. <a href="http:/#votenow">Please vote on your favorite design below</a>. The winning design will be printed and sold! <br />
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<b>BONUS:</b> If you leave a comment, share on G+, Facebook, or Twitter using #feastforthepen, a person will be chosen at random at the close of the poll to receive a t-shirt with the winning design for free!<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(minimum of 20 votes needed for the bonus offer to happen)</span><br />
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<h4 style="font-size: 22px;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4284759034457170908" name="votenow"></a>Which design do you like the most? Vote now!</h4>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13224289517249020703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-49926158913690110302013-01-24T13:03:00.000-05:002013-01-31T13:48:46.482-05:00Say Goodbye to Normal - Part 5<span id="internal-source-marker_0.37012845525647164" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.37012845525647164" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: Gate of Shadows</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chapter: Say Goodbye to Normal - Part 5</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Jon Harrison & Alanna Cormier</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Copyright: 2012</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If you missed part 4, read it </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://feastforthepen.blogspot.com/2013/01/say-goodbye-to-normal-part-4.html">here</a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">!</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">************************************************</span><br /><span id="internal-source-marker_0.37012845525647164" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b id="internal-source-marker_0.08194331638514996" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Logan sat staring at the collection of reports, photos, and other evidence he brought home from the precinct strewn across his coffee table. He had gone over everything, every detail. He questioned anything that stood out or didn’t seem to fit but they always ended up leading nowhere. He scrutinized every crime scene photo, the autopsy report, forensics reports and the statements that had been collected. Then there was the box. At first glance it looked like it was just a plain black stained box, but there were no marks where the wood was cut, no staples, nails or sign of glue where the pieces would be joined together. The top was a lid that could not be removed, but it smoothly slid in whichever direction it was pushed. However, there was no visible mechanism that would keep it from falling off the edge. It just hung there and upon closer inspection it appeared as if the lid was hovering millimeters from the surface. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s impossible,</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> thought Logan. The inside had only a small recess in the middle of the block of wood where Logan safely assumed the totem had been. He had never seen anything like it. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">Logan sat back and rubbed his eyes. He ran through the statements again in his head. Only three people had really talked to Jim Seaver. Early in the morning Jim had talked over the phone with an employee at his office and then in the evening with his wife. At around 1 a.m. Jim had talked with the nightshift bartender of Lipensky’s, who was the last person to see or talk to Jim alive.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">It was the bartender that had mentioned the totem, and here Logan had what he believed was the box it came in, but where was the totem? The forensics team didn’t find any totem at the scene, and he doubted the group of drunken college girls that found the body would have taken it. They were so drunk that while being questioned one of them had vomited on the deputy, and the other two just cried and sobbed, occasionally asking, “Why did he look like that? What was wrong with his face?”</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">With a sigh of frustration, Logan picked up the empty beer bottle and walked over to the fridge to grab another. He had already resigned himself to not finding the missing totem, and was beginning to think that even if he had it would offer no help or clues. If the totem was as strange as the box that held it, he would have yet another item that would only bring about more unanswered questions.</span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He stood absently staring into the fridge as the cool air seeped out and crept up his legs, but he was so deep in thought he didn’t even feel it. Something was different about this case. He didn’t quite know what it was yet, but the feeling nagged at him and it couldn’t be ignored. If his five years in the Marine Corps taught him anything, it was that he should never ignore his intuition. If it told you something was going to happen, someone was behind you, or that you were walking into a trap then you better act and do it fast. Those instincts had saved his life on more than one occasion and so far those instincts had kicked into high gear twice today. The first was at the crime scene; the body had raised his alarm. Something about it had pulled at the back of his mind. Sure, there was the grotesque face, but it was more than that and the more he concentrated on it the farther away the answer seemed to be. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">He felt as if he was putting a puzzle together, but some of the pieces were blank. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The second time was at the coroner’s office. Jackson had inadvertently bumped into the autopsy table knocking the victim’s hand off of it. The moment before he touched the hand to put it back, something caught his eye. It was right there, but just as he was about to make the discovery the answer seemed to drift away once again. On top of that, he had felt like he was being watched. More than once he had found himself looking around trying to figure out who it could be. At the crime scene there had been people and reporters everywhere while at the coroner’s office there was only the three of them, but that hadn’t lessened the sensation.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Logan sat back on his couch drinking his third beer of the night and absentmindedly began to play with the reflection of the light and shadows it cast over the photos. Diamonds of light and dark danced across the coffee table and spilled out onto the floor and wall creating a kaleidoscope effect. Then a rush of excitement hit him. “That’s it!,” he exclaimed. Dropping the beer he rushed over to his phone to call Maggie and impatiently waited for her to pick up.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Hello?” she answered groggily.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Maggie, it’s Logan. Meet me at the morgue now,” he hung up before she could answer, grabbed his jacket and rushed out of his apartment.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Maggie walked over to Logan who was waiting outside the coroner’s office. She approached him cautiously at first as he appeared to be looking around apprehensively “This better be good to call me over here at two o’clock in the morning,” she said.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“I need to see the body. I think I figured something out. I don’t know. I just need to see the body.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Fine. Come on then.” Maggie led him back into the morgue and nonchalantly pulled out Jim’s body from the freezer unit located against the wall letting the gurney slowly slide out. The body regained a momentary flicker of life as the momentum caused it to bounce when the gurney abruptly came to a stop on its own.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Could you bring over that lamp?” asked Logan.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“What are you...”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Please Maggie..”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">She was slightly taken aback. He wasn’t just being polite. His tone conveyed a little desperation and maybe a little fear? She did what he asked without another word. Logan took a deep breath as he pulled back the sheet and gently lifted Jim’s arm off the table to let it hang above the floor. He placed the lamp so it was shining down directly over it. A flood of numbing coldness washed over him, “this isn’t possible,” he breathed. He then placed his arm directly under the light to be sure. He took a stumbling step back and swallowed hard as the confirmation washed over him. Logan began to sweat as everything about the world he knew suddenly came into question. “What is it?” asked Maggie, but there was no answer. “You’ve gone pale and you’re starting to scare me. Answer me, damn it!”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Look,” he finally said as he pointed to the tile underneath Jim’s hand.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Look at what? I don’t understand.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Look again,” he said with a shaky voice.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">She looked at the hand with the lamp light blazing down on it, which gave the hand an almost glowing appearance causing it to stand out in stark relief against the floor. “Logan, what’s going on? There’s nothing there.” The concern in Maggie’s voice was obvious.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Exactly,” he paused and then whispered as if afraid to say it out loud, “where’s his shadow?”</span><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00405366382203129429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-76441511974384308582013-01-04T16:10:00.001-05:002013-06-10T13:03:54.998-04:00Say Goodbye to Normal - Part 4<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Title: Gate of Shadows</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chapter: Say Goodbye to Normal - Part 4 </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Author: Jon Harrison & Alanna Cormier</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Copyright: 2012</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If you missed part 3, read it</span><a href="http://feastforthepen.blogspot.com/2012/12/say-goodbye-to-normal-part-3.html"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"> here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">************************************************</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Maybe, it was the horrible fluorescent lighting, sterile environment, the eerily quiet hallways, or was there more than that? It’s one thing to see a dead body at a crime scene. Crime scenes are full of raw emotion that tell a story, but knowing there’s a collection of cadavers waiting to be cut open for unfeeling research and autopsies made Logan uncomfortable and antsy. He tried to avoid coming here, but the lack of details in this case plagued him, so he found himself anxiously pacing outside the autopsy room waiting for the coroner’s report. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It can’t be a heart attack,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> he said to himself, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">they never look like that...maybe a slow poison or some obscure hard to detect toxin.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Then he felt a wet slap against his neck. “What the..?” He turned to his partner. “Did you just throw a fuckin’ pickle at me? Seriously?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Yeah. Your pacing is obnoxious. Knock it off.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“How can you be eating right now? It’s a little morbid don’t you think?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“What? It’s my favorite burger. It’s not like they’re gonna mind.” Jackson gestured to the dead bodies behind the window.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Whatever. Could you at least chew more quietly? You can start by closing your mouth, didn’t your mother teach you any damn manners?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Sure, could you give me my</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">pickle back? It’s still sitting on your collar.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Logan was handing the pickle back to his partner, when he noticed the coroner standing in front of them. “Logan?” she said surprised, “I would have faxed you the report like usual. I know you don’t like it here.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jackson jumped in before Logan could answer. “He knows Maggie, but his head will explode if he doesn’t get some answers.”</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Logan shot him a look that said, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">shut-up and eat your burger</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> then turned back to Maggie, “have you been able to establish cause of death?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Well...no. I’m sorry, but if it’s answers you want, I can’t give them to you. The tox screen came back negative and his organs are normal. I can definitely tell you that it wasn’t heart failure or brain hemorrhage. Your victim appears to have just dropped dead. Honestly, I would chalk this up to natural causes, but since there’s no evidence of that and that ghastly look on his face...”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“There had to be a cause. Do you mind if I take another look at the body?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“What?...No</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> not at all,” she replied. Logan and Jackson followed her into the autopsy room and walked over to the body, which was exposed from the shoulders up. The examining light was still on and shining down on him. Jackson bumped the table as he came in to take a closer look knocking the victim’s hand off the edge. “Watch what you’re doin’ Jackson,” said Logan.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Sorry.” </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Logan moved to place the hand back on the table and hesitated. He just stood there staring at the hand, “What’s wrong,” asked Maggie.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Umm...nothing. Nothing.” He shook his head as he gingerly placed the man’s arm back on the table. The hair on the back of his neck was standing straight up, he had that uneasy feeling again but still couldn’t place why. Jackson, what about the statement we collected from the bartender? Did he say anything that could help us determine the cause of death?”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Nothing that jumped out at me. He didn’t really talk to him much, said he seemed no different than any other sad fellow drowning his sorrows except that he would just sit there and stare at a little black totem. Said it was a message or something, bartender just thought it was the scotch talking”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Totem?” Maggie asked inquisitively.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“There was no totem found on his body,” replied an exasperated Logan. Then with a sigh said, “I’m going back to the precinct to review the data we’ve collected. There’s gotta be something we’ve missed. It’s also possible forensics has finished going over the victim’s office by now. Hopefully, some evidence will turn up there.”</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“So you’re declaring this a homicide?” asked Maggie.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Until we have evidence to the contrary...yes.”</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00405366382203129429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-73805394030982350602012-12-13T16:31:00.000-05:002012-12-13T16:52:57.218-05:00Fire EXTERMINATOR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00405366382203129429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-62447544878360514632012-12-07T13:41:00.000-05:002012-12-07T13:41:05.986-05:00Say Goodbye to Normal - Part 3 <b id="internal-source-marker_0.95250399177894" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: Gate of Shadows</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chapter: Say Goodbye to Normal - Part 3 <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: Jon Harrison & Alanna Cormier</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Copyright: 2012</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you missed part 2, read it</span><a href="http://feastforthepen.blogspot.com/2012/11/say-goodbye-to-normal-part-2.html"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> here</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">......................................................</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.95250399177894" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Murder is a crime that is typically identifiable, whether committed via knife or gun, poison, strangling or blunt force trauma, etc. but the body laying before Detective Logan O’Donnell bore no such obvious causes, the only indication that something was different was the look of utter terror frozen on the victim’s face. Logan stood over the body transfixed by that look. In his ten years of being a homicide detective, he had never seen anything like it. Sure, he’d seen his fair share of bloody crimes scenes. Once he and his partner had investigated a string of disappearances. After months of chasing leads they still had nothing and they had all but given up when his partner had noticed a discrepancy in the case file. After a bit of backtracking, they found themselves in a warehouse exchanging bullets with their prime suspect. They eventually killed him, but it was what they found afterwards that was so disturbing. The bodies of the people that had disappeared were all there, only they had all been dismembered and placed in jars and coolers around the warehouse. It took them three weeks to piece them together and identify all of the victims. So, as far as crime scenes went this was mild, but the grotesquely frozen look of terror on the body’s face gave him an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Logan’s intuition told him that there was something different about this, like something was off balance.</span></b></div>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.95250399177894" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Logan looked up and was comforted by the organized chaos around him. He could hear the throngs of onlookers and reporters at the police line trying desperately to get the first picture of the body. It always intrigued him, how that simple yellow line separated the normal from the macabre. Most people act like they want to cross. They bitch and moan about their right to see what’s passed the line, but they don’t really want to see. For those of us on the other side, the macabre is our normal and we can never forget the horrors we encounter. Logan stared at the hungry reporters crowding against the yellow line, “Vultures,” he said aloud.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Yeah, the one thing I hate more than murderers are reporters. Just ignore them, so what do we have? Do you think it’s murder?” asked Detective Jackson Cowell, Logan’s partner for the past five years. They had gone through the academy together and have had each other’s back in many life threatening situations. Some of which seemed highly improbable that they’d survive, but somehow they always did. “There’s no real indication of murder,” Logan responded, “no discernable wounds or marks. I suppose it could be some sort of poison or asphyxiation, but that face tell me this wasn’t natural.”</span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“What do you mean? Like what?,” responded Jackson.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t know. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Trust your gut,” Jackson said encouragingly, “ If it doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t. You’ll figure it out.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“Maybe. We’ll see what the coroner has to say.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></div>
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</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00405366382203129429noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-42159272134158251792012-11-02T12:59:00.002-04:002012-12-19T19:05:25.845-05:00Say Goodbye to Normal - Part 2<b id="internal-source-marker_0.22444227687083185" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: Gate of Shadows</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chapter: Say Goodbye to Normal - Part 2 <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: Jon Harrison & Alanna Cormier</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Copyright: 2012</span></b><br />
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you missed part 1, read it <a href="http://feastforthepen.blogspot.com/2012/09/say-goodbye-to-normal-part-1.html">here</a>!</span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7045445872936398" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It was one o'clock in the morning and Jim found himself wandering the now quiet streets. The totem was in his coat pocket. Although it was only a few ounces it weighed him down. He could feel it hitting his thigh with every step; constantly reminding him of its presence and what was about to happen. Jim thought of his last conversation with his wife. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Hi hun," Sara had picked up after the first ring.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Hey babe. I'm glad you called. I wanted to tell you that I'm ordering Mongolian Beef and pot stickers tonight...your favorite!" knowing he wouldn’t be coming home, Jim was unsure how to respond. "Jim? Are you there?"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Yeah, sorry. That sounds great, but I have to work late tonight."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Really? I thought you were going to be home early."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jim hated lying to his wife. It was the worst part of the oath he had taken, but the less he said the better chance her life would be spared so he took a deep breath and said, "I just got this new project assigned to me and a preliminary scope of work needs to be presented to my boss first thing in the morning."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Oh that stinks! I'll tell you what, I'll place the order anyway and put it in the fridge. You can have it when you get home."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Thank you," he replied, "I'd appreciate that."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"No problem. See you soon. Love you."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"I Love you too."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jim wished he could see her again and say more, but there was no chance of that. Music and loud noise distracted him from his thoughts and he found himself in front of a bar. "Oh...why the hell not." Jim hadn't had a drink in months. It was part of a new diet he was trying. He thought it would be an easy way to cut out some extra calories. </span></b>
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.7045445872936398" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The bar was old, full of smoke and had the smell of stale beer. He sat down on an empty stool covered in black vinyl that was ripped down the middle. "What’ll it be mister?" Jim looked up to see a burly bartender who must have been over six feet tall with tattoos up and down his arms. "Scotch, neat." The bartender walked away to get him his drink, "Make that two," Jim called after him as he took the totem out of his pocket and started spinning it over and over in his hand. Eventually, he placed it on the bar and just stared at it. How could three simple symbols mean so much? He hadn't noticed that the bartender had walked back over. "What's that?" he asked.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"A message," Jim replied while drinking his first scotch in one gulp.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Strange lookin' message." The bartender said as he moved away to help another customer. Jim picked up the totem once again and rolled it between his thumb and index finger as he ignored the burning sensation in his throat, but the fire hadn't subsided before he swallowed the second and placed the glass back on the table. Shoving the totem back into his pocket, Jim stalked out the door. "Alright let's get this over with," he called out into the air. Jim looked around as if he expected someone to jump out at him, but nothing happened. Hesitantly, he continued to walk, constantly looking around and listening for any unusual sounds but all he heard was the echoing sound of his shoes clapping on the uneven pavement. As he passed an alley on his left he heard a noise, paused briefly to listen and then quickly picked up his pace. That’s when he heard it, a second set of footfalls, but when he turned around there was nothing there. Jim wiped the sweat from his forehead, his heart racing, and then he felt the cold breath next to his ear and froze. "Nothing personal," said a deep, faint voice. Jim felt a sudden rush of cold envelope his body and then there was darkness.</span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.22444227687083185" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://feastforthepen.blogspot.com/2012/12/say-goodbye-to-normal-part-3.html">Click here</a></span></span> to read </span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">part 3</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00405366382203129429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-47974091168392094132012-10-19T12:34:00.001-04:002012-12-17T17:03:24.090-05:00A Message from the Silence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Author: Jon Harrison<br />
Copyright 2012<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQyDCkZm9atvsXu8ZzlGqZF2VMs4hslkfWEUBUSjlWH9kuJWSBN0ZzxvaAjgExaRJJM9ptIkle-gOGXBvKwUuvs24WoBz29lh3JVGfn-JRjYd-iqu4sZ28EEJaGdKKCgu3aU7OY2OpkI/s1600/The_Silence_master.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTQyDCkZm9atvsXu8ZzlGqZF2VMs4hslkfWEUBUSjlWH9kuJWSBN0ZzxvaAjgExaRJJM9ptIkle-gOGXBvKwUuvs24WoBz29lh3JVGfn-JRjYd-iqu4sZ28EEJaGdKKCgu3aU7OY2OpkI/s1600/The_Silence_master.jpg" height="333" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13224289517249020703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-73996933684343219052012-09-21T15:52:00.000-04:002012-12-19T15:33:21.440-05:00Say Goodbye to Normal - Part 1 <b id="internal-source-marker_0.22444227687083185" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Title: Gate of Shadows</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chapter: Say Goodbye to Normal - Part 1 <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Author: Jon Harrison & Alanna Cormier</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Copyright: 2012</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When Jim woke up this morning, it was the start of a normal day. He got dressed in his favorite grey pinstripe suit, flat black tie, highly polished shoes, black trench coat, and kissed his wife goodbye. Everything had gone so well. There was hardly any traffic so he actually had time to stop for a cup of coffee before getting to work and still had time to spare before heading into his morning meeting. In fact, Jim couldn't remember the last time a morning went so smoothly and believed he'd be home early. After lunch, he found a small square package on his desk. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied up with black twine, but what was really unusual about it was the lack of any markings whatsoever. Jim picked up the phone and dialed shipping.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Hey Bob, it's Jim. Did you leave a package for me on my desk?"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"No man. Nothing's come in today," replied Bob.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Seriously?" Jim said incredulously.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Yeah. Somethin' wrong?"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Ummm...I don't think so,"Jim hung up the phone and looked at the box in front of him. "Where did you come from?" He carefully shook it hoping that the sound would give him a clue as to the contents, but alas he resigned himself to opening it. Jim carefully untied the black twine and unfolded the neatly wrapped brown paper and revealed a plain black stained wooden box. With one hand, he gently slid back the top. Before him lay an unfinished cherry wood totem no more than three inches long by one inch wide sitting in a perfectly shaped recess in the center of an otherwise seamless surface. The side facing him had three Japanese symbols burned into it and when Jim picked it up and turned it over he saw three parallel slashes neatly carved into the wood at an angle. He threw the totem down as if he had picked up a red hot poker and fell back into his chair speechless. Staring at the totem, Jim knew he wouldn't be going home early, or at all. </span></b><br />
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<b id="internal-source-marker_0.22444227687083185" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://feastforthepen.blogspot.com/2012/11/say-goodbye-to-normal-part-2.html">Click here</a></span></span> to read </span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">part 2<a href="http://feastforthepen.blogspot.com/2012/11/say-goodbye-to-normal-part-2.html"></a></span></span>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00405366382203129429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-87254791586084083762012-09-14T17:27:00.001-04:002012-09-14T17:56:54.142-04:00Spiderman Lord - In the Beginning<br />
Author: Jon Harrison<br />
Copyright 2012<br />
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Episode 1<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUX75ichtvqU9viJ4OuQ54rmwWUC8i3BtbCexayMEMO6KOwxqEM0hGAf2LfGd9FNK8B1fzhnQPLwMI8Z8ua0CIylSbV-YumFqyEabjyB-_D-dO8IrgJfkFuwDUfRKw1gw5eDgxgkhoHfc/s1600/In_the_Beginning-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img alt="Spiderman Lord - In the Beginning - Ep 1" border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUX75ichtvqU9viJ4OuQ54rmwWUC8i3BtbCexayMEMO6KOwxqEM0hGAf2LfGd9FNK8B1fzhnQPLwMI8Z8ua0CIylSbV-YumFqyEabjyB-_D-dO8IrgJfkFuwDUfRKw1gw5eDgxgkhoHfc/s400/In_the_Beginning-01.jpg" title="Spiderman Lord - In the Beginning - Ep 1" width="400" /></a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13224289517249020703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-49101001040417957732012-07-30T13:40:00.001-04:002012-11-11T22:41:00.163-05:00Full Moon's EmbraceAuthor: Alanna Cormier<br />
Copyright 2012<br />
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My name is Dorian, and over the
centuries I have searched for a release...a therapeutic antidote to
my sorrow. It wasn't long before I turned to music and I can boast
of being a master over several instruments. The piano, guitar,
violin, to name a few, but my current outlet comes in the form of a
cello. It's haunting notes seem to express my very soul if I still
possess such a thing. You may ask what has tormented me for so long,
that it must be complicated, but the answer is simple. It is a
tortured heart that plagues my existence. Once a month for more than
a century I visit the same tree, our tree, when the moon is full.
The moonlight seems to rain through the graceful blowing leaves
dappling the ground beneath and this is where I play. I sit on a
rock and roll up the sleeves of my white shirt and begin. The melody
starts softly almost like a lullaby, but then builds to encompass the
full depth of my feelings. </div>
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The wind seems to rise in sympathy to my
anguish and gingerly carries my story into the distance. Is it wrong
to hope that the wind will carry my feelings to the one I love across
the distance...across the years? That one day we will find each
other again? Could that miracle be tonight? I don't know if
creatures such as myself deserve miracles, but that does not mean I
will stop praying for one. I continue to play, caressing the strings
and making them hum for me. My concert lasted for hours and as it
came to a close I let out a sigh. That sigh contained the exhaustion
of the years due to disappointed hopes. </div>
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As I got up to leave, the
wind wrapped around me like a blanket. Enveloping me in it's warmth.
I brushed my dark hair from my eyes and saw a woman standing before
me in a flowing night gown. Her hair glowed in the moonlight and her
eyes shined like the stars above. My breath caught. It was her, my
love that I beheld, and the wind brought her to me. I walked over to
her uncertain if this were a dream. She took my left hand and placed
it against her cheek. She was real and in that moment I shed a tear.
I placed one hand around her waist and pulled her to me. “My
love,” I whispered as she wrapped her arms around me. “I've come
home,” she replied. I pulled her up on her toes and kissed her
with the built up passions of the years, abandoning my sorrow and
embracing the happiness before me.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00405366382203129429noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4284759034457170908.post-38475363975892513612012-07-27T14:53:00.000-04:002012-07-30T13:10:01.600-04:00About usWelcome! This is where people might normally say something serious about
the intention of their blog, but we're not just people...we're geeky
people unleashing our crazy imaginings on the world!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13224289517249020703noreply@blogger.com0