Ident: Web-Runner

I hold out my wrist

Obsolete retina scanner buzzes

Feeding computer

Ones and zeros

Which comprise my Chip

Identity within The Corp

Citizenship and birthright

Door clicks as latch unlocks

And I push aside with agéd creak

Gossamer synthetic cotton

Draped over ceiling

Hiding from direct sight

All those tangles

Gordian knot

Of CAT5 and Optic Cables

Floor carpeted with faded

But still somehow beautiful

Faux Arabian rugs

Door shuts and engages again

As I step inside

Speak and Spell voicebox

Greeting cheerily

“He-llo M-ister N-o-vak!”

I walk to kitchen

Fluorescent buZzZz overhead

And open the fridge

“What’s the news today

Hal?”

I hear hardrives whirring

Collating

Collecting

I grab a slice

Of two day old pizza

A bite and in other hand

Already opened from the morning

A flat beer

“S-tocks-”

“Next!”

“C-orp-or-ate cl-ash:

Ig-n-is Corp. in-v-est-iga-tors

S-eized ass-ets be-l-ong-ing to

Hal-cy-on In-dus-tr-ies

F-o-llow-ing a-lle-ga-tions…”

The feed fell to background buzz

As I sat down in my chair

Old springs creaking

Easing me back

As screen kicked on

Showing stream

Computer language

Continuous and poetic

An endless epic

Unfurling before my eyes

I open a separate window

Login to Ignis

And request today’s itinerary

One command

And a target

“Corrupt

Halcyon Database”

What Lies Within Delver’s Deep

They dared me to go

Down into Delver’s Deep

Where mom always warned against

A set of tunnels that twisted and turned

Curling into the depths

I told them I didn’t want to

That I was scared

And it was dark

But they pushed me

They pushed me in

And I fell

I tumbled

Broken

And battered

I came to rest

So far below

And with not a light all around

The pain was all consuming

Wracking my fragile body

But after a bit

My eyes adjusted

And here on the walls

Grew fungus

Translucent

And effluent

I tried to cry out

But all the sound that I made

Was a miserable and defeated wheeze

Yet

Something heard me

A scuttling in the distance

Above or below

Or even beside

I could not tell

But definitely moving closer

Grandma’s words came

Her warning of this place

“They shut it up for a reason

Things crawl down in there

Things that God’s light never touched

And they’re a terrible sight

Enough to kill a man”

My breathing was ragged

As the sound drew closer

I shut my eyes tight

Taking my grandma’s words

As literal advice

The steps grew faster

Heavy breath coming with

A scrabbling scuttling sound

It rounded whichever corner

And stopped at the sight of me

I whimpered

Eyes shut oh so tight

As it slowly paced closer

I could feel its hot breath

And smell fetid stink

As it leaned over my cowering form

Something thin

And bony

Grasped my ankle

And I was dragged screaming

Into the dark

Flame’s Caress

Bleary eyed buzzing thump

Head a swarm of burbling bugs

Pain recognized shoots across

Tears through brain down my spine

Dark and damp and cold is what I notice

Once the pain plateaus so far above

I crouch and grasp about

For what I don’t know

But some part of me does

A small box rough on a side

I grasp and pull against my chest

Rattling inside little sticks

I smile as I pull one out

Pressing it under thumb

Against strike pad

As I pull it across

My nose notices something important

Something crucial

Acrid and bright

Vaporous and heady

Alcohol

Denatured

And coating all of me

Light and pain is the last I recall

Christmas Gothic

A man in beard and corpulent belly calls for all to sit upon his lap. Tell him your desires. If he deems ye worthy, great fortune… if not…

All over town lights flash and strobe to unheard music. Signs instructing us to listen to the airwaves. We do not. Those few who do drive slow and listless as mindless drones.

Our living rooms are dominated by pine adorned in garish color and light, garland dragging carpet. Somewhere, someone is singing its praises in a language you do not know.

Relatives from all over come to your door. Who are these people? Have you ever met them before? They devour your hard won meals with fervent greed.

Carols at the doors. We dare not open. They call for wassail. Banging and wailing as lost souls. We pretend not to be at home.

It is late. The children sleep. Within their house something creeps. A man in cheap red suit and cotton beard places surprises for those little ones to find. He is prepared if one should awaken. He crunches cookies with a snifter of scotch.

Presents beneath the tree. Children stare on in shock. Who delivered them? When? While they all slept, ignorant and secure.

Parents stare on in dull silence, eyeing children tearing at wrapping like wolves upon a deer. Eyes are sunken and dark. They sip brown brew and silently thank they made it through another year.

Quint Tackles Writer’s Block

Furious boiling rage

Fists clenched and facing typewriter

“Damned words come out!”

Voice ripping static aside

Grasps sides with pale gloves

Set leaning down close to keys

“I’ll find you in there

You’ll come out

If I have to come in there myself

And drag you out screaming!”

The static then actually cleared

Teeth lining up on screen

Sharp toothed and dripping bile

Spreading slow and growling

The typewriter sits silent and stoic

Frustrated groan twirl away arms up in defeat

“Fine then!”

He grabs his port

Tipping back onto screen

Where teeth are open

Poured into

Past screen

Into mouth?

Or something close

Quint groans as he sets it down

Rubbing a glove over screen

“Give me SOMETHING!”

He bellows slapping the desk

Typewriter dings

As it reaches the end

“…

You’re mocking me aren’t you…”

He grumbles

Slouching back in his chair

He idly fiddles with a key

Gloved finger

Tracing its edge

Then depresses

Then another

Another key

And more

“I told you I’d get it out of you!”

He cries triumphantly

Fingers flying freely

And back we pull away and into the dark

Witch’s Crush

Hu Card collection

Flip through idly

What to play

Which to choose

Witch’s Crush peaks out

I

I don’t remember this one

But I do love those others

Devil’s and Alien

So

‘Why not?’

I think and pull it out

With a solid click it sits within

Flip on

CRT buzzes slowly

Quintrix fuzzy but come to life

I hold controller as title appears

Satanic and over done

Compendium Maleficarum-esque

Woods at night

Naked women dancing

A book of names

Blood dipped fingers scrawling

I start

Pinball as expected

Though words spelled out

By drop targets say

Vendere

Animam

Tuam

With practiced ease

All targets hit

Score rises

Higher still

Eventually though

All balls are drained

And up comes the highscore page

Enter my name…

As I do something hurts

My finger

Pricked

And dripping

I feel a tug

And am drawn

Rise to the TV

And press the blood against

My name I spell

And soon

Screen fades

Black stares back

And I hold my breath

What had I done

What had I signed

Why was the blood already gone

TV clear and coming back

Title screen

And the book

My name at the top

Technical Difficulties

Disc insert

Installing and transferring

Gigabytes of data

Files and folders

To be compiled later

Into people

Places

Whole worlds

Finished finally

I start application

Black

Silence

Tension

Crash report

Cannot be played

In the style of MacReady

I pour bourbon over logic-board

Whole thing goes up in smoke

Didn’t fix it

Probably made it much worse

But damn if it didn’t feel great

Quint Ponders Plot

Towering over typewriter

Quint ponders his protagonists plight

His suit is crisp clean and carmine

Cuff links lit by dull candlelight

Slowly he surfs his channels of thought

Hand clicks dial over one to two

Static stays but something does form

A bloodied and battered sword

Yes this is it the final piece!

Quint types rapidly

Rapturous plot

His head tilts back as he laughs

Voice crackling over airwaves

As he reaches the end and sets it aside

He rubs white gloves hands over face

Cathode Ray screen

A finger touches letters he knows very well

Worn and incomplete now only read

“Pan____ic”

A sigh rumbles static

And he fingers the switch

Flicks up

Shuts off

And sleeps for the day