They whisper. They touch. They show me their faces.
They have faces now.
Simple faces.
Like mine.
I trace my eye down the length of the barrel.
Without me really knowing it, the gun snaps sharp in the morning light.
The young woman falls amidst a burst of what looks like plum jelly.
The minnows flutter. The minnows flee.
But there are so many, and they are panicked. Like they have been poured on the ground to squirm and gasp in the dry.
I begin to fire. Shot after shot after shot.
Each snap of the rifle a stomp of my foot.
Down they go.
Squashed.
I have no hat, father-in-law, and I am full of manliness.
––
The day goes up hot.
Who would have thunk?
I have moved from one end of the tower to the other.
I have dropped many of them.
The cops have come.
I have dropped many of them.
I hear noise in the tower.
I think they have shook the dolly loose.
The door to the runway bursts open.
A lady cop steps through. My first shot takes her in the throat. But she snaps one off at about the same time. A revolver shot. It hits next to me where I crouch low against the runway wall.
Another cop comes through the door. I fire and miss.
My first miss.
He fires. I feel something hot inside my shoulder.
I find that I am slipping down, my back against the runway wall. I can't hold the rifle. I try to drag the pistol from my belt, but can't. My arm is dead. The other one, well, it's no good either. The shot has cut something apart inside of me. The strings to my limbs. My puppet won't work.
Another cop has appeared. He has a shotgun. He leans over me. His teeth are gritted and his eyes are wet.
And just as he fires, the shadows say:
Now, you are one of us.
"The Shadows, Kith and Kin" originally appeared in Outsiders: 22 All-New Stories from the Edge (Roc, 2005). It was later collected in The Shadows, Kith and Kin (Subterranean Press, 2007).
They have faces now.
Simple faces.
Like mine.
I trace my eye down the length of the barrel.
Without me really knowing it, the gun snaps sharp in the morning light.
The young woman falls amidst a burst of what looks like plum jelly.
The minnows flutter. The minnows flee.
But there are so many, and they are panicked. Like they have been poured on the ground to squirm and gasp in the dry.
I begin to fire. Shot after shot after shot.
Each snap of the rifle a stomp of my foot.
Down they go.
Squashed.
I have no hat, father-in-law, and I am full of manliness.
––
The day goes up hot.
Who would have thunk?
I have moved from one end of the tower to the other.
I have dropped many of them.
The cops have come.
I have dropped many of them.
I hear noise in the tower.
I think they have shook the dolly loose.
The door to the runway bursts open.
A lady cop steps through. My first shot takes her in the throat. But she snaps one off at about the same time. A revolver shot. It hits next to me where I crouch low against the runway wall.
Another cop comes through the door. I fire and miss.
My first miss.
He fires. I feel something hot inside my shoulder.
I find that I am slipping down, my back against the runway wall. I can't hold the rifle. I try to drag the pistol from my belt, but can't. My arm is dead. The other one, well, it's no good either. The shot has cut something apart inside of me. The strings to my limbs. My puppet won't work.
Another cop has appeared. He has a shotgun. He leans over me. His teeth are gritted and his eyes are wet.
And just as he fires, the shadows say:
Now, you are one of us.
"The Shadows, Kith and Kin" originally appeared in Outsiders: 22 All-New Stories from the Edge (Roc, 2005). It was later collected in The Shadows, Kith and Kin (Subterranean Press, 2007).
Similar Books
Kaldean Chronicles: Kaldean Sunset (Book I)
Maxwell Bond
The Firefighter and the Virgin Princess
Jemma Harte
Heretic
Bernard Cornwell
When Madeline Was Young
Jane Hamilton
Murder in the Smithsonian
Margaret Truman
Dark Inside
Jeyn Roberts
Men in Green Faces
Gene Wentz, B. Abell Jurus
Cops 02 - Love on the Run
Kori Roberts
