What Happened To Richard

Selena had little choice but to go back with Stan. She would just tell Richard that she'd gotten scared and didn't want to get caught in the middle of a war. Her leaving had nothing to do with her having betrayed the both of them to a competing crime boss. Why would he ever think that?

Selena slid into the Cadillac and told Stan to drive. "Don't try anything, or Richard will be even angrier than he already is."

"Richard's dead. I shot him myself."

Selena knew that if she didn't get away quickly, she'd be next.

Part Six

Advantages

It didn't have to be that way. Stan wanted her. Even now it was obvious. Maybe it had never been to Richard, who had been too busy indulging his taste for punishment. And everyone else was too scared to see anything but the inside of their own asses, but she knew it the first time he raked his eyes over her. Stan wanted everything that had ever belonged to Richard and that included her.

He could have sent someone else to fetch her back, but he wanted to find her himself. She would use his lust to her advantage.

Part Five

Natural Enemies

Richard Gunn was the head of the largest crime syndicate in the four corners area. He commanded a cadre of drug dealers, bookies, gun smugglers, and union thugs that was able to operate openly because he also owned a third of the police force and elected officials.

Richard was famous for his temper. He once scrambled the brains of the cook at his favorite restaurant because his eggs had been undercooked. He was surrounded by yes men and sycophants.

The only people brave enough to question his authority were Selena and Stan. This naturally made them enemies.

Part Four

Dirty Work

Selena took a cigarette from Stan with a nervous smile. It was likely too late to ingratiate herself. He knew why she was on the run and he was going to use the situation to his advantage.

Stan had worked for her husband for years. His job didn't actually have a title, but you could call him the chief enforcer. When Richard wanted to disappear someone, he told Stan, and Stan would get one of his goons to do the dirty work.

Selena had never liked Stan. And she had been the one to get him fired.

Part Three

Mistakes

Selena leaned against her wounded soldier of a car as Stan Brandanowitz stepped from his Cadillac and walked over to her. He was the reason she'd left and the last person on Earth she wanted to see.

"Need a ride?"

"No. I've got Triple A on the way. Thanks."

Stan smirked and offered her a cigarette. "You remember when we used to be friends, Selena?"

"We were never friends. You were just using me like you use everyone. Like you used Richard."

Stan stopped just as he was about to light his cigarette. Mentioning Richard had probably been a mistake.

Part Two

Just A Pinch

Her car broke down on the longest stretch of highway in the middle of nowhere. Selena popped the hood and even her rudimentary knowledge was enough to diagnose an overheated engine. It had been hours since she'd seen another vehicle.

Nowhere happened to be exactly between where she was headed and where she was running from. Selena had enough water to survive a couple days and enough cash to buy a plane ticket to paradise.

As the black Cadillac pulled up beside her, she wondered if she could trade the water and money for just a pinch of good fortune.

Part One

Reality Programming

The students were blindfolded as they entered the arena, and the roaring crowd left them nearly deaf as well. When the bell sounded indicating they were allowed to uncover their eyes, they found an array of weapons waiting for them.

The student combat drew the largest audience in recent memory. The republic was drawn to the spectacle of it all, the blood and the death and the lost innocence. And the drama. Only one lucky warrior would survive.

Not many people realize that Julius Caesar first sprang to fame as a winner on Rome's most popular reality show, Juvenile Gladiators.

Chameleons And Bacon

The chameleon's evolutionary advantage lies in its ability to blend in with its surroundings. Whether it's in order to hunt prey or avoid being hunted, I'm not too sure. I'm not much of a scientist. I don't even know if chameleons are herbivores or eat insects.

It's kind of weird to think that some lizards actually eat plants and stuff. I know they do, though, because a lot of dinosaurs did, and so do turtles.

Thinking about lizards makes me glad I'm a vegetarian. And thinking about bacon makes me glad it's a vegetable because bacon is my favorite food.

Extrapolation

Jesus converted water into wine. It's true. It's in the Bible. I don't know if the wine was any good. I mean, did he properly age the wine as part of the miracle, or did it taste way too new? Does it really even matter? I hear even experts can't tell the difference in blind taste tests.

In any case, it's my god-given right to drink and get behind the wheel of my American-made Chevy truck, so I'd advise you to step back into your vehicle, officer, or I might be forced to explain the second amendment to you next.

December Massacre

They descended from the north in what was now known to be an annual migration. They infiltrated homes and attacked numerous places of business and seemed to be standing on every street corner. There was no escape.

It was called Christmas, and the invaders were all fat, old men dressed in red and riding on sleighs pulled by flying reindeer. They especially preyed on the children, who were more susceptible to their bloody attacks.

When they finally retreated to their Arctic home, they left behind nearly total devastation. Their ritualistic sacrifice of baby Jesus was the worst part of all.