The Endgame, part 1

“The Endgame”

a short story

Gary Baker, April 2013

(part 1 of 3)

Juskra reached his arms out to the sides, stretching his biceps and forearms.

“Three,” came an echo of the loudspeaker sitting at the apex of the arched ceiling. Lights set here and there flickered, then hummed to life with traces of a faint yellow glow left to streak across the placid slate flooring. “Two.”

Juskra grit his teeth and flared his fingers wide to bring about small globes of orange-cream light hovering like flies on his nails. His eyes shot to the speaker high, high above determining it to be about five stories up. Above that speaker hung the Gobosxes, a court of gods with infinite wisdom all sitting in throw pillow-covered divans drinking wine and ale, while watching the events below. These gods would judge him, they would sense his every thought as he completed the mission... and they would feel his cold embrace as he died at the end.

A Long Time Coming

"A Long Time Coming"

a short story

Gary Baker, April 2013

The door to Cafe Gruyer opened fluidly as Xander Belmont stepped into air-conditioning and out of the stifling summer heat. Once inside, the tang of effervescent coffee grinds coveted the newcomer, and he felt a wave of relaxation come over him.

This was his realm, this was where he could feel most at home after recent events at work where, despite all he had done, despite all precautions to guard against it, Xander had still fallen for one of his photographic subjects. Jealousy had grown and soon nothing but the self-preservation of his own willpower had been able to keep him from growling at the girl's partners each and every time they met in hallways and stage rooms.

But all that was in the past and, as he usually forced himself to do, when he entered Gruyer he chose to leave life at the door. This was a time for the moments of rejuvenating tea and thoughtful silence that would be enabled.

“Hey! If it isn't the Xander Belmont!” came the barritone voice of the barrista on duty. “Long time no see, stranger!”

Xander looked up to find his old childhood friend, Joss, working the espresso machines with coffee stains as dark as his skin streaking across the elbows of his white button-up. “Joss!” A smile lit his face despite his maddeningly sour mood, “good to see you – how've you been?”

Miss Ashura

"Miss Ashura"

an excerpt

Gary Baker, early 2010

(a piece from Losing Grip)

Hard air poured deep into Raspora's lungs, again causing her to arch her back in shock - yet
this time without a scream nor horrific pain. In short, she could think straight this time around. Not to mention how her eyes worked as well as they ever had, without the grey haze over everything over ten feet away. 

Looking around with her back still arched, she could see white lamps high above her and nurses watching closely, clearing any doubt in her mind about having dreamed the last encounter with this place. She sighed deeply once her heart returned to a normal pace, and sat up onto her left elbow to look about her surroundings with a more dignified posture.

Its still the same old room, she told herself, with the same old nurses and the same old
doctors from years ago. And it dawned on her just how likely it was that the nurses and doctors were annoyed with her consistent convulsions upon reentering the realm of reality. The realm of ruins, after all, was just a dream - “not even real” many doctors had claimed when she was still new to the experience. So why, then, did she feel so much pain while in that realm and upon waking up?

Understanding

"Understanding"

part 11 of many

Gary Baker, April 2013

(from the Corporal Roi excerpts)

Corporal Roi Anxo knelt in complete darkness, awaiting the next move. He felt his hands on a solid-yet-invisible flooring beside his left leg beneath his chin, like a runner lunging, ready to begin the race.

But where was the gunshot to indicate a start?

He reached his awareness outward like a cloud, trying to get a grip on his surroundings. No sound came to him, nothing reflecting from surrounding objects so he knew he wasn’t in a room of some kind, yet no echoes of wind came to reveal his being outdoors.

~~ ** Sorry for the Delay ** ~~

EDIT (4/10/2013) :: please disregard the following as it has been fixed.

Ladies and gentlemen I have a slight announcement:

until further notice I may not be able to post anything worthy of this collection.