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Starting today, 11/7/2016 through 11/11/2016

Short Stories from the Mind of Aaron is free through Smashwords.

Here's an excerpt.

The townies in the silo went crackers. The noise they made beating their limbs against the metal was far louder than the gun shot.
“Can’t lock these sons of bitches up, Eric. I been through shit like this before. Just kill ‘em and forget it.”
Lisa and Eric stood in disbelief. They weren’t killers. Neither was Cedric, but his past had him in some nasty situations. He looked them both in the eye before turning towards the direction of the entry gates.
“I don’t like it any more than you do,” he sighed as the townies quieted a little, “but this is the way it’s gotta’ be. It’s why I took the gun from you. Grab that knife and let’s move.”
Eric meekly went for the knife he had kicked from the guard. Seeing the woman’s head split open was more than he was able to handle and he threw up.
“Pull yourself together,” Cedric admonished.
The two men started to move, but Lisa remained in shock. She hadn’t barely even blinked after crying out. Eric stopped short, touched Cedric’s shoulder and motioned with his head towards Lisa. Cedric nodded.
Eric approached her and touched her arm. She sort of shuddered and a tear fell from each eye. Looking at him, she took a deep breath and recomposed herself. A smile flickered across her face; embarrassment.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” she said.
“I think there’s going to be a lot we don’t expect tonight.”
On rubbery legs, they followed Cedric, who made certain to stay out of the lights. Moment’s passed before they saw the gates through some leafy bushes.
“What’s the plan, Ced,” Eric asked.
The former Army Gunny took a deep breath before answering, “See those two guards? I don’t recognize ‘em. They aren’t the ones that took me.”
“Me neither,” Lisa interjected.
“That means one of us can us go up to ‘em, and they won’t expect us to be escapees or anything…hopefully,” Cedric continued. “Hopefully…they just detain you and while they do, we take ‘em down.”
Eric widened his eyes in hearing the half-cocked plan. Besides, he did recognize one of them, Clyde, who had apparently either decided against watching the transformation of townies, or had not earned the privilege.
“No good,” he finally said.
“It’s the only way we can get this party started,” Cedric replied. “That gives us each a weapon.”
“That one, the skinny one, he’s the one that told me to hush up, remember? His name is Clyde, and I don’t think he likes what’s going on here.”
“And you think you can just recruit him?” Cedric was cynical.
“Well…I don’t know, but maybe a gun to his face will, you know…change his mind…?”
They all exchanged glances. “Do you really think he’ll help us…tell us anything?” Lisa whispered.
Eric grit his teeth and remained staring at Clyde’s back. He nodded for a moment.
“It’s worth a shot, I think…and if not, I guess it’s your call, Ced,” Eric acquiesced.
“That means Lisa’s gotta go get caught,” Cedric stated.
It was true. Clyde was sure to recognize Eric, and Cedric wasn’t relinquishing his weapon. Lisa bit her bottom lip.
“What do I do,” she asked. “Just walk up and say hello? What if he does recognize me from the warehouse? I’m sure he knows I’m a journalist.”
“Listen,” Eric started, “you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, but you’ve been in hairy situations before, and you knew this was going to be a disaster when you agreed to help. I don’t believe they’re going to kill you…if anything, they’re going to want to keep you alive to turn you.”
“He’s right,” Cedric intervened. “Everything will be fine. I’ll put a bullet in the other one, but Eric, you gotta’ get behind Clyde and put that knife to his throat. Can you do that?”
He nodded. The simple fact was that he didn’t have a choice. Failure was not an option. That night in Hartford betrayed the brutality of what survival truly meant. Eric took a breath, maintained his observation of Clyde, and gave one final nod of approval.
“Good,” Cedric said, relieved. “Now, Lisa, you just start making a racket about the situation, it’s unfair, we’ve got rights, you’ll report, etcetera, etcetera. Do what you’re good at.”
She smiled to herself and nodded saying, “Yeah, I can handle that, but I swear to God if one of you fucks this up I’m going to get you.”
With that, she popped out of the bushes, walked a few dozen paces into the light, and started a tirade.
“Hey! Hey,” she started shouting and they took notice immediately. “Who do you monkeys think you are locking us in a cage like prisoners?”
“How the Hell did you get out?” the one yelled back as he pointed his rifle.
Lisa began shouting profanities while backing up. Clyde and the other guard moved rapidly towards her. By the time she backed up past Eric and Cedric, she turned her back and made like she was going to run. Clyde overtook her, and they crashed to the damp soil, so Cedric fired a round from his crouched position, nailing the other guard in the jaw. He went down while Eric leapt onto Clyde’s back. A scuffle ensued but he managed the sharp edge of steel to Clyde’s throat.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Clyde,” he said, and the guard froze.
As the situation slowly subsided, Cedric kicked off the wounded guard’s helmet and finished him with another round. He then turned the rifle onto Clyde. By then, Lisa came her to feet.
“Clyde, please,” she begged. “There’s been enough bloodshed. People shouldn’t turn on each other like this. We all know there’s something serious going on, and Eric seems to think you don’t want any part of it.”
“On your feet,” Cedric demanded. “Eric, take his gun and let him up.”
He obliged, and once everyone was standing, Cedric approached Clyde and spoke. “You got two seconds to convince me I should let you live.”
Clyde looked around; slowly he took in the grim circumstances. “I, I,” he stammered.
“Out with it, son,” Cedric growled.
“Clyde,” Eric whispered. “C’mon, man, tell me you’re on our side here. We’ve got monsters, manmade monsters, and you’re turning us into them. This isn’t right. Is this what you really want to do with your life?”
They locked eyes. Clyde’s mouth was slightly agape.
“C’mon, son,” Cedric started. “You served—just like I did—to protect your country. Now, you’re on with these heathens. How do you sleep at night? Maybe I should just end it for you now.”
Cedric took a menacing step towards Clyde. He put his hands up in resignation.
“Look…you don’t, you don’t understand,” he gasped. “It, it, it…it isn’t what you think.”
“I think it is, Clyde,” Lisa sighed.
He shook his head vigorously before explaining, “No. You don’t understand. This didn’t start here…it just…found its way here.” A long pause ensued, during which everyone exchanged a worried glance. “Damn,” Clyde was nearly reduced to tears, but managed to continue his elucidation. “Alright. What I know is that some military tests went wrong, something regarding chem warfare. Whatever it was, was supposed to placate people, you know, inhibit the impulses, which make people erratic and angry. It was supposed to stop people from rioting and infighting…instead, it degrades the neo cortex—leaves us like rabid animals.”
“So why is Byzantine making more monsters?” Eric howled and shoved Clyde hard.
“I don’t know,” he yelled back. “This has all been in motion for years. I signed on because I was promised an opportunity to help my country—killing off monsters—like something out of a damn comic book. Next thing I know, I’m here. I’m imprisoning the people I’m supposed to protect, and there’s no way to back out. You don’t just leave Byzantine. When you know something, you can’t just put in your two weeks, God dammit.”
Again, silence settled in for a moment. “So, you don’t know…you’re just following orders…like the Nazis, huh?” Eric accosted. “Maybe Cedric should just finish you off. People like you, you just want to blame everyone but yourself.”

This is but one of the short stories you can find within the Mind of Aaron Dennis.

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Short Stories