Counterclockwise

by Michael Montoure

A childhood tragedy left James marked, leaving him with the power to see into "dead time" -- the sights and sounds of people and places long since gone -- and with a debt he can never repay. Unless he can change everything ....

"I don't think about it because I have to get on with my life," Darryl hissed. "Okay, you're right, it was wrong, for all I know we're going to hell for it, but I can't think about it every day! It was thirty fucking years ago and there's nothing we can do to change it!"

James didn't say anything for a second. Then he said, even more quietly -- "What if there is? Do you remember what the refrigerator was? What we were playing it was, I mean?"

"What -- "

"A time machine. We were building a time machine. And I think it worked. I think it did something to me, and if you take me back there -- "

"Okay, now you have officially lost your fucking mind -- "

" -- If you take me back there, I think I can fix this!"

This short story originally appeared in the collection "SLICES," available now.

22 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 21, 2012

About the author

An unreliable narrator, Michael Montoure is an indie writer of horror and dark urban fantasy. His obsessions include hidden truths, secret dealings, and the changing and fragile nature of our own pasts. He is known as much for his spoken-word performances of his fiction at Seattle coffeehouses and conventions as for the stories themselves. He lives alone with a gray cat by the edge of Echo Lake, Washington.