This piece of micro fiction originally appeared in Yggdrasil MGZ Volume 2, Issue 4. I’ve done a bit of revising it here.
My kids call me a relic. Can you believe that? A relic of the Collapse they say…
Well, I am. I won’t deny it. It colors me. My views on things. On what I see. How I see them, ya hear?
But that don’t change what I saw, ya understand. My kids think I’m just merging the bad times. The Collapse with ghost stories. Like I can’t tell the difference.
I’m old, not a fool. Don’t you think I know what I saw? I was there, wasn’t I?
Hmmm? What I saw? Oh? So you want to hear it?
It was the mud season. I remember that. Clearly. I was in that dreck all day.
See, I was the youngest. At the age when you’re too young to go to school. To old to need watching. Useless for work. Day dreaming.
The perfect age, really.
So, I missed when the child came to town. Missed when he was brought to class. I remember my parents talking of him. Talking of his family.
Ma, I know, had sympathy for the woman. Her hollow eyes. Vacant stare. Think she feared her.
Hated her too. You hate what you see of yourself in others…
Pa was worried 'bout mouths to feed. 'Bout strain on the town. He was like that. Practical all the time.
My brothers and sisters though? Oh they were happy.
This new classmate? Oh how much fun he was. He knew wonderful things. Told great stories. His laugh was the laugh of angels.
Not once in all my life had any of my eight siblings agreed on a single damn thing. This kid? They all adored this kid.
I think if my parents had been paying attention… Well things would have turned out a different way, you know?
Days went by like this. Night after night. Worry and adoration.
I was so bored by it. I lost count how long it went on…
At some point, there was a night my siblings didn't come home. None of the children from the school did. Teacher couldn't be found neither.
Panic set in. Parents set out in search of their kids. The babies and young ones like myself were left at home. The night was filled with shouts and tears.
I have never been so afraid as I was that night.
And I’ve been to war…
Near dawn, the parents returned. Exhausted and empty handed. I remember ma crying herself to sleep. Pa never even made it to bed. He had collapsed in his chair by the fire. Fell right to sleep.
I did too.
I woke with a start hours later to a sound. That giggle.
I thought it was my eldest sister come home. I ran downstairs and...
Butchery. Just butchery...
My brother and sisters hacking away at ma and pa. A strange kid in the corner chanting, “More! More!”
I don’t know how I got out of there. Somehow I grabbed the baby. Got away. Hid in the field. Kept her quiet.
Only a few in town survived. Old folk and infants mostly. People with no kids.
The kids?
I don’t know. We went to live with my great aunt. She told me that they left the town like a parade. Dancing. Singing songs. Covered in blood...
Weekly Roundup
A funky art fair, a puzzling choice for the wasteland, they just admit it, and a new indie comic obsession.
My Work
I am no longer waitlisted and got accepted to Funky Ferndale. I didn’t expect to get in, but was hoping. Now I am scrambling to get everything ready as I thought my next art fair was going to be in October. If you live near Detroit, I will be at the art fair September 25-27th at booth 20. I will have some of my large pieces, so one of the rare times those are available for sale. Link
Gaming
I don’t know why they made this, but apparently there is a solo table top RPG for Fallout. I guess there might be an audience for this, but the game itself is a solo RPG. Such an off choice and it costs more than the game does right now in the Xbox store. Link
Technology
I mean, we all knew the entire LLM project was built on stolen labor masked by slick legal tricks and terrible, terrible public relations instincts. I just didn’t think that they would say it all out loud so soon. Link
Creativity
I have found a new enthralling indie comic artist. Emily Cheeseman is doing some interesting things with the RISO printing of comic zines. Not only visually, but their storytelling approach is very different. Not entirely my thing, but I am fascinated by how it pulls together. Link