Losing the Battle

Chapter One
I picked the wrong day to quit smoking I thought as I watched the masked man pace nervously back and forth in the bank.  Seventeen hours, twelve minutes, and forty-five seconds to be precise.
Abruptly, he fired yet another short burst- five or six shots- into the ceiling before screaming I said shut up! and [...]

Fear

Nothing makes much sense now- the heat and fear and spite envelop me like a wet cocoon, sickeningly sweet.
I hear drums in the distance.  They are close now.
My left arm raises out of instinct and I stare at my bare flesh, as if the watch they had stolen would somehow appear if I stared long [...]

Babies in the Basement

One day ago, the police had arrived in their screaming vehicles and, guns drawn and search warrant in hand, knocked down the front door of the one story ranch style home.  Minutes later, they had escorted an overweight man into a squad car and drove him away.  Detectives arrived and dusted needlessly for fingerprints and [...]