by Jackson Lear
There are billboards telling us all to be alert and proactive. There were no ads for foreign goods. In their place were pictures of soldiers helping a small girl cross the street. I’ve come back to a police state.
Mum made chips. My old room has been made up. I still have some old t-shirts in the closet. Good thing, I guess, since I don’t have the money to buy a new wardrobe. I’m borrowing some clothes from Dad, who quietly showed off his stockpile of canned food and bottled water in case they ever have to run from the undead. It isn’t enough, but it’s all they were able to get. They went over their inventory with me for an emergency escape to see if I could think of anything they might’ve forgotten. Dad is sure he can carry sixty pounds on his shoulders. He’s tested it around the living room.
I asked about Rachel as soon as I got in the car. He said they would tell me everything as soon as I got home. I sat in the car, quietly thinking about that. Now that I know, I’m emailing this diary to everyone I can. Including you, Alana.
Rachel left a note for me but her mum refused to hand it over. She said it doesn’t matter what her last words were, even if they were for my eyes only. She doesn’t want to see me either. Flat out, ‘No, and don’t contact me again.’
Mum asked if I slept with Rachel. I told her I did not. I asked if she came back pregnant. Mum was sure that she was at least three months along upon her return and weighed only forty five kilos. Abortions are now illegal here.
Rachel ran a bath and drowned herself. She was cremated three days ago.
Go fuck yourself, England.
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Thank you for reading!
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A great big shout out goes to Karen for her meticulous notes, revisions, and patience through the many drafts that fell in front of her. She really is the best editor you could hope for.
Kingston Raine and the Grim Reaper
Kingston Raine’s world is turned upside down in just one second as he goes from trying to rescue his girlfriend to waking up in Limbo … utterly dead, and facing a baffled Grim Reaper who tells Kingston that he is completely fictional and didn’t even exist until just a few moments ago.
Having never experienced this problem before, the Grim Reaper isn’t sure about what to do with his fictional celebrity. Satan has a few suggestions, but none of them are at all appealing.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Limbo is facing an uprising designed to kick the Grim Reaper out of the realm, and news of Kingston’s death is exactly what the uprising needs to topple Limbo’s ancient government.
Before the day is even over Kingston finds a way to escape reality, where he nearly loses his head to Macbeth, rescues Little John before Robin Hood can save the day, and does everything he can to get back to his own universe before Limbo’s bounty hunters can catch up to him.
Kingston Raine and the Bank of Limbo
When one of Life’s most despicable businessmen is found murdered in Limbo all suspicions point to Hell. When Satan assures Death that such a thing is impossible within either realm they settle on a truce by hiring an outside investigator: Kingston Raine.
As soon as Kingston and his friends take the job they realise that they are being spied upon by a secret organisation working within the Bank of Limbo, and that this group routinely assists the rich and corrupt in Life. What troubles Kingston is that the bank is not at all concerned about being run by blackmailers and murderers, instead they seem to be focussed on how Kingston and his friends can benefit them and their diabolical schemes.
Now he and his friends stand in immortal peril.
Kingston Raine and the Arena of Chaos
Spending an eternity in the afterlife can be pretty dull, so in order to prevent the population of Limbo from going mad Death has introduced an inter-realm battle royale in a tournament designed to reward ingenuity and integrity. But deep down The XIX Games are about cheating as much as possible without getting caught, and where winning is simply an after thought.
Kingston Raine and his friends sponsor a team in the hope of out-thinking, out-stealing, and out-cheating everyone around them. And while they certainly have a few tricks up their sleeves none of that will do them any good if they can’t get their master builder to play along and actually build the golem that is supposed to win them fame and money.
Kingston Raine and the Starlight Muse
Kingston Raine is at his wits’ end as he tries to protect the most dangerous prisoner to have ever escaped from Hell: a Scottish muse driven mad by one of Satan’s devils.
The muse has been chased across the realms by millions of bounty hunters, leaving Satan and Death to decide her fate in a political tug of war. Kingston and his friends do their best to track down the devil responsible for driving her insane while also keeping the muse far out of harm’s way, but they soon realise just how supernaturally persuasive she can be, which becomes tricky when Kingston is expected to keep her in his sights at all times.
Kingston Raine and the Lost Angel
Inevitability, Kingston learns that Satan has an illegitimate child on Earth, and the mere existence of this kid is likely to cause the apocalypse. Right now the child remains hidden in secrecy, but it’s only a matter of time before Satan learns of his offspring in Life.
Can Satan be distracted long enough so that everyone else can figure out what to do about hiding his kid? Can the afterlife survive the great unravelling of its origin? And can Kingston ever enjoy a quiet moment where the fate of Limbo does not rest on his shoulders?
Coming soon!
Copyright © 2016 Jackson Lear
All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-0-9945348-2-8
