by Steve Benton
"Sounds good," said Eric, turning to his house.
Eric walked up to his door, and hesitated before opening it. He heard voices—happy voices, layered with laughter.
Steeling himself, he walked inside.
"Eric!"
"Huh?" Eric looked on with amazement as Cindy jumped up and gave him a tremendous hug. He held his sister tighter than he ever had in his entire life. The effects of his recent transformation still lingering, he took in her scent, swearing to himself that it would never expire.
"Whoa, bro—don't crush the goods!" yelped Cindy.
"Hi, sweetie. I'm making pasta. You want red sauce, or Alfredo?" asked Eric's mom, Nancy. Gone were the bags underneath her eyes, the sallow complexion and the constant expression of abject misery. She looked fantastic, like she did when his dad was alive. Best of all, she spoke to him; something she hadn't done in years.
"Oh, hey… Mom. Um, Alfredo?" he responded, releasing the faux death-grip he had on his little sister.
"Hi, Eric," said a familiar voice from the living room.
Eric walked around the corner. He couldn't say anything at first. He just grinned.
"I hope you didn't forget about our date tonight…"
"No, Piper. I didn't forget at all. I'm really looking forward to it," he responded, receiving a soft smile from the attractive girl. He lied, but it was okay. He would figure out later what he had invited her out to do.
Surveying the expansive room, he looked back at the fireplace mantle. There were now two urns on top, but this time they were accompanied by small, framed pictures; one of Richard O'Neill, and the other of Gordon Cisne.
Eric decided to let it go. Life was going to be good.
END
ABOUT THESE STORIES
After I had completed and published my first works, THE PRĪMULĪ PROPHECIES, someone in the corporate infrastructure of the company that had recently acquired OMNI MAGAZINE approached me. Well realizing the visibility that OMNI had brought to sci-fi and fantasy literature, I jumped at the chance to write some short stories for them. I produced six tales in quick succession, with two of them being rather vague offshoots of my trilogy, both having the Primulus Draagh as a character. The other four stories were completely unique, from each other and in their own rights. My shorts often end in macabre or unexpected twists, much like the popular TWILIGHT ZONE anthology series.
The first story submitted, BITS 'N PIECES, is a tale about a man living the suburban dream. He has the perfect nuclear family, complete with a son, a daughter and a stay-at-home wife. But when things in his life start to change without explanation he finds himself drawn further and further away from what he thought was his reality.
I followed up with a story called PRESENT REWRITTEN. The protagonist, Glenn Davies, is a self-serving asshole, and will willingly kill when he discovers that his wildest dreams are made into reality when he sees someone die. This story, as most of the ones I write, is a precautionary tale and offers a moral at the end.
My next story was called NOTHING BUT STARS IN THE SKY. I called upon my admiration for America's military in this story. While I never served, I have nothing but respect for those who do. The protagonist in this tale, Lt. Rand Jones, is running for his life from Iraqi insurgents, when he encounters a young boy named Achmed, whom Jones must trust in order to survive.
Stepping firmly back into science fiction territory, I wrote COLORFUL, a tale where a young woman lives in a perfect, colorful utopia. However, when she starts to see the world for what is really is, she learns that her life has been an illusion, and that her purpose for existence is not at all what she had ever envisioned.
SLAVES is a tale about perception. Two beings from opposite sides of a terrible war now live in peace, but are required to share living accommodations.
Finally, PAST RETOLD brings back the mysterious BOB (from PRESENT REWRITTEN), who helps a young man understand his anger issues, change his past and then rearrange his future. It also introduces something that is written about extensively in my novels—enhanced subspecies, i.e. lycans. I found it fun to write an extension of Draagh's (Bob's) adventures in the current timeline, especially as Draagh self-sacrificed himself in LIVES OF THE PROVECTUS.
If you would like to read more of my works, please visit stevebenton.com
