Memento Mori: Five – You’d Prefer an Astronaut

Alone With the Dead: Memento Mori by Andrea Speed Five – You’d Prefer an Astronaut The people in the doorway were not ones he expected: they were Shane and Clay, a/k/a Larry and Curly. As usual, it was the hangdog Shane who spoke first. “Uh, hope we’re not disturbing you, Gryphon. We just got to the Red Dog when they were takin’ you away, and -” “No, great, I’m glad you came,” he told them, frantically looking at the i.v. tubes in his arms, trying to figure out how to remove them. Were those really needles under his skin? How could he remove them without bleeding all over the place? Was that the point? “I really need to get out of here.” Don’t do this, Mr. Aronfosky insisted. You’re honestly ill. I told you he has death wish, Hugh...

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Memento Mori: Four – One Armed Scissor

Alone With the Dead: Memento Mori by Andrea Speed Four – One Armed Scissor They were right behind him, and he couldn’t get away.A house materialized in front of him, and Gryphon hastily scrambled up the front porch, yanking open the old door so hard he almost tore it off its hinges. Once inside he slammed it hard, throwing all the bolts and locks, leaning against it in hopes of holding them back. Their steps thudded on the hollow porch, sounding like a rain of boulders, and it seemed like there were hundreds of them after him, thousands. He heard scrabbling beneath the floorboards, skeletal fingers clawing the wood, and he backed up across the empty front room, looking down warily. Sharp, loud booms made him jump, heart leaping up his throat in return,...

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Memento Mori: Three – It’s a Shame About Ray

Alone With the Dead: Memento Mori by Andrea Speed Three – It’s a Shame About Ray The Red Dog was a rather seedy looking all night diner, its neon limbed red sign highlighted by a blue neon clock that you couldn’t actually read until you were in about twenty feet of it. Even then, Gryphon didn’t dare look, as he was afraid to see at what point it would stop. The inside of the diner wasn’t very crowded, with just a few scattered patrons, the décor retro-kitsch under somewhat harsh fluorescents. Formica the color of a smoker’s teeth covered the front counter and the tables in the booths, while red vinyl covered stools and seats with brushed aluminum frames, giving the place some desperately needed color. It smelled strongly of boiled coffee and...

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Memento Mori: Two – I’m With Stupid

 Alone With the Dead: Memento Mori by Andrea Speed Two – I’m With Stupid Gryphon stared back at the man, who looked between the device in his hands and his face with increasing alarm. “What the hell …” The guy at the table, who was leaner and shorter than the other man, held up something that looked like a small portable microphone, and said, “Yeah, we’ve got a definite temperature drop in here, and the ion counter is goin’ nuts over. I think we got more than one …” “What is that thing?” Gryphon asked the guy in front of him. He had ginger colored hair and a matching goatee, making him look like a logger who had embraced the grunge movement and never looked back. The man looked at him once more, and his hazel eyes were wide with...

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