A Collection of Prose and Photography
The audience collectively gaped in terror at the explosion of blood and bone. All but one of the onlookers scurried away like rodents, and pressed their backs to the farthest wall as Johns sauntered by, cleaning his crimson-stained hands with a handkerchief. At the end of the line of empty stools, one old man still sat quietly at the bar, smirking as he gazed blankly into his mug of beer.
Somewhere deep within the border of South Carolina there grows a terrible jungle. It is comprised primarily of a handful of wild, spirited, blades of grass and knee-high clumps of innocuous clover. But within this suburban amazon grows a nefarious weed. Surely of alien origins, the hideous vine stretches and writhes its way across a patch of earth no bigger than a dining room.
She opened her eyes and solemnly folded her hands upon her lap. "These are the signs of the End of Times, ladies - that false prophets should strike the name of God from our vocabulary, and cause our people to follow the teachings and whims of mere men and false idols. Do not be fooled. Guard your minds from such teachings, lest their temptations lead to your demise. Yes, dear ones, safeguard your minds, safeguard your children. And when the Lord calls upon you to act as his instrument of purification, do not hesitate, but rather answer the call with a willing spirit and a righteous heart."
The setting sun lit the clouds a fiery pink and orange. The trees and taller London structures that comprised the city skyline were silhouetted black against the burning sky. The air was crisp and carried a fragrant scent, uncharacteristic for the smoky metropolis. This evening was truly one for the London annals - an evening worthy of remembrance.
My father didn't say a word as he switched from tool to tool to get just the right bend on a piece of metal. On his knees before the patio door, he snipped and clipped and crimped until the long strip of aluminum at last matched the profile of the wall. My father was meticulous in his craft. I stood beside him, equally silent, and handed him each new implement like a nurse aiding an ingenious surgeon.
The alley running between the grand townhouses was only dimly lit by a quarter moon rising in the east and the faint glow of a streetlamp on the other side of the row homes . The cobblestone throughway was littered with trash, dirty pools of scum water and the occasional rat; but such a scene was hardly a rarity for this young woman. She stumbled about slightly in the murk with a scrap of paper in her hand, squinting her eyes in an effort to distinguish any markings or familiarities in the buildings she meandered by.
B David Larson 