In From the Cold – Ch. 3

“Are they here to take me to the airport?” she whispered.

We hadn’t turned the cabin’s lights on.  I stood at the window facing the driveway and brushed the curtain aside, carefully.  “Not in that jeep, they aren’t.”  My neck stiffened as the vehicle’s interior lights flicked on.  “And not with those guns.”

Madiyan hissed something rapid and nasty.

“I don’t know what you said but I agree with you.  Come with me.”  I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the kitchen.

—

An original tale set in Okayado’s Monster Musume world.

An unquiet night and unwelcome visitors. Mark makes a decision with lethal consequences. Conclusion to “In From the Cold.”

In From the Cold – Ch. 2

“What is this place, anyway?”

“The campsite, you mean?” I sat on a stump, stretching my back. “Used to be a ‘wilderness retreat’, built by a couple of enterprising hipsters. Must have thought that stressed-out D.C. workers would fall over themselves to spend a weekend at a data-free hideaway. Didn’t count on smartphone addictions, I guess. Bank sent it to auction about a decade ago. I’m sure it’s owned by a shell corporation now, but I couldn’t tell you the name.” I shrugged. “Not something I ever needed to know.”

“And what is it used for now?” she asked.

“It’s…” I gave her a redacted version. “…sort of a place where we help people disappear, usually on their way in or out of the United States. Like you.”

“And like you?”

I was supposed to lie. For some reason I didn’t. “Yes, you could say that.”

—

An original tale set in Okayado’s Monster Musume world.

Mark and Madiyan spend a long, frigid day together at the cabin. Lies are told, and secrets are revealed. But real truths remain elusive.

In From the Cold – Ch. 1

Let me tell you how I died.

It’s an ugly little story. I imagine you’d need to pass a serious background check, swear allegiance to the U.S. flag, and have a damned good need-to-know before you heard anything about it, officially.

But I don’t worry so much about security regs anymore. Being dead, and all. I’ve changed some names for discretion’s sake, that’s all. There aren’t any innocents to protect.

So here we are.

In any case, this is what happened…

—–

An original tale set in Okayado’s Monster Musume world.

In an isolated cabin in the West Virginia mountains, an aging caretaker finds himself hosting a lamia woman who is facing deportation. However, neither the caretaker nor his young guest are exactly what they seem, and may have more in common than they suspect.