October 17, 2022
Mile End is yet another spooky short story I wrote for book club. Enjoy!
VISONARY
A vibrating visionary, stands motionless next to a crystal ball--their face descends, connecting flesh to a fatal future. A lifetime past. The room illuminates in a chorus of colours; both seen and unseen. The transfixed observer’s face sinks deeper into what was once a rigid surface now soft. A faint movement of their lips, a fragile utterance, and a single word escapes--"help,".
ONE DAY LATER
This is breaking news in Montreal, a high-tech CEO has been found dead in their luxury penthouse suite. Their legacy will forever be remembered, as the founder of the Metaverse. Their remains will be uploaded for their followers to gawk. A strange object has been retained for questioning.
Meanwhile, the questioning.
An overhead tube light fluoresces in a medium-sized office, a door placard is titled "Veronica V. & Frankie co"--a detective duo famous for their work in the unknown, unnatural, and unbelievable. A dark pumpkin-spiced roast aroma wafts into the room; a hot beverage steams on a mahogany desk. In the centre is a perfect sphere, draped in a violet velvet cloth. The sphere casts an evil aura.
Veronica takes a sip of her coffee. She inserts a winged key into a human skull and turns it: once, twice, thrice. "Wake up Frankie, we have work to do." Frankie, slowly springs to life. Frankie is a bit of an odd fellow; one-part human skeleton and the other, spooky windup toy. "What answers dare you seek?".
ONE DAY EARLIER
Montreal, Mile End. A nameless software company operates there. Their new product has been in research & development for the better-half of the decade. It’s the future, or so they say. The world melts while we wait. Tech will not save us.