Month: February 2015

Fin

Michael D. Griffiths Yig , , , , , ,

Most people were never asked into Fin’s residence. Several reasons for this existed, but the most obvious remained the hundreds of aquariums that lined the walls, that and the lingering odor. Despite the hundreds of snakes he kept within the various glass cages, it was really the mice and rats that he breed, which caused the most offensive smells.

Yig C Chaos

He was just tossing a large mouse into his Southern Arizona Gopher Snake’s cage when the room began to shake. His eyes grew wide with alarm as the aquariums began to rock on the shelves. For the first time in months he wished he didn’t live alone, but rare was a woman, or even a man for that matter, who was willing to live amongst so many serpents.

Setting himself to do his best, Fin flung his body against two of the larger selves. They bounced and rattled, but he refused to let go. He braced his back into the units while white knuckled fingers gripped the shelves on either side of him. So far he’d been able to keep the two selves upright, but all around him others toppled to the floor. Glass shattered and snakes found their freedom. Soon dozens of their sleek forms coiled and slithered around him.

Their movements left him mesmerized. Greens, oranges, greys…all swirling, mixing together until he couldn’t tell where one serpent stopped and the next began.

The quaking started to subside and it he had managed to keep his two biggest selves upright, but it looked like he still had a huge task before him. Shaking his head to clear it, he moved away from the selves, but just as he did a smaller aquarium on the top shelve tumbled over the side and struck him in the temple. The world spun and the still quaking earth didn’t help things.

He fell to his knees and then toppled forwards. The snakes moved everywhere. They swarmed over his body and crawled into his clothes. Arcs of color blurred and fogged soon they covered his face as they buried him under their serpentine masses.

Coils

He reached out for his cell phone, but his fingers fell away as a darkness claimed him.

Yig snake

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Douglas

Michael D. Griffiths Yig , , , ,

After pushing his glasses back to the bridge of his nose, Doulas took another bite of his dripping sandwich. He glanced out the window and shook his head when he didn’t see a single cloud. Nothing but baby boy blue out there, he thought to himself .

Shadowed Man

The television screen showed a different story. Rain fell in bucket sized drops. Already flooded roads flowed like rivers. He watched as a car was drawn through the streets by the water. He thought it did pretty well until it crashed into an overturned RV.

He took in what the announcer said, as he loaded a thick pinch of marijuana into a bowl. “Meteorologists are still baffled by the strange weather patterns taking place in Northern Arizona. A storm system has clung to the San Francisco Peaks and has hovered over Flagstaff for more than a day now.

Flood

“Shit, I hope Alex is okay,” he said aloud as he took a big hit and then handed the bowl to his girlfriend.

She brushed a thin lock of blonde hair behind her ear and took a hit without saying anything. When she had a cherry of red going, she said. “Wish we could get some rain.” She paused, took a second hit and then handed the empty blow back to hit. “Hey can you help me move some things out of my car, my mom says I can’t keep my futon at her house anymore so I have to go get it.”

Julie

He contemplated loading another bowl, but instead rose to his feet and led the way out into the bright desert afternoon. He noticed an odd stillness. Unlike to the north, the air hung heavy. Not so much as a twig moved. No birds song and even the noise of the passing traffic sounded muted.

Blaming his feelings on the weed, he quickly discovered that helping his girlfriend meant doing it all himself and her car was a mess. He grabbed a handful of old paper bags and headed toward the large plastic garbage receptacle.

Halfway there, the ground started to shake. If wasn’t too much as first, but then he found himself preforming an awkward dance just to stay on his feet.

His girlfriend didn’t fare as well and with a cry tumbled to the gravel between the cars.

“Julie,” he yelled and tried to make it to her. It proved a difficult task. The ground buckled under him and he tumbled back hitting his shoulder against the fence. Wincing in pain, he used the fence for support as the world went to hell around him.

He gasped as a telephone pole crashed to the ground sending off sparks. Another one, three houses down, did the same thing, but its sparks hit a pile of leaves and caught them ablaze. Within his own yard, potted plants tumbled to the sidewalk and shattered loudly. His husky began to howl like he was lamenting the end of days.

Fallen telephone Poles

Swearing under his breath, he managed to make it to Julia just as the quaking began to slow.

“What was that?” she asked wile rubbing at her bleeding knee.

“Earthquake I guess, but if you’re okay, I need to make sure that fire is out or this whole neighborhood could go up on flames.”

Again, he found his progress slowed for live power lines crisscrossed the pavement between him and the fire. They moved like the twitchings of a dying squid and he looked on with dismay as the fire grew.

“Hello!” he shouted. “There is a big fire out here.”

Some people were already out of their homes and a few of his neighbors reached the fire and put it out, but he doubted the small fire was the only problem he faced.

Julie appeared at his side. “The power is out and even the cell phones aren’t working.”

“Looks like you won’t be visiting your mother today.”

Douglas

Come back for more action as the world is swallow by the Apocalypse of Yig

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Jack in Darkness

Nathen

Michael D. Griffiths Yig , , , , ,

Nathan leaned back in his chair. His son had gone to school and he felt thankful for a little peace, but then chided himself for his thoughts a moment later. Who am I kidding? All I have is peace. Errr, the only thing worse than being unemployed and living in your mother’s basement is having to suffer through the indignity with a son in tow.

Pushing himself to his feet, he walked to the western door of his subterranean lair. The shadows clung to him, willing him back into their comfortable embrace. ‘Your goals can be put off for another day,’ they seemed to whisper. ‘The delights of electronic love awaits for you here. Movies, the web…video games.’

He ground his teeth and pushed the door open. The bright desert light assaulted his senses. The February heat felt good on his bones and he figured it was close to a perfect temperature outside.

Desert sky

Stepping out onto the packed earth, he let his toes clutch at the pebbles beneath his feet. To the east he saw the first signs of the Tucson Gem Show coming to life. Giant white tents could be seen on the other side of the wash. Soon thousands of people would be filling the city and creating the world’s largest gem and mineral show.

He watched as a new tent reached up into the air. It expanded like a man filling his chest with air. On cue, he breathed in the crisp smell of lingering sage. The wind tossed his hair as he stared over the empty complex. Outside of the gem show nothing stirred. Children were in school and adults were at their jobs. Everyone had something to do but him.

The dark fingers of shade called to him. It would be easy to forget about today and just piss it away like he’d done to so many others, but something had inspired him. A thread of motivation had entered into his conscious and he pulled on it like a drowning man grasping a stick.

Forest Jack

Setting himself, with a new feeling of motivation, he decided he would throw on his shoes and a new shirt so he could check out the show. There was no reason a man as broke as himself should go shopping, but it would be a chance for him and an excuse to get out. Walking around didn’t cost anything.

With a final nod, he headed back inside and tried not to look at the flat screen while he hurried into his shoes.

To be continued every week.

Yig Warrior

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Coils of Yig… First post

Michael D. Griffiths Yig , , ,

This is a Yig based Speculative Fiction Tale. Think of it as a best case scenario.

Yig double helix

Alexander Bonerell sat on the side patio of his favorite new pub, Hops on Birch. A beer logo stamped umbrella stretched over the table, but he leaned back on his chair letting the struggling February sun attempt to warm his face. Taking a deep breath, he willed himself to relax and tried to forget his stress filled day.
It didn’t work.
He hoped a sip of IPA would help, but figured it would take another three pints to make a dent in his concerns.
Two small brown birds landed, snatched up the crumbs of a sandwich and flew off. For some reason they reminded him of the freedom his life lacked.
He had never wanted to live like this. As a youth he’d imagined himself walking across America or building his own log cabin in Alaska. Never would he have seen himself roped into some middle management job, with a wife and two kids, and a third on the way.
He loved his family, but didn’t really love his life.
Zane’s voice brought him back to the present and he didn’t mind the distraction. “So, I was hoping we could find some time to edit that You-tube vid we shot at Two Guns next week. Silent Kong says he can make it over to Sack’s house Monday.”
“That might work for me,” he said, trying to keep his frustration out of his voice. “But the evil gnome is getting wise to me leaving early and my lady is certainly wise to me coming home late.”
“Must be fun living with your balls in a vice.”
Alex watched a couple of college students stroll by. They looked like they had their whole lives in front of them and knew it. They could screw anyone they liked and then take off for a two week vacation if the urge hit them.
He felt like hitting them.
“The vice must not be too tight or I wouldn’t have another kid on the way,” he said, while placing his sunglasses back onto his face.
“Yeah, don’t remind me. Good luck trying to get you out for another shoot in the next five years and we need you. You have a natural talent. You’re just funny.”
“Yeah, but looks aren’t everything.”
“Right, hey I got my mobile wifi with me. Can you help me promote the last vid before you go? I’ll buy you another beer.”
Best deal I’ve heard today,” he said. After taking another sip of ale, he opened his laptop and let it warm up.

get-attachment
Without looking up from his laptop, Zane said, “Damn, have you seen this thing about the comet? It’s all over the web. It came from no where and they say it has a tail the size of the moon or something.”
“No, I guess not. We can’t afford TV, remember.”
“Good times. Well, you should check it out. It’s pretty cool. They’re calling it the Serpentine because of its huge tail that seems to move almost like its swimming.”
“Swimming huh? Maybe they should call it the Sperm Wagon. It’s probably here to impregnate the Earth.”
“I think if it hit the Earth we’d all be toast,” Zane said.
“Well, I guess that would be one way to get my creditors off my back.”

* * *

The wind tore at him, but it only made he take the speed of the motorcycle up another ten miles an hour. He chuckled to himself as he passed an ambulance on I-40. Hope no one in there needed to get somewhere quickly.

Motorcycle Dark
Marco tended to avoid speed limits and today proved no exception.

He also tended to get into trouble more than once in a while and today proved no exception.
He cursed when red and blue flashing lights appeared in his side mirror.
“Son of a bitch.”
After considering trying to run, he thought better of the idea and began to slow his bike. He had taken it down to forty when his handlebars began to shake.
“What the hell,” he said aloud, thinking something must be going wrong with his bike, but then he saw all the cars around him going crazy.
Two cars collided in front of him and forced him to pull into the breakdown lane to keep from smashing into him.
Figuring that would prove more than enough to keep the cop busy, he chuckled to himself and speed on past the pile up.
Best earthquake of my life, he thought to himself as he left the breaking cars behind him and sped home.

Yig Hero in Print and Scales.

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