Fire water burn

Janine appeared back behind the counter, handing Morag a drink.

“Thanks, love.” She winked at Noddy. “You’re not thinking of visiting him, surely?”

Janine scowled. “I see. Now everybody wants to know my business and tell me what to do?”

Morag held up her hands. “Sorry. My bad. Forget I said anything.”

The blonde leaned on the counter, letting the tension drain from her shoulders. “No, I’m sorry. I was out of line. It’s just… I don’t know what to do, you know? Mick’s not as bad as everyone thinks.” She looked up in time to see the look that crossed Morag’s face. “He’s not. Really. Maybe he was, once, but not anymore. Everyone changes, Morag. Everyone grows up eventually.”

Her words were directed at Morag, but her eyes had strayed to the profile of her boyfriend who was stubbornly watching the bass player twiddle knobs on his amplifier.

“Don’t go.” Noddy didn’t turn his head, but his words were still clear.

Dirk came at them across the dancefloor. “Janine…”

But she had grabbed a tray and was already moving in the other direction.

“Hello Valhalla.”

Jamie stood centre-stage, a bottle of Jack in one hand, his microphone in the other. “Let’s see everyone down at the front for this next song.” He cracked the seal on the bottle, tossed the cap into the crowd and took the first sip. “Come on down, fill my Voodoo Soul.”

Noddy took a step closer. He was already at the front of the stage, foot up, head down. But he needed to be closer.

Jamie saw him approach and reached down with the bottle. “Cheers, brother.”

Noddy took the bottle with one hand, finished the beer in his other hand and chased it with a shot of Jack. He saw Dirk at the bar, waving his hands in animated frustration, Janine shrugging and shaking her head.

The crowd pressed around Noddy, impatient, eager to participate in the time-honoured ritual. Still watching the bar, Noddy raised the bottle to his lips and let the firewater flow.

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Also available from Curiosity in Pretoria.

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And Hard Money is available from ZaBazaar, supported by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.

What happens when reality TV ventures out into space and awakens ancient gods who would really rather be left alone?

Watch the human race tear itself apart in the face of cosmic forces unleashed after millennia.

Let Sleeping Gods Lie – my new science-fiction horror novelette – is available on Amazon and various other online retailers. I have some paperback copies if anybody wants one, or you can find them at Curiosity, in the Railways Cafe.

Finally, catch Big Day Out, a mad mercenary romp through the dystopian nightmare that Covid-19 might have become. Might still become, if we don’t keep our self-appointed leaders on a very short leash.

Available on Amazon, from BookDealers of Rivonia, or from Book Circle Capital.

Cheers.