Alone in the alley behind Valhalla, Noddy unwrapped the package. A simple bacon sandwich. Crispy bacon. His favourite. But the lipstick kiss on the serviette meant more to him than the food.
No, Dirk didn’t make this.
He tucked the serviette into the side pocket of his jacket and leaned against the wall under a neon sign to enjoy his bacon and beer, idly reading the words of the prophets written on the wall in front of him.
A blur of motion and a squawk announced that he had company. Spike had landed on his head, flapping his wings in greeting. Or maybe it was hunger.
“Good morning, cheeky bird.”
Spike hopped off his head, onto his shoulder, then down his arm till he was as close to the sandwich as he could get without being rude.
“Okay, alright, you can have some.”
The tiniest sliver of bacon was all it took. Noddy broke it off, Spike took it with his beak then wrapped his ancient claw around it, and they both chewed in contented silence for a while.
“You don’t need money, do you?” This was Noddy asking the question. Not Spike. “Why are you still here? In this shithole? Don’t you ever want to fly away and start over?”
He broke off another piece of bacon, holding it between his fingers for the brief moment it took the bird to snatch it.
“We need money, Spike. We have to get out of here. Before it’s too late.”
Spike tilted his head and squawked in sympathy.
Or maybe it was hunger.
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Physical paperback copies are available from BookDealers of Rivonia – 40 Wessel Road, Rivonia, Sandton.
Also available from Curiosity in Pretoria.
From Book Circle Capital in 27 Boxes, Melville.
And Hard Money, my book on personal finance, 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.
FREE on Kindle Unlimited till the 28th, after which the book launches across all other online retailers.
Cheers.
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