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Larry Mc Thunder Part One

“You ever think we peaked too late?” Larry asked, squinting against the sun, his hands gripping the cracked vinyl of the Chevy’s steering wheel. The wind whipped through the open windows, tugging at his thinning combover and scattering dust across the dashboard. The countryside unspooled in soft browns and greens—familiar, quiet. Like home, but older now. Jerry shifted in the passenger seat, his soft belly pulling tight against his belt as he slouched deeper. “Define ‘peaked,’” he said, not looking at Larry, just watching the road vanish beneath them. Larry gave a low chuckle—more breath than voice. “I mean look at us. Two fat fifty-somethings driving county roads like we’re fifteen and skipping algebra.” Jerry didn’t smile. “You’re the one who became a porn star. I sell tractor parts and live in a two-bedroom with a raccoon in the attic.” “Yeah, but nobody claps for tractor parts,” Larry said. Then, softer: “They used to clap for me.” They fell into that long, undemanding silence that...
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Sgt. Snorkel's Revelation

He'd seen the notebooks before — observations about duty, time, scrubbing latrines. Usually he'd dismissed them as the kind of thing a man did when he had too much education and not enough sense. But today he noticed something else: the focus in Plato's eyes. The calm. Whatever Plato was doing in that notebook, he wasn't performing it for anyone. "You," Snorkel said. "What're you writing?" "Notes on institutions, sir." "That supposed to be about me?" Plato didn't look up. "Only if the boot fits." Beetle peeked out from under the cot. Snorkel held Plato's gaze a long moment. The kid didn't flinch. Didn't smirk either — that would have been easier to deal with. He just waited, pen still. Snorkel turned and left without a word. In his office — barely larger than a supply closet, with a window that faced a concrete wall — Snorkel sat behind his desk while Otto snored at his feet. The office smelled like d...
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"Can I Use Your Phone?"

Harold Dempsey had spent most of his sixty-three years refining his handshake—firm, warm, and just long enough to say “I’m your man” without seeming overeager. Time hadn’t been cruel, but it hadn’t been kind, either: his button-downs strained over a soft belly, and his jowls hung heavy beneath his chin. Still, he wore a tie every day and polished his shoes until they gleamed. That afternoon, after a routine meeting with a chain of supply stores in a town that might as well have been named Oblivion Junction, he checked into the Westernaire Motor Lodge. The two-story brick building looked tired, its carpets threadbare. Room 117 smelled faintly of bleach, with an undercurrent of something unplaceable. He was bone-tired, his undershirt damp against his back, and all he wanted was a hot shower. He shed his suit and left it in a heap on the vinyl armchair, then wrapped the laughably small towel around his waist with practiced ease. The water pressure was more trickle than torrent, but he sto...
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Under the Perseids

8:47 p.m. The parking lot of the community center was nearly full when Marcus arrived, his sedan sliding into one of the last spots between a minivan and someone's ancient Buick. He sat for a moment, engine ticking as it cooled, wondering what exactly had possessed him to sign up for this. A stargazing event. For seniors. He was sixty-two, which he supposed qualified him, though he didn't feel senior. He felt invisible, which was different. Felt like someone had turned down his volume gradually over the years until he'd become background noise in his own life. The email had arrived two weeks ago from the city's recreation department—"Summer Stargazing: Perseid Meteor Shower Viewing Party." He'd deleted it twice before finally clicking the registration link at eleven o'clock on a Wednesday night, half a bottle of wine in, thinking about how long it had been since he'd looked up at anything. Now he was here, clutching a folding chair and a thermos of...
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