He knelt down and leaned over the dog, one trembling hand reaching out in trepidation. Not Wolf. Please. The tongue lolled out of the open mouth, the brilliant blue eyes were closed, the plumed tail motionless. He did not want to touch, to feel that body still and lifeless; not after a day such as today. He looked back into the brightness of the shop entrance where the bag of kibble had fallen on its side next to the carton of milk. He should have made Wolf stay in the car.

‘Wolf.’ His whisper was unheard by the onlookers. Continue reading →

Straker jerked out of the nightmare, his own harsh voice shouting himself awake, his legs scrabbling to get a foothold. He tried to push the sheets away to sit and wipe sweat from his face in an attempt to forget the nightmare but his hands would not obey him. The foul smell in his nostrils made him want to retch and he forced himself to stand….

He remembered everything. Continue reading →

Jackson was still working, eyes staring at a slide before he slid it under the old fashioned microscope on his table. He leaned forward to examine the results. ‘Hmm…’ a long-drawn out sigh of disappointment before he pulled the slide out and selected another, his fingers quick and assured. He ignored the footsteps behind him and continued turning a dial until the breath on the back of his neck made him sigh.

‘Colonel Freeman? You need something?’

‘Found anything yet?’ Continue reading →