Chronicle Stories

“What happened in there, soldier?” The sergeant nodded toward the concrete cell behind them. Vince needed to find his voice, he knew that. Any voice would do. He stood in silence, his eyes trained on the sergeant’s scuffed boots. A regimen doctor was examining the body – her body – no doubt trying to confirm her death, rather than the very obvious cause of it. “She’s dead.” The doctor handed the palm-sized monitor to the...

“Do it.” Her voice, while quiet, terrified him. “I… I need a… give me a minute…” Even if she had failed to notice the way his hand was trembling, there was no doubt in his mind that his stammer betrayed his anxiety. “We don’t have a minute. Do it now.” Nothing scared him more than how calm she sounded. How could she be calm? Sometimes he wondered if she was even human. His hand was shaking visibly now, the once cold metal...