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    Rats! (A short story)
    Rats! (A short story)
    Rats! (A short story)
    Ebook36 pages29 minutes

    Rats! (A short story)

    By Brett James

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    The future is bright...for them.

    Rats is a free short story by the author of The Drift Wars.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrett James
    Release dateJan 18, 2014
    ISBN9781310753701
    Rats! (A short story)
    Author

    Brett James

    Brett James makes irrationally large art installations that he has installed in New York, San Francisco, Amsterdam, England, and Croatia. He has written and directed six films and been honored at a dozen festivals. He was raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. His 2nd novel, The Drift Wars, was released by Fallacy Publications on September 4th.

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    Reviews for Rats! (A short story)

    3.5/5

    4 ratings1 review

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    • 4/5
      I picked this mini-chapbook up from the freebie table at FOGcon 2014. The short story centers on Jama'al, an exterminator in a world faced with a dire rat problem. A very entertaining and action packed story. I'd be interested in trying Brett James' novel, Drift Wars.

    Book preview

    Rats! (A short story) - Brett James

    A tracked robot buzzed by at forty miles an hour, rattling the crate under Jama’al. His hand went to the recoil pistol lying beside him but stopped. If they knew he was up here, they would use the noise of the robot as cover for an attack; but if they didn’t, the sound of the pistol charging up would give him away. So his hand hovered over the grip as the robot passed below his perch, high atop a fifty-foot stack of crates in the crowded, endless warehouse.

    It was a standard stockroom robot, with rubber tracks six feet apart and a thin body comprised of a multi-stage hydraulic cylinder with two spiked arms. It could extend to fifty feet to retrieve the plastic shipping containers from their stacks, which it would balance on its head as it raced back to the fulfillment center. The containers were big—eight feet on a side—and could weigh several tons. A loaded robot shook the earth like a freight train.

    The robot faded into the distance. Jama’al counted to five, then relaxed, withdrawing his hand from the pistol. He turned back to the bullets, which were slotted inside a thermal container. He pulled his sleeve over a gloved hand and drew one out, then slid it gently into the breach of his rifle. Wisps of condensation rose from the barrel, which clicked softly as the metal contracted. The bullet’s explosive tips were unstable; they had to be kept well below freezing until used.

    After he had loaded three bullets, he closed the case and slipped it into a black pouch on his belt. He wore black from head to toe, his face covered but for a strip across his eyes.

    He planted a hand and rotated up to his knees, then slid the rifle’s telescoping legs to the edge of the crate. He eased forward, pressing his eye to the scope, and aimed the rifle down. They were still there, five stories below: three large rats.

    —   —   —

    Jama’al was an exterminator—pest control—just like his father and his father before that. His grandfather had started the business with money he had earned by running black ops in Africa for the CIA. It was nothing to be proud of, but Jama’al found it reassuring that soldiering was in his blood, even if it was two generations back.

    He had grown up working for the family business and, when his father passed, took charge. These days, their single biggest client was FOODex

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