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    Terrifying Tomorrows
    Terrifying Tomorrows
    Terrifying Tomorrows
    Ebook82 pages5 hours

    Terrifying Tomorrows

    By C. C. Blake

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    About this ebook

    In these five tales, suspense writer C. C. Blake turns his nightmarish imagination to possible futures and delivers action-packed, thoughtful tales of terrifying tomorrows.

    Pulp adventurer Captain Rick Cave returns in "The Beauty Snatchers," a stand-alone tale of treachery, terror, and interplanetary human trafficking.

    After America has split into political factions, a terrible crime threatens to tear the uneasy peace asunder in "Starving for Answers."

    A NAStar race holds thrills and chills aplenty when sore losers turn deadly for a space car driver in "Burn Job and the Space Pimp's Wrath."

    A twisted, bizarre future awaits a corpse recycling man in "Fly By Night."

    And a space elevator provides the ultimate experience in claustrophobic chills in "Finger to Allah."

    These stories have each appeared in separate books, but this collection offers them all at one low price.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTwice Told Tales II
    Release dateApr 1, 2014
    ISBN9781311760814
    Terrifying Tomorrows
    Author

    C. C. Blake

    C.C. Blake has lived across the United States, starting in the suburbs of Detroit, to Massachusetts’ second largest city (Worcester) to the country’s seventh largest city (San Antonio, Texas, that is). He’s has a variety of jobs, working as a substitute teacher, the graveyard shift dishwasher at a haunted Denny’s, lab research monkey and teaching assistant at a second tier college. Currently, he works as an automation consultant for a chemical company on the Northeast side of SAtown (which isn’t as Hellish as it sounds). Blake’s most popular character, irrepressible adventurer Chuck Cave, has appeared in over two dozen stories, including the 2005 Man’s Story 2 Story of the Year Award winner “Chuck Cave and the Vanishing Vixen.” The character’s supernatural thriller stories (which began with the seminal “Cave and the Vamp”) are all being released as a part of Vampires2.com’s initial foray into e-books. These new versions are presented in expanded and revised versions, all are the author’s preferred texts. Be sure to collect them all! In addition to his pulp stories for the 2-Empire (Man’s Story 2, Vampires 2, Androids 2 and Paranormal Romance 2), Blake’s fiction has appeared in several anthologies, including Unparalleled Journeys II (from Journey Books Publishing) and Fearology: Terrifying Tales of Phobias (from Library of Horror Press).

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      Book preview

      Terrifying Tomorrows - C. C. Blake

      Terrifying Tomorrows

      Five Science Fiction Nightmares

      By: C. C. Blake

      This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

      Fiction © 2012 and 2014 by C. C. Blake

      Cover Design © 2014 by Twice Told Tales, with cover art by Alexaldo | Dreamstime.com

      The following stories first appeared in slightly different versions in the following markets:

      The Beauty Snatchers first appeared in slightly different form as Rick Cave and the Beauty Snatchers in Androids 2 magazine.

      Burn Job and the Space Pimp's Wrath appeared in slightly different form on the Androids 2 website.

      Smashwords Edition

      Published by Twice Told Tales

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

      If you have any questions, please contact the publisher at daniel.robichaud@gmail.com.

      Table of Contents

      The Beauty Snatchers

      Burn Job and the Space Pimp's Wrath

      Starving for Answers

      Fly By Night

      Finger to Allah

      Further Reading

      About the Author

      The Beauty Snatchers

      So tell me, Captain Cave . . . Devlin's scruffy beard spread wide with his ragged grin. "How much does it hurt?" He stomped on Rick's belly.

      Rick curled up tight under the pressure. Holding himself together was all he could do.

      I mean, Devlin continued, "being gut shot has got to sting. Does it hurt worse than knowing your girl is my toy?" Devlin glanced back at the shadows.

      The biggest man Rick had ever seen emerged from the darkness. Tall and musclebound. A regular giant. In his callous hands, he held slender, lovely Miho.

      Leave. Lever lone, Rick said. Though he was dying, his voice still held an edge. "I'll kill you."

      You're already dead, you sorry sack. Devlin leveled his slug thrower between Rick's eyes. The weapon was nasty looking. Primitive. It launched steel jacketed rounds powered by a blast of ignited powder. Not a fifth as effective or efficient as a modern laz-blaster. I just let you see how everything'll turn out. To the muscle bound giant, Devlin said, We don't need her brain box. Get rid of it.

      The giant grimaced and released Miho's waist to palm the back of her head.

      "Don't," Rick said, but it was no use.

      The giant twisted. Miho's eyes widened with obvious agony. After a solid crack, the giant turned her head all the way around. Spun it like a screw, until the whole head came up and off. He tossed it aside like a bottle cap.

      Her body flailed, arms waved, legs kicked. No blood, though; androids didn’t bleed.

      The giant laughed like a cruel god.

      Hot water filled Rick’s eyes. Her name caught in his throat.

      See you in Hell, Captain, Devlin said.

      Everyone hold position! A new voice. Thickly accented New-Slav speaker.

      Devlin ran for cover. "Run, Meathead, it's the Stars."

      Together they made tracks. A few laz-blaster reports pursued them, but the streaks of blue light peppered stone and dock turf instead of the fleeing men.

      Devlin’s goon ran surprisingly fast, considering he weighed as much as an elephant and was burdened with a headless android's body.

      If Rick hadn't been trying not to die, he might've laughed. Gut shots sobered a fellow pretty damn fast.

      The Stars approached carrying flashlights and pistols. Two officers. One crouched to inspect Rick.

      Are you alive, Meester Cave?

      Rick blinked through the pain. That voice. Very familiar. Couldn't place it. Gut shots were inherently distracting. I'm still kicking, he said. Dunno how hard, though.

      Hold on, the Stars man said. He pulled a radio from his belt. We are need medical unit. Flashlight swipes revealed the ugly visage of a typical New-Slav Party man.

      Didn't you. Use to work. Dock collections?

      "Da. The Star grinned. You always paid well and on time, Kiptin, and I—"

      Oblivion swallowed Rick before the Stars officer could finish talking.

      #

      Medicine on Pioter's World wasn't the best in known space. Old machines, old practices, old knowledge, and service so slow as to be nearly criminal.

      It was a microcosmic view of the New-Slav planetary alliance.

      Slow and bad as it was, the medic-wagon was still fast and good enough to keep Rick Cave from tripping off into the final dark.

      He woke with a dozen plastic staples holding his bowels together and blood filling his mouth.

      Miho smiled and said, Good morning, sleepy head, from a nearby tray.

      Seeing only her head, Rick’s rage pushed away his agony.

      Did they get away?

      Miho frowned, but her eyes still sparkled when they looked at him. The enforcers of law—

      Stars, Rick said. Law is called 'Stars' on Pioter's World.

      Yes. Well, the Stars did not put up much of a chase.

      They got away.

      With my body, yes. Her large, lovely eyes filled with moisture. Miho had special tear ducts for imitating the human act of weeping. They are not treating me well.

      You can still . . . Feel your body?

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