Bessie ambled at a clop while I waved at the state fair spectators. She bolted in terror at a loud noise and I fought for control. When the carriage overturned, I ended in the hospital. Velocity doesn’t hurt.
The protein on the reception plate wriggled its tiny legs when Carl probed it experimentally with a fork. He discreetly shifted the course aside and covered it with a napkin. Suspect cartes du jour are a frequent defect at interplanetary ambassador receptions.
He kicks and fights from the moment the door opens. Despite promising calm, Bobby Jack “Mad Dog” Jones panics and deputies leap to subdue him brutally and strap him into the chair.
The lights dim briefly when Warden Justice pulls the switch.
“You’re late,” she observes. Reclined in the armchair, she stops my heart with two chilled words. She arches a mordant eyebrow, and raises one foot to instruct me.
“Beseech my forgiveness by cleaning my boots. Use your tongue.”
I am a subtle and silent harbinger of Death. You wouldn’t suspect it, meeting me. A meek and academic little man in a standard issue lab coat, shuffling down the hospital corridors completely unnoticed. Hand delivering oncology lab reports that extinguish lives.