“He didn’t seem to have a killer instinct about him,” Claire said. They hadn’t worked together long. She was a country girl, fresh out of the academy. Mark flicked his indicator and turned a corner. He’d been doing this beat for most of his career. He knew the area well, good and bad. His old partner went into retirement. Now …

Anne strode through the door to Marty’s office. She projected as much authority as she could. She masked the icy rage that burned underneath. Marty talked loudly on a call. Without looking at her, he motioned to take a seat. A small seat with no armrests, dwarfed by his ornate desk. She knew that trick. She ignored him and stood. …

Lawrence sipped at his strong coffee, he drank it hot to avoid the horrible bitter taste. He wasn’t a coffee guy, but it helped him adjust to night shift. Nightmares of the virus and an overwhelmed hospital had plagued his sleep. His mother was in the kitchen preparing dinner, she argued with her sister on video chat. His father napped …

Yarran wandered through rows of shelves full of comics and toys. Most of it was cheap trash designed to waste fan’s money. It didn’t bother him that they liked it, the cynical companies that overcharged for the cheap plastic made in sweatshops were what bothered him. His phone buzzed again, ten missed calls. This place was his sanctuary, a large …

Evi unpacked her worn travel bag for the tenth time. Her head throbbed, she’d stayed back to drink with the staff after work and was suffering the consequences. Her phone was with her when she got home the night before. She checked under her bed again, it still wasn’t there, only some food and an abandoned sock. Her roommates had …

Anne monitored the sound levels and checked the feed for any issues as Jonothan Walsman presented the news. They had been such firebrands in their youth, she had big dreams then. Full of utopian ideals. The world needed fixing and they would be the ones to do it. Now look at her. She worked a cushy corporate TV news gig, …

Rebecca tasted the Bolognaise sauce, just how she liked it, an hour to simmer and it would be ready. It was her main go to, cheap and easy to make. A big batch could feed the family for a week. She looked for a spot to put down the stirrer, the bench was covered in unwashed dishes. She moved some …

Lawrence resisted the urge to rub the lines the mask had dug into his skin. It had been bothering him all shift. He made his way to the break room but first he had to change out of his isolation garb. The routine of taking it on and off was something he was going to have to get used to. …

It wasn’t his best performance. The sweats had kicked in halfway through his hour session. Glenn had smoked most of his cigarettes and downed a couple of pots of beer to take the edge off on his halfway break, it hadn’t helped much. He should’ve just got some beforehand. He was going there anyway, and he functioned so much better …

“Hey,” a voice said snapping Evi out of her thoughts, “don’t let Gav catch you spacing out in here.” She looked around and saw Bill, he had been really nice going out of his way to get her used to the place. She had been spacing, just standing there caught up in the performance. She hadn’t thought much of the …