When There Was One

By Jason Blacker

It is the year 2039, less than two years after the Cleansing. These are the times known as the Great Wastetime.

Humanity has been visited by some force that has decimated their numbers to under one billion living souls. And it's getting worse.

Violence has been banned. Just the thought of committing an act of violence can now end in your death. Quickly, silently, your heart just stops. You drop dead before you can pull the trigger.

One man, an emaciated soul survivor tells the weary tale to a reporter. But there's something about the reporter than seems strange. He looks familiar.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lemon Tree Publishing
• Release date: Dec 3, 2016
• ISBN: 9781476286679

Jason Blacker

Jason Blacker was born in Cape Town but spent most of his first 18 years in Johannesburg. When not grinding his fingers down to stubs at the keyboard he enjoys drinking tea, calisthenics and running. Currently he lives in Canada.  Under his own name he writes hard boiled as well as cozy mysteries, action adventure, thrillers, literary fiction and anything else that tickles his muse. Jason Blacker also writes poetry and daily haikus at his haiku blog.  You can find his haikus and other poetry at his website www.haiqueue.com.  For FREE books and to stay up to date and learn about new releases be sure to visit www.jasonblacker.com where you can find more information about his writing and upcoming projects.  If you enjoy space opera in the tradition of Star Trek then take a look at Jason Blacker’s pen name “Sylynt Storme”. It is under the name Sylynt Storme where you can find both sci-fi and vampire fiction written by Jason Blacker.  “Star Sails” is the space opera series and “The Misgivings of the Vampire Lucius Lafayette” is his vampire series.

Book preview

When There Was One

By

Jason Blacker

PUBLISHED BY:

Lemon Tree Publishing

Copyright © 2012

JasonBlacker.com

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.

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Geez, that’s a good question. You want to know how it all started?

The interviewer nodded his head. They were sitting in Kevan Mallon’s apartment. It was a threadbare place that didn’t contain much. Kevan was on a couch that looked like it had come from the Salvation Army decades ago. It was a dirty burgundy color and the fabric had been worn smooth. It was hard to see the paisley patterns it once showed with pride.

You couldn’t be sure if the couch was dirty as part of its color or if it was dirty from lack of cleaning. On his lap sat a scrawny cat. She was a tabby with a torn left ear. Her back was arched as she stood on Kevan’s thighs as he rubbed her along her spine.

The couch was small. Just a two seater really and Kevan sat on the left side of it. He sat in it deeply. Not because he was fat, people weren’t fat anymore, but because the couch was old. The springs sagged like tired old men. The right side of the couch was tucked up against the corner of two walls. On the right of Kevan sat a pile of old magazines. They were mostly time and Life. The top one was Life magazine. It was dated 16 November 2037. The title of it was Armageddon. The picture was of riots. They could have been anywhere, but they were in Toronto. That’s where things had come unleashed.

The interviewer, his name is Autumn Blood, sits on a wooden chair. A spindle on the back rest is missing. You can count four of them instead of five. Autumn Blood, you’ll understand that name in a bit, sits straight. If you look at him closely he seems