The Fifth Di... December 2017

By J Alan Erwine

The December 2017 issue of The Fifth Di... brings you stories from Chris Dean, Karen Heslop, Kate Runnels, and G. W. Thomas.
A serial killer is loose and it’s up to a psi talent to catch them, but can she hold herself together long enough to succeed? A young girl is “chosen” to sacrifice herself for the good of her village, but nothing can prepare her for what this sacrifice means. A woman is determined to continue to explore the galaxy, but the chaos of Earth is threatening to destroy her dreams, and she’s already had so many dreams destroyed. And finally, a man down on his luck finds that that luck is about to change in a way he could never expect.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nomadic Delirium Press
• Release date: Nov 29, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370100903

J Alan Erwine

J Erwine was born Oct. 15, 1969 in Akron, Ohio. Early in his life he was exposed to science, and specifically astronomy. From there on, J's passion turned to science fiction, a passion that's never died. Due to family issues, J eventually found himself in Denver, Colorado, where he still lives (well, right outside now.) From the time he could put subject and predicate together on paper, J has been writing stories. None of those early stories exist anymore (thankfully), but that passion for writing has never waned. After several years of rejection, the story Trek for Life was eventually sold to ProMart Writing Lab editor James Baker. It wasn't Asimov's, but it was a start. Since that time J has sold more than forty short stories to various small press publishers. In addition ProMart also published a short story collection of J's entitled Lowering One's Self Before Fate, and other stories, which is still available. ProMart also published a novel from J entitled The Opium of the People, which sold a few copies before going out of print. The relevance of the novel after the events of September 11th caused J to self-publish the novel, as he felt the story had a lot to say in the new reality we now find ourselves living in. Now, this same book has been re-released by Nomadic Delirium Press. Eventually J would become an editor with ProMart. Then, after the untimely death of ProMart editor James Baker, J would move on to ProMart's successor Sam's Dot Publishing. J also spends most of his time working as a freelance writer and editor. J's novel was voted a top ten finisher in the 2003 annual Preditors & Editors contest, and his short story The Galton Principle won a ProMart contest for best story over 5,000 words. In addition, a number of his stories have been voted "best of" in various issue of The Martian Wave and The Fifth DI… and have been included in Wondrous Web Worlds Vols. 2, 3, 4, and 6. In 2009, the Ephemeris Role Playing Game was released. J is the co-creator of this game, and has written numerous supplements for the game. J has now sold three novels and four short story collections, all of which are still available from various sources, including Smashwords. J currently lives with his amazing wife, three wonderful children, three cats, and a very quiet turtle.

Book preview

THE FIFTH DI…

December 2017

Edited by J Alan Erwine

Published by Nomadic Delirium Press at Smashwords

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Copyright 2017 by Nomadic Delirium Press

All stories are copyrighted in the names of their respective authors

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage and retrieval system, without the written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passes in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, broadcast, etc.

Nomadic Delirium Press

Aurora, Colorado

Table of Contents

Twilit Memories by Chris Dean

Chosen by Karen Heslop

Across the Depths of Space by Kate Runnels

Joseph Farnum, Title Cards, 1928

Twilit Memories

By Chris Dean

It wasn’t hard to find 226 Maple. A gazillion police and techs and news crews. Neighborhood gawkers. At three o’clock in the morning whole families out on their porches gabbing about the circus in the street. I threaded my way through the sideways cars and onto the lawn. A uniform blocked my way. This is a crime scene, he said.

I know. I flashed my Psicorps ID.

His youthful features stiffened with hostility. You wait, he ordered. He used a collar mic; Lieutenant Hobson?

Another cop drifted close. The dark face looked familiar and I remembered the name Wilson. He grunted, Sara Jones. Thought you were in Philly.

I heard you had a serious crazy needs catching.

You got that right. Let her go. She’s okay.

All right. The young cop went to chase some reporters off the driveway.

I looked at the house. A solid brick home with shutters and flower beds. Good people had lived here. I muttered, I almost forgot what this was like. Walking into a murder scene is always a bad experience. After almost a year it was like stepping back into hell.

Wilson’s voice dropped. It’s bad.

We went inside. Wilson gave someone my name as we entered the living room. The M.E. passed by in the hall. He didn’t stop, but he said to me, I heard they called you in, Sara. Good you’re back. You have my number should we need to talk.

Right, Sam. The M.E. was a cranky old man who didn’t get along with anyone. The brief greeting I’d received was as friendly as he got.

A burly sergeant led me up to the second floor. There were three bedrooms. He asked, Is there a certain order-? You want-? He was clearly upset. The girl. He pointed to the bedroom at the end of the hall. Boy. He pointed again. And the parents.

I followed his gaze to the master bedroom. People were moving around in there so I went that way. Hobson and a couple of uniforms. The lieutenant looked a thousand years old. He had that fatigue cops get when some serial killer is running around slaughtering families. A flicker brightened his face when he saw me. Sara, good to see you. I hope you can help stop this.

I didn’t tell him that I had contacted Boston PD’s Operational Commander after the fifth murder. Rawlins waited a month and now that number was trebled. This maniac had to be stopped.

Hobson took a deep breath and looked at the bodies on the bed. They’re telling me between midnight and one o’clock the husband and wife were attacked first. Preliminary investigation shows she woke up and he never did.

Knife.

We assume so. He stared at the bloody sheets. Yes, I’d guess so.

It was going to be gruesome.

He knew enough about my psi ability that he said, I assume you can only do one of them right now. Something this horrible would take me a while to recover from.

The wife?

Maybe the girl. We think he found her hiding in the closet. He went paler than usual. She may have got a good look at him.

Okay. I went down the hallway into the girl’s room. A CSI was measuring blood spatters with a laser device. I asked him to leave.

Hobson sent that sergeant back downstairs with instructions to keep everyone away. Standing next to the tiny body on the floor, he offered, I can get you a chair.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t answer. The little girl’s corpse was the worst sight I’d ever seen. The yellow pajamas were shredded and orange with blood. Thank God I couldn’t see her face.

A rising panic paralyzed me. I