C. Gockel's Blog, page 150

Thanks for the heads up. I was obviously thinking about the gun I am not sure he should or should not be carrying. Keep waffling. I’ll fix that.

Glad you like Chaos. There is a short Novella available after Chaos. It’s called In the Balance and it will let you revisit the characters again.

Thanks for the heads up. I was obviously thinking about the gun I am not sure he should or should not be carrying. Keep waffling. I’ll fix that.

Glad you like Chaos. There is a short Novella available after Chaos. It’s called In the Balance and it will let you revisit the characters again.

Thanks for the heads up. I was obviously thinking about the gun I am not sure he should or should not be carrying. Keep waffling. I’ll fix that.

Glad you like Chaos. There is a short Novella available after Chaos. It’s called In the Balance and it will let you revisit the characters again.

Thanks for the heads up. I was obviously thinking about the gun I am not sure he should or should not be carrying. Keep waffling. I’ll fix that.

Glad you like Chaos. There is a short Novella available after Chaos. It’s called In the Balance and it will let you revisit the characters again.

Thanks for the heads up. I was obviously thinking about the gun I am not sure he should or should not be carrying. Keep waffling. I’ll fix that.

Glad you like Chaos. There is a short Novella available after Chaos. It’s called In the Balance and it will let you revisit the characters again.

Thanks for the heads up. I was obviously thinking about the gun I am not sure he should or should not be carrying. Keep waffling. I’ll fix that.

Glad you like Chaos. There is a short Novella available after Chaos. It’s called In the Balance and it will let you revisit the characters again.

Thanks for the heads up. I was obviously thinking about the gun I am not sure he should or should not be carrying. Keep waffling. I’ll fix that.

Glad you like Chaos. There is a short Novella available after Chaos. It’s called In the Balance and it will let you revisit the characters again.

Thanks for the heads up. I was obviously thinking about the gun I am not sure he should or should not be carrying. Keep waffling. I’ll fix that.

Glad you like Chaos. There is a short Novella available after Chaos. It’s called In the Balance and it will let you revisit the characters again.

A little excerpt from I Bring the Fire Part IV. Because people asked me for it:

………

Across from Bohdi, Amy slides to the floor of Thor’s chariot. Bohdi wants to follow her lead, to sit on the floor, tuck his knees up to his chin and sleep. He stifles a yawn. Being in Nornheim is kind of like the last weeks of Infantry training, but without the the occasional grenade blast and gunfire to keep you awake. He barely got any sleep the night he spent with Frieda, and only grabbed an hour or so at most on the ground before nightfall. 

If he just sits down for a moment….

Amy pulls herself up sharply and yells at Thor. “You know he’d take advantage of her, Thor! You have to know about Rind! And after Andvarinaut…How many girls did he attack then? How many? A few dozen? A few hundred?”

The fog in Bohdi’s brain sharpens. His skin heats and his fingers fumble with his lighter. It takes him a moment to realize he’s shaking.

Turning to her, Thor roars, “Stories! Stories only!” Every inch of Bohdi’s skin feels like it is being poked by pins and needles. The chariot bounces, as though a barometer of Thor’s anger. Bohdi barely manages to hold on.

The chariot swerves as Thor shouts, “The All Father respects women enough to let them fight alongside men as equals!”

“Women shouldn’t have to be warriors to be respected!” Amy yells. Bohdi can just make out a sliver of her face over Thor’s shoulder. Her ponytail is whipping furiously in the wind, the sun is rising beyond her, haloing her head with light and…are those butterflies? Bohdi tilts his head, mesmerized by the tiny delicate shapes fluttering beyond Amy.

Thor grunts, the chariot shakes, and Amy says, “Be honest, Thor. If Loki was a woman, would you trust your father with her?”

Thor glowers at her a moment, and then turning abruptly, stares silently ahead. Bohdi’s jaw twitches at the unspoken answer. He remembers the way Skirnir spoke about Geror, and other rumors he’s heard about what the Asgardians do to their conquests. The edges of his vision darken. He opens his mouth, something sharp at the tip of his tongue, something that will really get Thor worked up…but then the chariot shakes with such force Amy slips and falls, and Bohdi barely keeps his feet.

Bohdi glares up at Thor. His eyes slide to Amy. She’s pulled herself back up, but she seems to have given the debate a rest.

Standing at the helm, Thor is taking deep breaths, like he’s trying to calm himself. Bohdi can’t help noticing the chariot’s course becomes smoother.

Bohdi fumes; if he wants to survive he may have to hold his piece. His fingers thump against his lighter.

He looks back to Amy, the butterflies behind her catching his eyes again. They seem larger now. Their wings are every shade of pink, baby blue, lavender and soft yellow. But how can butterflies fly so high? Maybe he is hallucinating? He squints. No, they’re real, but they aren’t butterflies, their wings are shaped more like birds. It’s hard to determine how far at such high altitude without decent landmarks…Still, they’re definitely getting closer. What kind of birds fly at this altitude? Raptors maybe?

He blinks at the birds. As they draw closer, the wings become brighter colored. Are those claws on the wings? “Um…” says Bohdi.

Eyes on Thor, Amy says, “I’m just asking you to consider that maybe Asgard might not be the best place for Loki…man or woman.”

Bohdi leans sideways to see better around Thor’s huge hulking form. The raptors, or whatever they are, have reptilian bodies, covered in brilliant red, yellow and blue scales…or are those feathers? The creatures look the size of hawks maybe…probably not dangerous but…“Um…Thor…” says Bohdi.

The big man grunts, eyes straight ahead.

Bohdi clears his throat.  The raptor things seem to be picking up speed…and they’re bigger than any hawk he’s ever seen. Bohdi’s heart stops. No, they’re not raptors. “Thor!” Bohdi shouts.

Hand going to Mjolnir, Thor turns his head to Bohdi. The chariot lurches at the same time. Lifting a hand, Bohdi points beyond Thor’s shoulder. Thor’s head whips around again. It is at that moment that Mr. Squeakers, oddly quiet through most of the trip, decides to peek his head out the collar of Amy’s coat.

Thor screams. “A spidermouse!”  The chariot lurches, Thor backs in Bohdi’s direction so fast Bohdi’s back tips dangerously over the edge.

Amy’s face flushes, and as soon as the chariot rights itself she captures Mr. Squeakers in her hand. “He won’t hurt you!” she says, putting Mr. Squeakers in her pocket.

“How can you be sure?” says Thor.

Righting himself, Bohdi’s eyes go beyond Amy and the spidermouse. His breath catches. Pushing Thor off of him, Bohdi shouts. “Forget the mouse! Pay attention to the dragons!”

The results appear to offer the best explanation yet of why animals and people need sleep. If this proves to be true in humans as well, it could help explain a mysterious association between sleep disorders and brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s. Listen > 

…Platypuses must not get Alzheimer’s. (Why yes, that it s an obscure I Bring the Fire Monster’s joke).