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“Pem,” I say, “I wish we could talk about this.” I can’t stop thinking about the woman and who she might be. Subscribe “No!” Pem says. “I don’t want to!” Pem races ahead, down the river’s edge. “Pem!” I run after her, but she’s a cat,
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I look at the knife, at the facón, in my hands. “This feels familiar …” “That’s quite a fancy-looking knife you have there, William,” Pem says. “It’s a facón,” I say. “What’s that?” “I’m … not sure.” “Oh. Okay.” Pem washes her face with her paw in small
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The light has all but left us, and I can barely see a thing. “I can’t see, William!” Pem cries. “Where are you?” I cannot feel her close to me. “Pem!” “Taste your own wrath, villain.” The Maiden’s voice is calm like steel. My eyes are without sight,
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I watch Rogger get smaller and smaller. “Rogger!” Pem cries. There’s a splash, and I can’t see Rogger anymore. “Oh, no! William! What are we gonna do?” Pem asks. I’m panicky and don’t know. The earth’s still shifting and the column of rock we’re
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Rogger looks at the sky. “Getting dark, friends.” Pem looks. “I can see fine.” “Me too, kitty. But William can’t.” It’s true. It’s getting harder to see. “Should we stop?” I ask. Rogger looks ahead. “I think there’s a break in the woods up there. Let’
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Pem and I walk with Rogger, and I ask, “So who is the Maiden in Black Mail?” Rogger pulls a pipe and packs it. “Don’t know, Will.” “But she’s hunting you?” Rogger nods. “Yes, she is. Has been for a few moons now.” Pem says, “She’s the
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“Pem, I see a cave.” “Me, too, William.” “Do we know this cave?” “I don’t. Do you?” “I can’t remember.” Pem puts a paw to her face. “Of course not. Okay, let’s check it out.” We go to the cave. “It’s awfully dark in there,” Pem
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My feet hit the soil, and it’s spongy. I sink in to about my knees. “Oh, my!” I say. Pem’s hissing and spitting at a frog, who is staring at her from a lily pad floating on the little lake. “I’m here, Pem!” Pem’s back is
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The branches move like silk through my hands. Like they’re massaging me. One of them turns to look at me and speaks: “Hello there.” I smile even though it scares me some, to talk to this branch that is clearly now a snake. “Hello,” I say. Then I feel
gaucho
The story behind the story … I was feeling burned out on my flagship series, The Secret of Secrets—a highly layered metafictional sci-fi kina dealie, and I was also playing a lot of retro video games, like the 8-bit inspired ones. The result of that union birthed Gaucho, a simple
gaucho
If you’re just joining us, here are the first two eps: Episode 1: "I wake up."Episode 2: "The hundreds" And now, today’s episode … Pem and I go down one of the hundreds of paths, and the wooded canopy forms quick. A wind whips
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If you’re just joining us, check out the first ep here: Episode 1: "I wake up." And now for today’s episode, “The hundreds” … Yep. That’s a mattress. At the bottom of this huge tree with boards nailed to it, a little house in its branches.
