Show Notes
Today we present Final Time, by Jeff Samson. Jeff has been here before, with Episode 74, The Gods of Stone, the story of a godlet who finds that he is, well, rather rooted to the spot. It’s a short, funny story; go check it out if you’ve not heard it before.
Final Time
by Jeff Samson
The boy stood at the podium, his hands fumbling at its edges, his body trembling. He was breathing hard into the microphone, the rhythmic rush of air peppered with the hisses and pops of half-formed syllables lodged in his throat. Sweat slicked his brow, causing his oversized glasses to slip down his nose. Dampness leeched from his armpits, saturating his blue polo in growing circles.
He shook his head and drew a deep breath.
“Cou…,” he started. “Could I have…have…”
He flicked droplets of sweat from his forehead onto the chestnut-stained podium. His shuddering turned his words into a Morse code-like staccato.
“Have…,” he stammered, hung on that single sound.
The audience gasped as he jolted back from the podium, clutching his hands to his stomach. He stood perfectly still, eyes wide yet vacant, as if he were momentarily elsewhere.
He brought his hands to his face, covering his mouth as his cheeks swelled.
He bolted past across the stage, past the remaining contestants and the empty seats along the backdrop, past Natalia sitting near the end of her row. As he darted from the shadows of stage left and into the light of the hallway, Natalia saw the vomit spray from between his fingers. It looked to her as if the boy had been clenching a handful of mustard packets and squeezed them until they burst.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, she thought.
She stared into the dimly lit audience that rumbled with confusion and concern. The expressions on their barely visible faces mirrored those of her remaining fellow contestants. Then she looked at the panel of judges, whose wide eyes and gaping mouths unsettled her even more.
Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong.
(Continue Reading…)