Ms. Wellington's Oak Tree (Short Story #3) Page 2

could catch it.

  They spoke together for long hours. No one knows exactly what they said, but it is true that children from the neighboring towns were terribly disappointed by her vigil. They all must have thought she'd finally gone mad and taken to conversing with plants and other inanimate objects.

  It was the evening of the second day after a particularly poignant recollection from her years as a young woman (she had been beautiful then) when Mr. Edwards finally threw in the towel. 'I must say, the conversation's been good, and I've had a wonderful time in your tree.' It was late evening, and the sun had already drowned beneath the horizon. The sky was stained a rich velvet, but it was fading rapidly. 'But business is business, you know, and tomorrow the shop must be open.'

  Ms. Wellington smiled ruefully. 'But how will you get down?'

  Mr. Edwards shrugged. 'I think I'll try climbing. It's certainly better than spending my last days up here, helplessly withering away in the stratosphere.'

  In an instant, Ms. Wellington was dumbfounded. She looked entirely as if someone had slapped her. It hadn't crossed her mind since yesterday that one day Mr. Edwards wouldn't be in her tree, and despite all the grumbling and all the mumbling she didn't want to wake up tomorrow and have to pass the day on her porch squawking bitterly at innocent children.

  'Should I drop you your cat?'

  Ms. Wellington refused to answer.

  'I say, miss, but your cat is up here, and I can't try climbing down with him in my lap.'

  'Evil man.' Ms. Wellington's voice was strangely petulant. 'Do you always climb people's trees? Just anyone's trees?'

  'No, not just anyone's. Now your cat –'

  'Take it with you. It likes you better anyway.'

  Mr. Edwards pursed his lips. 'No,' he answered after a short moment. 'She's your cat. Just attend to her.'

  'Oh,' said Ms. Wellington, looking his way now, eyes indignant, 'and what do you know about cats? All you know about is foolishness –'

  'And meat.'

  '– and consorting with other people's trees. You know, I think I shall have to drive to Concord for meat now.' Ms. Wellington stood up brusquely and brushed off her dress.

  'Where are you going?' Mr. Edwards demanded from his place in the tree, but Ms. Wellington would not acknowledge him. She was retreating towards the house, her steps slow and with each one angrier, as if she were waiting for something. 'But wait!' called Mr. Edwards, sitting up on the branch. His leathery hands sought holds on the bark. 'You didn't let me finish! I was wondering if I could perhaps join you for tea!'

  Ms. Wellington stopped. Her head turned slightly, but her back was still to him. 'Do you drink tea, Mr. Edwards?'

  The old man smiled. 'Not with just anyone.'

  Ms. Wellington considered that for a moment. Then she started off again.

  'Wait!' called out Mr. Edwards. 'Where are you going?'

  'To the garage,' she answered crisply. 'I've got a ladder.'

  Thank You For Your

  Cooperation

  the Bunker Series, #1

  Welcome to the Bunker, an orderly, underground utopia where everyone's needs have been satisfied.

  As far back as he can remember, Terry Renfield has been digging up uranium ore in the mines and getting into the occasional drunken brawl. Until one daystretch on the Loyalty Stretch, he and the rest of the Bunker see someone who looks eerily like himself commit a heinous act of treason. Terry is fired on the spot.

  He turns to his girlfriend, Sally Xinhua, for help. Detained and then unexpectedly set free, Terry comes to realize that his misfortunes are no accident. His tiny, insular world shattered forever, he is determined not to be anyone's unwitting pawn – least of all his own.

  Sally pulls him into the orbit of more privileged citizens with security clearances – including Van Johnson, the host of Ten Things I Hate About Treason, and Felix Tubman, the head of Homeland Security. What follows is an unlikely adventure spanning the Bunker, the reaches of space, and the forbidding outside.

  Now the focus of a grand conspiracy to take down Control, the principal guiding force in the Bunker, Terry is ultimately faced with an identity crisis of epic proportions. Who is the real Terry Renfield? And what is it to actually be a specific person anyway?

  Gyges the Terrible

  Welcome to the United States of the not-so-distant future. Our Republic has given way to a new form of government, Freemocracy. The President rules virtually unopposed. Congress is a rubber-stamp institution, and society has fractured into the permanently privileged and the permanently working. The Supreme Court is the only alternate center of power, and the tension between the President, Samuel Judas Epstein, and the Chief Justice, Xiling, is set to boil over into open conflict.

  The Earth, too, has changed. The nation has become a patchwork of restricted areas, security screens, and military checkpoints. Water is tightly rationed. The world powers vie with each other for territory on the lunar surface. Although the mines there are incredibly expensive to operate, the moon has become the only source for most of the natural resources consumed by an ever more ravenous industrial complex.

  It is in this setting that a group of ordinary hooligans led by Marcellus Gyges storm the halls of empire. Possessed of a magic ring that confers the power of command, spurred on by his friends, Marcellus is in a unique position to depose the President.

  At the same time, Marcellus is being tutored by his Guardian Angel. For it is the choices that we make in this life that determine what becomes of us in the next.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Adam Wasserman took to writing at a young age and has never given it up. He has authored a number of short stories and plays but prefers the longer format and deeper potential of the novel.

  Mr. Wasserman spends part of the year in Europe where he does most of his writing. During the spring and summer months, he can usually be found in Rhode Island. There, he attends numerous festivals and open markets – such as Providence ComiCon – where he enjoys engaging with readers. An avid swimmer, he also spends considerable time at the beach.

  Topics that interest him include ancient history, power, and the nature of being human.