Grave Cargo
By Jami Gray
I winced at the ear-grating sound, and my hand, holding my nirvana in a cup, jerked. Scalding caffeine erupted from the lid and splattered across my skin. Muttering a word best not used in public, I quickly shook it off and blew across the cup’s tiny opening in the lid. Taking a cautious sip, I watched the blue-and-white police car rush by as the rumble of conversation inside the corner coffee shop died away. We all stared in that uniquely urban yet morbidly fascinated way as another unit, complete with flashing lights, chased the first up the street. On the sidewalk, morning commuters slowed and craned their necks to follow the action. A deeper, harsher blast followed, and like extras in some lousy TV sitcom, everyone turned to watch an ambulance bring up the rear of the emergency-response caravan.
This was not an unusual activity for the narrow maze of downtown Phoenix. Between impatient drivers and equally impatient pedestrians, who were firm believers that traffic signals were mere suggestions, navigating these streets was not for the faint of heart. Chances were good. Someone had dared a yellow light with disastrous results.
Crappy way to start your day, I thought with a tug of empathy. Typically, I would be happily ensconced on my eighth-floor balcony, blearily eyeing the morning comings and goings, safe from the havoc below. But this morning, the combination of a late-night delivery job and my roommate, Lena, had failed to replace our caffeine stash, leaving me with no option but to function. Somehow, I’d managed to throw on clean—I did a quick check—yep, clean clothes and navigate the handful of blocks necessary to get my fix. Luckily for Lena, I was in a forgiving mood and had ordered her favourite drink. No one liked dealing with the caffeine-deprived.
Genre: Fantasy
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Jami Gray
Biography.
About Jami -The first time I wrote a story was after I came home from watching Star Wars: A New Hope at a drive-in theatre. Deciding Princess Leia was not good enough for Han Solo, I rewrote my part of the storyline. Han was all for me. The tough female thief and wussy Princess Leia could stay with Luke. Years later, when I discovered Leia was Luke’s sister, it killed the story, but others had already sprung up. My females can be intimidating, but the men love them, even if they are a pain. Besides, who has time to wait for some guy to save you when it’s faster to do it yourself? Magic, in all its strange and twisted forms, exists. This means all those fantastical creatures we thought were only fairy tales. They’re accurate, complete with fangs, fur, and claws. I’m an admitted coffee addict, book hoarder, and music junkie. People are not my forte, but escaping to imaginative worlds is. Partly because I grew up on the Arizona-Mexico border as the fifth of what would eventually total 37 children, think adoption, not natural methods, as that would tire out any dedicated couple.
Privacy was something only found in my head. When I grew up, I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Journalism from Arizona State University and a three-tier list of minors, as my interests changed nearly yearly. (Squirrel!) Eventually, I married my techie-geek best friend from high school, then went on to complete a Master’s in Organizational Management to put my OCD tendencies to good use. We decided to inflict more geeks upon the world, and I’m now the very proud mom of two young adult males who shall carry the gamer geek torch high and proud. To round out the gender scales in our family, we incorporated two furry female labs to call our own.
Jami Gray
