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    6 Tales of the Unexpected
    6 Tales of the Unexpected
    6 Tales of the Unexpected
    Ebook88 pages1 hour

    6 Tales of the Unexpected

    By Jack Hutchison

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    About this ebook

    Jack Hutchison has produced six compelling original short stories. Eavesdropper...The writer's Voice...The Preacher...The Telescope...Sprigs...Fools Gold...

    Eavesdropper: A young girl hears voices in her head...so they can't be real. Problem is, she knows they are......The Writers Voice: We've all heard that some writers claim the characters they have created have taken over their novel but they don't start arguing with the author and threaten to kill the other characters do they...?The Preacher:.... We all trust a preacher. Whatever we give to a Preacher's cause is always done with sincerity. I mean you wouldn't change your mind. Would you?...The Telescope:... Is an instrument that brings things closer..helps you see.more clearly.....but maybe we don't want to see our own life more clearly? Sprigs: The word sprigs is a noun but sometimes it can be an adjective and when mixed with human greed there are devastating results: Fool's Gold:...If you had a bag full of solid gold you'd be especially careful where you took it.....

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJack Hutchison
    Release dateOct 31, 2013
    ISBN9781310636936
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      Book preview

      6 Tales of the Unexpected - Jack Hutchison

      6 TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED

      Jack Hutchison

      Smashwords Edition, Copyright 2013

      6 TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED

      Jack Hutchison

      © 2013, Jack Hutchison

      Published at Smashwords

      Jack Hutchison on Smashwords

      ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher.

      This book is a complete work of fiction. Any similarity of names and characteristics or professions to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

      CONTENTS

      Eavesdropper

      An eavesdropper is someone who listens… in secret?

      The Writers Voice

      A writer argues with the characters he created… does he?

      The Preacher

      You give to a preacher… you give to God.

      The Telescope

      A telescope brings what we see closer…?

      Sprigs

      What on Earth… are sprigs…?

      Fool’s Gold

      Would you know real gold… if you saw it… ?

      BY THE SAME AUTHOR

      Gypsies Don’t Cry

      A 97,000 word mystery/police procedural novel that has earned five X 5 star reviews and is also published by Smashwords

      EAVESDROPPER

      Now what seems to be the trouble Sally, Doctor Kincaid said.

      I feel silly, Sally Bremner said. She chewed on her bottom lip and fidgeted awkwardly. "I don’t even think I should be here. She looked Dr Kincaid straight in the eye. I have a strange problem."

      Dr Kincaid waited.

      Problem is, I keep overhearing a private conversation.

      I see, Dr Kincaid said. He placed his silver Parker pen down on his desk and looked closely at Sally. He had been the Bremner families GP for some twenty years. Sally herself was a pretty, healthy, and well balanced seventeen year old girl who did well at school and played in the school netball team.

      This private conversation Sally, he asked, Where do you overhear it? At school? The bus stop? Telephone?

      No no, she said with an impatient shake of her head. I hear them, usually when I’m alone. Walking home from school. Just after half past four. After the slightest pause she added. That’s when they’re at their loudest.

      "And exactly how do you hear these conversations Sally.? I mean, do you overhear people talking through headphones, earphones, computers, loudspeakers, telephones, or the internet?"

      No no, Dr Kincaid, she said with another impatient shake of her head. "I mean, I don’t hear the people talking through a listening device. I just hear them talking. And sometimes they are so loud."

      Mmm, Dr Kincaid said with a thoughtful nod, "Now tell me Sally, do you know the people you are overhearing.?"

      Oh no Dr Kincaid. I have no Idea who they are. She paused and pursed her lips the way teenagers do when deep in thought. but I suspect they’re immigrants.

      You mean they speak with an accent?

      No. They don’t. Speak with an accent that is. In fact I would say they don’t have an accent at all. It’s their names Dr Kincaid. Their names. One is called, Seedee,. The second is Elemen, and the third Enopepe. Now I ask you Dr Kincaid, do they sound like English names?

      No, no they don’t Sally, but they could be. The UK is changing fast. We’ve had a lot of immigration over the past twenty years.

      Dr Kincaid picked up his silver parker pen and began writing notes. Just what is, Sally, he said without looking up. the exact topic of the conversations you overhear?

      Oh, mostly technical stuff.

      Dr Kincaid stopped writing and looked up from his notes.

      What sort of technical stuff?

      Oh, like um, Security. Intruders. Hackers.

      Dr Kincaid nodded understandingly. He had a number of teenage girl patients. Most of them seemed to visit his surgery carrying a penchant of their own importance. Usually their problems amounted to little or nothing.

      I think Sally, he said in a quiet voice. Perhaps you’ve been overdoing things a wee bit. He smiled understandingly and added, I’m going to prescribe you some pills….

      Ten minutes later as Sally walked home she rolled Dr Kincaids prescription up into a little ball and threw it into a litter bin. She was not treating Dr Kincaid with contempt. She had a lot of respect and trust for Dr Kincaid. He was more than just her doctor. He was a family friend. She knew what Dr Kincaid’s diagnoses was going to be even before her visit to his surgery. She also knew the conversations she was overhearing were real. She was also at a loss how to explain them. She couldn’t tell her parents, they’d think she was mad. She couldn’t tell anybody else for the same reason. She’d told Dr Kincaid, yes, but what a patient told a doctor was in strict confidence.

      She arrived home. Her parents were not back from work yet and her younger brother was at football practice. She went straight to her bedroom. She looked at her watch. 4:30pm. That was the time the voices came on. They were always punctual. Like they were people with whom she had synchronized watches.

      She sat on her bed with two pillows behind her back for support. As expected, the voices arrived. She could always tell a few seconds before they arrived because their voices were always preceded by a low whistling noise similar to her grandfathers old valve radio.

      There’s been a development Elemen.

      Oh?

      Seedee has reported something you should know.

      What?

      Someone is listening.

      Sally sat bolt upright. A spasm of nausea rose from the pit of her stomach. This was the last thing she had expected. Now the speakers knew she was listening. She stifled a sob. Yes! She had been listening… but only because there was no way she could turn them off. She ran downstairs. Her family were not back yet. She ran out of the house in a panic leaving her mobile phone in the kitchen and the front door wide open. She ran towards the local park completely unable to turn off the conversation in her head.

      What! That’s Impossible Enopepe.

      Seedee is an expert. Admits it’s freakish. Has to be dealt with right away.

      How long have we had…our listener?

      One week.

      What’s the plan?

      You, Elemen, are to (ahem) make contact with…our listener immediately. I have already wave formed everything to your master drive.

      Sally reached the park. The voices had stopped. She

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