Platforms of Lightning

The second Neverglades spoof story, written using the generative text programs from botnik.org.

Story
Twisted branches had already begun to fester with a little ash. The Inspector loosened his fingers and stared thoughtfully at the ground. “So unusual,” he said. “Neither of the trees were swarming with cops.” His grayish skin looked sicklier than a smudge of smoke. I knew he must have been hovering in the moonlight.

“Inspector,” I said, wrinkling my brow, “which sounds brought us to the body?” The Inspector held back and rubbed a slender finger along the blackened leaves.

“It’s the second square on the floorboards,” he replied. “Just keep moving through the woods and you may understand.” I had no idea what he was trying to find.

Somehow I could imagine myself crouched behind a car, with a pair of scissors in my hand. There was nothing fundamentally different about this mystery. Bulging eyes peeled like a piece of plastic and tried to strangle the Inspector. He grabbed the radio wave and strode forward, leaving purple spirals in his wake.

Lightning in the darkness made solid. I could feel the buzz permeating from the thicket of those missing chickens. There were definitely strands of gray gunk, but I never saw the mess from inside the cruiser. What happened? I thought. It looked grim enough to be human.

The Inspector reached the mortuary doors and strode inside. Harvey was staring up at him without moving. “I thought his teeth were wide like a single shred of breath,” the Inspector muttered. “Thank God no one else could have done something wrong.” Then the body continued to murmur sweet whispers into his pockets.

The ground had taken on a peculiar shade of orange. The platforms grew sharper with each surge of the rift. There was nothing I could do except run. Energy was already straining to find my desk, but it wasn't going to take anything from the station. The trees were still smoking into bloodshed and I had forgotten to call Marconi.

Characters

 * Mark Hannigan
 * The Inspector
 * Olivia Marconi
 * Harvey Jackson