Author: markswritingcorner

Mark Ahern was born in 1979 and is from Ireland. He attained a Degree in Commerce from UCD in 2000 and a Masters in European Studies in 2001. He has written three novels to date encompassing science fiction and thrillers. At times Mark has used his experiences as an individual with a disability to write from a truly unique perspective. "Chronicles of Martan" which is his sole science fiction work to date, is an epic space odyssey inspired by his love of Star Wars. This was followed by "Not the Usual Suspect" and "Paradigm". His current project is called "The Irish Ripper" and should be available late 2019.

Pegasus (Part 56)

We languished for hours in the cage alone. Then we could hear the tapping sound of feet coming closer and closer till the room once more burst into life. They were largely ignored to the rear. Most of their conversations were indecipherable. But, my heart suddenly lifted when I heard some Irish being spoken between two of the boys and learned that their leader was called Barabus. Both of them were in shabby, dirty clothes. The red-haired freckled boy looked the elder at about thirteen years of age. He had a bruise on his left eye. The other boy with brown hair and light blue skin looked no more than eleven years of age. There was a great sadness in their eyes.

Then the man they called Barabus returned and immediately set about interrogating his minions about the status of their progress. At times he shouted his displeasure, or else he would hit them with his fist reducing some of them to a bawl of tears. Each boy and girl nervously awaited their return.

“He’s a monster,” Tabitha whispered in my ear.

I gently nodded in agreement not wanting to catch his attention.

Then they dispersed as quickly as they had gathered.

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (22)

Timothy found himself hitting his pen off the table as he waited hour after hour in the control room for the battle to begin. An update was given every thirty minutes on the Tyranid fleet. It became that their whole armada would be involved.

The latest report told him that the Tyranid fleet had entered orbit. But he didn’t need the update. The gasp from those around him as the images from the multitude of cameras positioned all over the planet dimmed one after the other.

This was what he had been waiting for. The planet’s military leaders were all on the console in front of him kitted out in full military attire.

“Fire the planetary defense and do not stop until the enemy has been defeated.”

Timothy glanced over at the display to his left. It showed that the large guns were cutting a swathe through the enemy fleet. Then their response came.

The skies grew darker still as large and small explosions began to pulverize the surface of the planet, especially close to its two megacities.

Timothy once more turned to the console. The military men mostly looked stern and determined but others were nervously twitching.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for. Keep me updated at all times.

Galway Girls (Part 31)

For a few moments, I was in heaven. Her hands were all over me. Running her through my hair and then rubbing my chest under the shirt. I guessed that I could forget about the film.

Our tongues swirled around, first in my mouth and then hers.

She whispered in my ear.

“So, where’s your bedroom?”

“Great minds must think alike,” I replied with a wide grin.

She stood up and I transferred back into my wheelchair. Eager to get to my next destination before the moment was gone. Fortunately, at least I knew that my normally cluttered room was looking its best that day.

“Oh, you have a good bit of space in here.”

“Yeah, I need it with the wheelchair and everything.”

I drove up alongside the bed, lifted up the footplates, and then transferred onto the bed.

She helped me pull down my trousers.

“It’s really impressive how you manage everything.”

“Thanks”

She got on top of me and we embraced. She was everything that I had always wanted. Her soft skin, the smell of her perfume, her hair brushing against my face.

I closed my eyes as she kissed my body. Then I entered her. We grinded together in bliss and then as the euphoric moment hit, I roared “I love you.”

Then we collapsed exhausted into each other’s bodies.

Pegasus (Part 55)

“Minions, put these intruders in the cage!”

A large cheer went up behind us. I felt a gun sharply pressing into my back forcing me to the rear of the room and into a large cage with black metal bars. I heard a large clinking sound just after the door slammed behind me. I quickly turned around to see that Tabitha was by my side.

The youngsters piled up against the bar, their eyes wide open gaping at us like we were some type of weird exotic animals. They just stared without fear or understanding.

“Get away from them! Pretend they are not there,” the large man bellowed.

Gradually, they averted their gaze away from us and back to him.

“You are not to messing with them. They are now valuable cargo and to be treated as such.”

When one of the younger ones fleetingly looked back at us, his face grew read and he hit him a thump reducing the young boy to tears.

Tabitha shuddered.

They were as much his prisoners as we were.

He then started giving them instructions on what goods they needed to bring where and when. They listened carefully. It was a mixture of weapons, drugs, and key parts needed for space infrastructure. Then after an hour or two they dispersed and went back to their duties.

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (21)

A few days later, news filtered through that the Tyranid swarm had entered the star system. In just a few hours their attack will have started. The Ambassador’s ship had left orbit.

Timothy felt so alive. Life felt good. The faces of dread on those around him could not quell his spirits. This was what he had been born to do.

He went straight to the command to view its screens of what was happening across the planet. Uisneach’s generals had been well informed of exactly how matters would progress. It had been a shock for them at the meeting when he informed them that Tyrranids in human form were already walking among them. They were here to sew dissent among the masses and to launch suicidal attacks on critical infrastructure such as the power grip and key communication installations just prior to the main attack.

They had listened. Their doctors postulated that they could be rooted out through a blood test. A back story was then fabricated about the population needing to receive a vaccine. What followed was a series of attacks against the injection centers. Horrific pictures were beamed across the planet of father’s carrying blood soaked children in their arms, of mother wailing over small bodies. But from a military perspective, it was a total success. Nothing of military or strategic value had been lost, and the Tyranid first wave had been extinguished.

Galway Girls (Part 30)

I had a nice long couch right in front of the TV. Always hoping that someday I’d have a nice, pretty woman who would want to sit beside me. That plan had hopefully finally panned out. The room itself was small, plain, and minimalistic. It was dark. The curtains had been left closed in a bid to create a better ambiance. The large 50-inch TV was probably the most impressive thing in the room though I doubt it made much of an impression on her.

“Want to watch a film? I have a nice romance one saved.”

“Yeah, sure put it on.”

I switched on the TV and drove my wheelchair perpendicular to the couch before transferring onto it. She sat down beside me.

“You look so sexy when you swing your bum around,” she teased.

My face grew crimson.

“Thanks,” I replied with a wide smile.

She smelled of cinnamon perfume. The film started.

I wondered what I should do. Should I make a move or stay quiet watching the film?

She rested her head on my shoulder. My heart started to beat faster. Then she licked my ear. I looked into her blue eyes and leaned forward into a passionate kiss.

Pegasus (Part 54)

The people holding the guns were three scruffy, dirty kids who didn’t look any more than ten or eleven years old. Their faces were gaunt and their arms thin. They motioned for both of us to stand up and hold up our arms. It went quiet below. We were then directed down the stairs in a single file.

My eyes moved furtively. There were another twenty kids downstairs, all looking similarly decrepit mostly armed with pistols. The large man was now pointing his machine in their direction. It wasn’t worth making a move.

“Look at what we have here, how did you too get here?”

His stomach bulged over his pants revealing a hairy, sweaty belly. Some of his teeth were missing and his shoulder-length hair looked badly matted. He had a bright red nose and a pock-marked face.

“Well, have you nothing to say for yourselves?”

He pointed his gun at Tabitha and then stroked her breast with it.

“We haven’t seen your kind round here before?”

Tabitha reacted.

“We are with the Resistance. Release us or face the consequences.”

My heart sank. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to end well.

“Oh, you are with the Resistance. That’s more than I could have hoped for. You will fetch good coin!”

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (20)

The President had a vast array of advisors none of whom had ever seen combat. Still, he listens to each of them attentively. He had summoned Timothy to his war cabinet over two hours ago. Still, he had barely the opportunity to speak among the chatter of economic support and financial precariousness. They didn’t seem to be getting the dire nature of their situation.

They were dressed in suits. None of them were carrying weapons apart from Timothy. A rookie mistake. There could be a Tyranid sleeper agent among them.

Eventually, he snapped.

“We need to discuss our war strategy. This other nonsense can wait.”

The room immediately went quiet.

The President met his eyes.

“Yes, you are right. These issues can be dealt with by those who survive.”

“Thank you, Mr. President. I wish to recommend the following strategy and the relevant preliminary must be put in place at once.”

There were gasps and murmuring as he went through it.

The President then spoke.

“Timothy, we value human life here. We can’t just sacrifice such vast numbers.”

“Then you and everyone here will die Mr. President. The Tryanids do not feel pity or remorse. They feel nothing at all. All they do is consume world after world mercilessly. And this world will be next if you don’t follow my advice.”

Galway Girls (Part 29)

It seemed to take forever for Saturday to take an age for Friday to finally arrive. I was so looking forward to it, that I counted every minute. It couldn’t come fast enough. My nights were filled by late night text messages and by thoughts of her being in the bed with me.. The passion that there would be.

Eventually, the day came. I made sure my dingey little apartment looked and smelled as good as possible. A hoovering here, some Febreze there. I just hoped that she liked Lasagna. All the time I could feel my heart beating that little bit faster. Then her voice crackled over the intercom.

I pressed on the button for the door to automatically open and there she was. She looked radiant. Her curly blonde hair was now draped over her bare shoulders, the black tank top showing off her ample cleavage. A large smile greeted me before she cane closer and kissed me on the lips. It felt like heaven.

“So, this is your gaffe?” she said peering in my eyes.

I tried to think of something funny, something to immortalize the moment but instead came out with the rather bland, “It is.”

“So are you going to show me around?” she asked still enthused.

“Well, this is my kitchen and dining area behind me. My bedroom is in to the right and sure, follow me into my sitting room.”

I decided it would be overly optimistic to go straight to the bedroom.

Pegasus (Part 53)

I opened the heavy door and went out into a bright, white corridor. Tabitha followed close behind. We went slowly trying to ensure that we didn’t make a noise. It felt claustrophobic, so different to the other habitats I had been on. Each room we came across was full of the same boxes and they were in a similar state of disrepair. A repugnant smell of sweat pervaded the ship sickening the intrepid .

Then they heard the sound of shouting coming from in front of them. They continued on onwards to an open door at the end of the corridor. It led them onto a balcony. We peered down at what lay below. A big, heavy-set man was speaking to a large of people. What looked like a machine gun was strewn around his neck. They could just barely make out what he was saying –

“See I told ya. But did ya believe me? Not a chance. But the proof is with us now. I told you that there was a flaw in their security. Now we have their merchandise to sell to the highest bidder. And we will.”

Just then, I thought I felt something prodding my back. So intently was I listening that I ignored it, but then I got a much larger prod that sent a dart of pain into my side.

“What?” I whispered angrily as I looked back to guns pointing at my face.