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 37

Tahir led us up a steep mountainous slope. Higher and higher we went. I looked down and wondered if I was in more danger of falling to my death or from one of those creatures munching on me.

As we carefully placed one foot in front of the other, the conversation restarted though I was minded to just concentrate on my footing.

“So, how did the dinosaurs get through? What happened to the sonar defense? Tabitha asked.

“One words – Pterodactyls. They were released into the habitat only recently. The sonar defense affected them in flight so we had to switch it off. It would be too obvious that we were here. They are the worst, a terrible menace. That’s why I have one eye on the atmosphere above us. Fortunately, their numbers are still small but that will change with time.”

Fuck. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. Now, I couldn’t decide whether to look up or down.

“That’s not good news, what are the plans now?”

“They haven’t decided yet. It will be so hard to find somewhere like this again, if not outright impossible. These are dark days for the movement.”

The talking stopped.

It soon became clear why they were so downbeat.

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (4)

“Tell me of your battles with the Tyranids Timothy. I want to hear it from you.”

Timothy who was already feeling the effects after he downed a second shot replied, “Even from the first defeat.”

“Oh yes, it was the Emperor’s will that you would survive that battle. Tell me everything.”

Timothy then regaled the Emperor with the tales of battle, how he cheated death and discovered their weakness. The General was an avid listener, silently taking in every word he ushered. His mouth was ajar as Timothy came close to death.

“Thanks, Timothy, you’ve confirmed what I had already thought.”

“Where are they from?” Timothy asked unsure if he was over-stepping?”

“Only the Emperor knows. It is speculated that it’s outside this galaxy but why now..”

The General shook his head from side to side.

The conversation then shifted to other lighter topics. The General had been born into a military family on Sirius XXIII. A wild world with dense rainforest and mountain ranges, its human population is very small; an ideal training ground for a young boy. There were countless trees for him to climb and brothers to fight. Then as an adolescent, he was taught all about the Emperor and his mission for humanity.

Galway Girls Part 13

She looked at me and grinned. She leaned towards me, putting her arms around my back, and kissed me on the lips. It was gentle at first but quickly escalated to her moving around my mouth.

I felt like heaven and never wanted it to end. It was like there was nobody else on the dance floor – just me and her. All thoughts of my two friends quickly went out of my head.

Then the background music stopped. This was not good news. A few moments later all the lights were on. The nightclub was over. Just like that and all too soon.

We broke off our kiss. She had such beautiful blue eyes.

“So, where to now?” she whispered.

“My hotel room is close by,” I replied trying to feign conference.

“Oh, you are sure of yourself. Come on so, let’s go.”

Everything was going to plan except, of course, I hadn’t planned for this event whatsoever. For, a second I even had to think about whether or not I had the key to the room. Phew, I had. Time to just run with the flow and hope for the best.

So, off we went.

“Hey horse, where are ya going? Running off without your mates. You were tell us you loved us only an hour ago.”

Pegasus Part 36

Running furiously was not enough. I could hear its steps getting closer and closer and turned my head in despair.

Its mouth was opened wide and I thought its large teeth would be the last thing I’d ever see as it pounced on me. Then I heard what sounded like a gunshot. Blood splattered all over my face and body as its heavy body fell onto me.

Then I heard Tabitha screaming, “Are you okay Ciarán?”

Concern was etched into her voice.

She clasped my hand and between the two of us, I managed to get out from under the body.

“What happened?” I asked half dazed.

“I don’t know, they never gotten into this part before.

“Tabitha, is that you?”

A black man, not quite six tall holding a heavy machine gun was now standing just a few metres from us.

“Tahir?” Tabitha said under her breath.

Tabitha ran towards him and they embraced warmly.

This was the man that had saved my life but I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.

“Tahir, this is Ciarán. He saved me and helped get me here. He wants to join us.”

“Any friend of Tabitha is a friend of mine.”

He shook my hands firmly.

Then he said, “Come this way. It’s dangerous out here.”

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (3)

His personal quarters were large, with his own sleeping and dining area. Timothy could see a luxurious double bed out of his peripheral vision to the right and a small round table at the center on a marble floor.

“Please park yourself up here,” General Ham said pointing to the table.

Timothy did so and General Ham took a seat beside him before he continued.

“I always wanted to meet a participant of Wheelchair Wars. It made your planet Uisneach legendary in vast tracts of the quadrant. I’m from the planet Herodtus and the latest recordings of the battles of Uisneach were always eagerly anticipated.

And now to have probably the most famous of all the warriors in front of me. It is a special day. But not that you have now twice faced the Tyranid menace and lived to tell the tale.”

“Thanks, General you are too kind,” Timothy replied taken aback by the praise.

“You’re own record precedes you General and it is an honor to be on your ship.

“Would you have a Dworfian whiskey with me, soldier?”

“Indeed, I would.”

The General went and poured himself a glass and left one on the table for Timothy.

The robotic arm reached out from the right side of his wheelchair and brought it to his lips.

It was ghoulish and tasted of strong vinegar but he smiled and said, “Splendid.”

Galway Girls Part 12

This was somewhat of a novelty. Heading back to somewhere I had already been and it was right back into the same room too. In fairness, they made a good effort to transform the place. All the chairs had been removed leaving a good-sized dance floor. It was now dark with strobe lighting. By this time I had enough drink and instead just enjoyed the music, which was a mix of modern songs and some classics. The loud songs vibrated through me.

We took up a position beside one of the walls and I took in the atmosphere. It felt alive like anything in the world was possible. As I watched the elegant dancing, part of me wished I could just stand up and join them.

It was getting towards the end of the night now and I had run out of things to say to my friends. Then there she was. The woman whose eyes I met during the comedy gig and they were meeting again. She was staring right at me from across the dance floor. Then she started to walk towards me. Suddenly, my heart started to race and I felt wide awake once again.

She leaned down and said something to me but it was too hard to make out. She smelled of perfume and Guinness. I remember thinking – you only live once and I kissed her cheek.

Pegasus Part 35

This was the first time I had ever been thoroughly drenched.

“Stop complaining, you’ll be fine. It will be over in a few minutes. And anyway, you’ll dry out in the heat anyways!” Tabitha yelled back.

It was so weird to have water running down my face when I was not in the shower. Hopefully, it was not a harbinger of things to come.

Then, I thought I saw something amongst the dense trees.

“What was that?”

For a moment I thought my heart had stopped, and I realized that some rain should be the least of my worries. There was a wild, dystopian world out there.

“Don’t worry, this is an exclusion zone. You are safe,” Tabitha said matter of fact.

A few minutes later the beating rain stopped. I should have been happy but couldn’t shake an eerie feeling.

Then the trees gave way and we started going uphill, then onto a pathway with steep, sheer rock walls on either side.

Then I heard a murderous, bizarre sound from behind me. I quickly looked behind me.

Fuck, it was one of the monsters. It stood about my height on its hind legs with great white sharp teeth.

“Run, run as fast as you can.”

It was gaining on me and my legs couldn’t go any faster.

Wheelchair Wars Part 3 (2)

Timothy’s eyes opened widely on seeing the Al Berta warship for the first time. It was a magnificent white color armed with three large ray guns and smaller cannons on each side. It was a thing of true beauty but also capable of immense destruction. This was the Emperor’s flagship in the quadrant.

He decided that it was worth the wait of weeks waiting for a passing freighter ship to bring him to his destination. Now finally, he would get a chance to set foot on it. His shuttle docked in a landing bay to the rear. On finally setting foot on the ship, he could see that the ship contained hundreds of smaller fighter vessels.

He was greeted by a pale woman in an elegant red dress whose long black hair almost touched the ground despite her tall deposition called Tauric. She was General Ham’s assistant.

“General Ham has requested your immediate presence,” she said sternly.

“Of course, I will go this minute. My men can be shown to their quarters.”

She directed an individual close by to accompany the men.

They then made their way across the vast landing area to the lift where she gave him a brief explanation of how it functioned three-dimensionally to bring you anywhere on the ship. It would of course be switched off in the event of the ship being boarded or infiltrated by an enemy.

It only took seconds before he was entering the General’s Chambers where she left his side.

General Ham was there waiting for him in an immaculate green uniform. He was old with white hair and two long scars on each side of his face.

Galway Girls Part 11

The drinks were flowing freely now but I knew the importance of pacing oneself after many nights of overindulgence down the years. It was important to be still able to talk to people at the end of the night or so my friends would tell me.

There were other ladies I got to chat with too. I always loved female company even if it was to just try and get a laugh out of them. Rachel, in her mid-twenties, was a fashionista, owning her own brands. She had blonde hair and was wearing a black jacket. She was affable and easy to talk to. Not the kind of girl that you would get chatting to in Mullingar.

And then there was purple-colored hair Rose, with a large ring on her nose. She knew everybody including myself by the end of the night. I would describe her as eccentric and presume she must have been snorting some cocaine at some point. If anything, she was a bit too chatty and I was relieved when the lads told me it was nightclub time.

“Where are you from?”

“What do you do?”

And she told me all about herself. An Arts student wanted to be a social worker. My voice had gone hoarse.

“So, where to now Sean?” I asked enthusiastically on getting outside.

“Back to Roisin Dubh.”

New Years Update

Hello dear readers, I do hope you all enjoyed the holiday period and I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

This was a record-breaking year for my blog. At present for 2023, I’ve had 1,910 views by 1,236 visitors. This is a 19 percent increase in views and a 23 percent increase in visitors last year. This is a very good performance but hopefully, I’ll improve again next year.

I feel that my writing is still improving and that my best works still lay ahead.

These are the projects I wish to complete or advance in 2024:

Galway Girls: This will be my central short story in a book of romance short stories to be released in September or October 2024.

Wheelchair Wars: The third part is still to be completed. Will be released as a novella in 2024.

Paradigm: To do at least 10,000 words.

I also want to set up a YouTube channel and release videos about my published works to date.

If you enjoy my writing, please like and subscribe!