THE FOG AND THE FLASH: A MEMOIR OF DISORIENTATION

THE FOG AND THE FLASH

The air outside the Library felt like stale tobacco smoke, hanging thick with this new Pulp Noir conspiracy. I walked down the street, feeling lost in a crowd that didn’t seem real, the cold silence of the “P” section still ringing in my skull. I was confused, and the city lights were just adding to the headache.

Then, a strange, low hum, a buzz like a swarm of angry bees, came from my back pocket. I pulled out my wallet—it was an old, cheap leather job, nothing special—and there, across its worn face, a message burned in phantom neon:

“Jack. Return to the office. Newz Flash: Tin-pot dictator tells Military Brass ‘US cities should be military training grounds. 09/30/2025′”

My head spun, the words hitting me like a fist full of quarters. The lights went dim, the street tilted, and I dropped the wallet.

I awoke slumped over my desk, the stale smell of lukewarm coffee and cheap bourbon in my nostrils. I didn’t know how or when I got back. It was as if the last hour had been edited out. But there, on my desktop, was a freshly typed bulletin. I knew I wrote the scoop; the ink was practically still wet.

I checked my pocket. The wallet was back, the leather cool against my palm. The neon message was gone. And the neon lights on my wallet? Must have been a trick of light.

I wrote it, but where did it run? The only place for a scoop that hot is the front page. Find the NewzHammer Magazine FLASH: Newz Bulletin ‘Tin-pot dictator tells Military Brass‘. The headline will have your answer.

J.H.

Related posts:

NEWZ FLASH: Tin-Pot Dictator Says US Cities Should be Military Training Grounds THE ECHO IN THE HEADLINE: THE INK ON THE PAGE Jack Hammer: A Rip in Time THE ECHO IN THE HEADLINE: THE SPINNING IN MY HEAD