by Tom Stuckey

“Olivia held my arm, and it felt good, old-fashioned. At the same time, truth be told, I was scared and glad that I was not alone. The ceiling was low, walls narrow, and the stones loose under foot – the smell of death lingering.”

by Tom Stuckey

“The nun lay on the stage floor and closed her eyes as Thomas stood over her and put his hands out over her body, which began to drain of life; she went white as if all the blood had been removed by gravity, and suddenly a white shadow began to rise from her, as if her aura or spirit.”

by Tom Stuckey

“‘He knows he has shadows. He also knows that it is sometimes best not to meet those shadows.’”

by Tom Stuckey

“I realised that these people, apart from getting rid of us in some sort of hit, had to deal with us. They had seen Thomas; they knew he could be trouble; and something more important than money was at stake.”

by Tom Stuckey

“…I looked at the walls and all the little appliances that helped me live here and drifted off to sleep to the sound of the woman next door killing the soundless man. ”

by Tom Stuckey

“It was a fine summer’s morning as F and I sat in The Park of Aqueducts and watched the sun rise through the archways of the ancient stone. I watched Thomas; F watched the long-legged woman, and she watched Thomas, who gazed deep into the pink, burning sky.”

by Tom Stuckey

“‘Back at the hotel, the sun was going down and the sky was a Roman blood red. …I paced the room and imagined Thomas in a cell…He would no doubt be sitting still and looking out from the bars the same red sky in complete acceptance of his situation. ”

by Tom Stuckey

“‘Who are you?’ ‘I am a fellow devotee.’ He looked young, maybe in his twenties, a little immature still—the look of an idiot with blind faith.”

by Tom Stuckey

“After months of gruelling discovery about Thomas, it was time for us to go on holiday…It lit my heart to know that I would be following this unknown Saint through landscapes…”

by Tom Stuckey

“Stalker is a strong word (and one that I resent). I am so much more to him now…I felt inclined to follow him, like a disciple who does not yet know why he does, following on faith alone..”

by Tom Stuckey

“Back on his little piece of solid ground, Ted felt his feet. The smell of the sea and the unheated walls was new again for a few moments until its familiarity returned.”

by Tom Stuckey

“The Odessa crew were all a bit weary of Ted at first, and rightly so, as they all knew how madness can wreak havoc aboard a ship. If allowed to, it could dismantle the fragile harmony by which the crew so relied upon.”

by Tom Stuckey

“Spring came quickly then and with it some signs of hope. Ted could now see all the ships that were passing or laying over for one reason or another; he could even see the Odessa.”

by Tom Stuckey

“As he sobered to the disarray, he noticed pictures of Helena all over the walls; there were many of her pussy but also of her looking deranged and vicious, others of her crying, and very few of her laughing…it would be a rough few days of staying sober.”

by Tom Stuckey

“Ted could not hide the way he felt about Neno, and there was some shame in that that panged at him; his admiration for a big, strong, seafaring man, so much so that he felt like a child, at least on the inside when Neno was around.”

by Tom Stuckey

“The rest of the day passed quickly, as they always did, on the lighthouse. Only the days where there was trouble in the body or mind dragged, the barbs that tore, making everything a slow enemy.”

by Tom Stuckey

“‘What are you doing?’ Helena now ferociously scratched out the names of the books and wrote: These writers don’t know what they are talking about. We have seen the truth, and they are all liars!”

by Tom Stuckey

“Whilst the inhabitants took what they needed from it, humbly, for the short period of time they were there, eventually all became part of it forever, again.”

by Tom Stuckey

“She stood up, walked to the balcony, and before the guards had chance to grab her, she closed her eyes, her hands held out, and then let go…”

by Tom Stuckey

“With the attention, her rating skyrocketed until she was—in a matter of an hour—a VIG (Very Important Girl) and in the virtual rooms of the elite.”