Mark Gagnon
Bio
My life has been spent traveling here and abroad. Now it's time to write.
I have three published books: Mitigating Circumstances, Short Stories for Open Minds, and Short Stories from an Untethered Mind. Unmitigated Greed is do out soon.
Achievements (1)
Stories (457)
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Who is Superior?
Humans, just look at them, each involved in their own little world; oblivious to everything around them, including me. I was human once, but I’ve strengthened into something more, greater, superior to what I once was. Now I look at these creatures as a wolf looks at a rabbit, or a cheetah at a gazelle. They are nothing more than prey. My quarry has unwittingly wandered within the boundaries of my hunting grounds at the end of Canal Street. The elevated railway line casts a perpetual shadow onto the pedestrian walkway below. It obscures sunlight during the day and blocking the glow from the city’s lights at night; it’s a predator’s paradise. Now I must choose my evening’s entertainment.
By Mark Gagnon3 months ago in Horror
KNOCK ON EFFECT
Only Malcom would desire to live life in such a fastidious fashion. His clothes had to remain wrinkle free at all times, shoes reflecting a military shine, and most importantly, because he was such a picky eater, his meals had to be prepared to the utmost perfection. Only the best ingredients money could buy were good enough for him. His fussy habits angered everyone he came into contact with, and it was only a matter of time before his associates decided to exact their revenge.
By Mark Gagnon3 months ago in Fiction
Don't Bug Me
“Hey, watch where you’re walking, you big lug—I could have been killed, and it would have been your fault!” Dickson looked all around and couldn’t figure out where the voice was coming from. Besides, it really didn’t matter. He was on a job with a tight timeline, and there was no room for distractions. He raced across the darkened showroom, bypassing the display cases filled with cheap costume jewelry, and ran toward the office door. His intel had told him that’s where the safe was located. What it didn’t tell him was there were two doors, one on either end of the back wall.
By Mark Gagnon3 months ago in Criminal
War or Peace
To the untrained eyes of uneducated earth dwellers, it simply looked like the gathering of storm clouds, and they would be partially correct. There was a storm brewing, but not the kind most people were expecting. This storm would determine the very existence of not only humanity but the Gods themselves. Since Earth was part of the nine realms, it was a given that what happened in another realm almost always affected this planet.
By Mark Gagnon3 months ago in Fiction
Glimpse into the Future
I really love my life! I rise each morning before the rest of my family, work out for about an hour in the basement gym, then wake everyone so they can start their day. While I’m showering, my wife Alice is making breakfast while encouraging Billy and Jane, our kids to move faster so they won’t miss the bus. It really is a “Leave it to Beaver” kind of life. My job will never make me rich, but it is fulfilling and an easy commute as well. Yes, I love my life and everything about it except for one thing, the incessant and ever-present background noise.
By Mark Gagnon3 months ago in Fiction
Fatal Change
Stan, a 55-year-old traveling sales agent, is a Bostonian through and through. The Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics and Bruins are the only team’s worth rooting for. In Stan’s world, change can never be a good thing. His third-floor walkup apartment is the same one he and a fellow student originally rented while attending Suffolk University 35 years ago. The roommate moved on. Stan did not. Why leave a place he knows?
By Mark Gagnon3 months ago in Horror
It's None of Your Business
Judging by my limited view of the sun through my cell’s skylight, it must be close to suppertime. Some days I can see the rich blue cloudless sky, other days my room emulates the grayness of the outside world. I’ve been in this cell without a trial for days, weeks, months? I’m not sure. Every day is the same as the one before. Except for when my meals are slid to me through a pass-through door, I am devoid of human contact. As far as I can tell, the only people living in this South Texas town is me and the jailer.
By Mark Gagnon4 months ago in Journal
Carriage Ride to Jail
Walter’s outgoing personality instantly puts everyone he meets in a relaxed, open state of mind. This is important because, as a carriage driver in New York City, his primary function, besides controlling a rather docile horse, is to put all his customers in a good mood. The passengers are normally from out of town. No local would pay $35.00 for a half hour buggy ride. “Fuhgeddaboudit!” The happier the customer, the bigger the tip and the more they would talk about their plans. Plans Walter would covertly record on his phone.
By Mark Gagnon4 months ago in Fiction
Perseverance
Living in the year 1819 meant only one thing for a large segment of the population—poverty and despair. There were no government subsistence programs, unemployment checks, or homeless shelters. During this time in our history, the country was in the middle of a severe depression and everyone had to fend for themselves. It was certainly not a good time to be a ten-year-old boy abandoned by his parents and living in the streets of Boston. That, however, was the situation young Raymond was in. Added to his problems was that he was born with a club foot.
By Mark Gagnon4 months ago in History
