The Chase, by J.A. Gonzales

Edgar Ratcliff came skidding to a halt at the base of the hill frantically struggling to catch his breath. He had never gotten joy from such exertions; however the situation at hand did require a certain amount of haste, if he wanted to stay alive that is.

He crouched to his hands and knees before he made his way up the hill, making sure not to rise above the skyline so as not to be spotted. Pulling out his spyglass, he peered back in the direction he had come from; he could clearly spot the distant headlamp of the steam carriage as it careened down the roadway now only a few short miles away.

“Damn,” he muttered to himself, “Persistent buggars they are, and fast at that. They shouldn’t even know I was gone yet.” Saying this he quickly turned round and cautiously backed away from the ridge, scrambling down the hill as fast as he could crawl. He bounded to his feet upon reaching the bottom and broke into a dead run.

Edgar had made it about a quarter of a mile by the time the carriage reached the hill he had stopped on, the inky blackness clearing considerably as a spotlight on the vehicle locked onto his presence.

If he had thought he could not run faster before, he proved himself wrong as his legs propelled him forward, fear forcing them to pump harder than they ever had; he could feel the first hint of terror now slowly creeping up on him as he pushed himself to his physical limits. With the realization he could not keep up the pace much longer, he darted to his left recklessly looking for a place to hide from his pursuers, all the while fighting the edge of hysteria.

He could hear the screaming engine of the steam carriage as it swerved to continue its pursuit of the fleeing criminal. Panic was over taking him, his breath coming in hurried gasps. He could see that he would now be inevitably taken over by his previous captors; his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest in the frenzy.

Edgar could hear the barely audible sound of static preceding an eerie mechanical voice before it blared from a gramophone mounted on the top of the speedy behemoth.

“Prisoner five-eight-one-seven please cease and desist your actions immediately,” said the voice from the carriage. “You are in immediate violation of the terms of your sentence and are here by ordered to surrender yourself. If the requested action is not initiated promptly, this Tracker Carriage will be required to open fire.”

---

Get the full story in...

Stories in the Ether, Issue #4

A Digital Storytelling Anthology

$2.99

Stories in the Ether is a quarterly story telling anthology of fantasy, steampunk, and science fiction short stories from Nevermet Press. This issue features 11 compelling works including:

• The Gorgon’s Love, by Martin Shelby
• The Stars at Night, by JC Hemphill
• Big Heart, by David J. Fielding
• The Chase, by J. A. Gonzales
• A New Beginning, by Colin W. Campbell
• The Mechanical Turk, or All’s Well That Ends, by Tucker Cummings
• Shelled, by M. R. Williamson
• Exodus, by Eric Staggs
• The Emerald City, by Per Wiger
• The Occurrence of the Cavalry Horse, by Teel James Glenn
• Empyrean Skies, by David Gaither

With artwork by Paul Hagwood

$2.99 in ePUB for all eReaders from Lulu, DriveThruFiction.com, Smashwords, B&N Nook Bookstore, and Apple's iBookstore. Also available from Amazon for Kindle.