Disaster on the airwaves / Blood on the page

Today: Luke O'Neil, author of the story collection A Creature Wanting Form and the newsletter Welcome to Hell World; and Talia Lavin, author of Wild Faith.

Issue No. 228

What’s on
Luke O’Neil

Unclean Hands
Talia Lavin

What’s on

by Luke O’Neil

Personal best

She was on the treadmill when all of the TVs at the gym switched to coverage of the attack. Even the ones that usually show commercials for Planet Fitness while you’re at Planet Fitness. She’d never seen them do that kind of thing before. Actually one down the end still had Pat McAfee and Aaron Rodgers on. Not even the imminent threat of a World War III will relieve us of these men.

And then she just kept running. Notched the speed and elevation up and glided off the surge of adrenaline that televised destruction brings. Ran like the fucking wind in fact. How thrilling death can be from a distance. 

Besides there was no way they would ever get to us here she thought. The odds of it. There would be no point in trying to get to us here. So far from anything important. So far from anything real. 

It was such a strange feeling but she figured that if it’s meant to be the end of the world then she had better be in shape for it. Have that at least as a starting off point. 

She ran for miles. She was going to outrun any of their missiles. She was a missile herself now. 

Around 45 minutes in a guy hopped on the next treadmill over and started trying to get her attention. Motioning for her to take her headphones off.