Skeleton Crew

A well-placed kick into Kanti’s stomach dropped him back to the deck, grasping his gut and gasping for breath. “If you ever utter the phrase ‘skeleton crew’ again, I promise that I will find out,” Captain Ateri said calmly. “And when I do, I will rip chunks of you out with my bare paws … and toss them into the recycler one by one … until all that remains of you … is your blood in my fur … and your screams in my ears.” But the captain is the least of Kanti’s concerns. A huge monster named Commissioner Sarsuk thinks the crew of the White Flower II is out of control, and that executing Kanti publicly—a slow, messy execution—is the perfect recipe for getting the ship back under his clawed thumb. Now Kanti is living in terror – a slave raised believing himself free, a criminal even before his birth. Everyone thinks he’s someone he isn’t: a playboy reduced to working at the dump, a spiteful son trying to make amends, and perhaps even an excuse to recycle every last officer, crewman, and cub on board. The next few days are going to take this unlikely hero and the rest of the crew on a wild ride to the brink of mutiny, isolated deep in space, some 1500 light years from home.

Gre7g lives in Alabama with his wife, Kyoht, and a small menagerie of pets. He enjoys writing stories about monsters in love, brews beer that he won’t drink, programs computers that don’t look like computers, and fantasizes about worlds without so many people in them. “Skeleton Crew” is Gre7g’s third novel. His first two were about werewolves and minotaurs, respectively. He’s written a couple of novellas and a handful of short stories; most of which can be found on his website: http://gre7g.com Gre7g loves feedback on his stories. He wants to know what readers enjoyed about the tales along with what they hated. If you have the time, he’d love to hear your opinions about this or any of his other stories. You can reach him at: gre7g.luterman@gmail.com