In It

"This is for anyone ... who’s in it. The sticky tar pit of it. And might feel a little defeated, and can’t see the escape routes, sitting on the edge of their bed with the wind knocked out of their heart."

- Buddy Wakefield [2:15]

In Triplicate

Photographer unknown

“Having s license to kill as all well and good, but he had to fill in forms in triplicate whenever it was exercised.”
- Judgment of Tears, Kim Newman

Not More Upset

“After dropping Brandi off at the airport to go back to her skeevy boyfriend—with a ticket I paid for, no less, only to find her hours later with her head in Raff’s lap, no less—an idea has formed, a realization if you will. I don’t know, anyway, here it is: My family will be the death of me. And I don’t mean that in a ‘You kids will rue the day’ kind of way. No, I’m talking about knocking on heaven’s door, charge the beach at Normandy, shuffle off that mortal coil, deceased. But the real epiphany is I have absolutely no say in the matter. I wonder why I’m not more upset.”
- In Plain Sight, S01E11

Left Me

Ted Soqui

I know it left me lookin' like a knife fight, lady

I know it left me feelin' like a shotgun shell

- Buddy Wakefield

Frightened

Melanie Pullen

"Frightened of trains, too," Martin said gloomily. ... "Frightened of arriving at places I haven't been to before," Martin told his neighbor now. "Frightened of motion and movement, frightened of the going and the getting there."
- Robert Littell, Legends

Didn't Go So Good

Lou: What's your problem?
Spike: Woods. My people don't like 'em.
Lou: Your... people? From Woodbridge?
Spike: No. Romans. Three times we fought in the forest against the Huns. Didn't go so good, okay?
- Flashpoint, S01E07

Listening

Donna Dennison

“As he drove, Abe recalled that his grandfather always told him that any man who took the time to listen would be amazed at all he could discover without even trying. A truly observant individual could lie down beside the river and hear where the fish were swimming; why, the trout would practically give directions to any man who was willing to study them. And because his grandfather was the best fisherman in town, and had always given out good advice, Abe started listening then and there. He thought about the dark mark on the boy’s forehead, a bruise the color of wild iris, and he decided that for once in his life he’d pay attention. He’d take note of what this drowned boy had to say.”
- The River King

Human

Joris Bruring

There’s public transportation, because we all gotta go places
And there’s prayer and meditation,
No one will think less if your hanging with your breath
Seeking peace and salvation.
- Tanya Davis

Morning Ritual

"I'll be home at--"
"Six."
"I'll check in on you at--"
"Three."
"The gun is in the--"
"Hall closet."
"Always shoot for the--"
"Knees."
Legacy didn't like that answer, he preferred a tight center-mass cluster, six shots then reload. Chess had researched the matter and in an act that could be counted as teen rebellion had declared that a knee shot hurt most, incapicitated best, and almost never led to a mortal wound. They had reached a compromise early on in their intruder defense preperations; Chess got one shot at the knee, and if she missed she had to go for the head.
- Ransom X, I.B. Holder

Facedown

Melanie Pullen

But, you know the real reason I never wrote one of those stories? I became a cop. And I found out the images I had in my head weren’t like real life. Take the case that I got this morning: The body wasn’t found by a swimming pool high in the hills, it turned up in a parking lot by the 101. And the victim wasn’t some movie weasel or starlet, it was a poor young woman in cargo pants and sneakers, with a bullet hole in her back and facedown on the pavement.
- Raines, s01e01

Slept through Fargo

Photographer unknown

Slept through Fargo
Woke up cradling a trainwreck somewhere deep in the cascades
When she called him baby he reacted instinctively
Shifted weight in the seat so she could be more comfortable
When she hopped off the train 2 stops before his, giddy to see her boyfriend, he knew he'd never kiss her again
- Dain Michael Down