Joe was pulling on some rope or other, smiling; he looked as if he was having the time of his life. Dave and Kavi were both holding paperbacks and steaming mugs of tea. They were talking with a kind of easy earnestness and Jay knew they were discussing their books. Dave had a battered copy of The Call of the Wild; Kavi was clutching an equally decrepit Eric Morecambe Unseen.
Jay experienced a sudden urge to read, to grab a book, any book, and devour its every word. It was all he could do to stop himself from snatching Dave’s book or Kavi’s.
“Where are we?” he said, as much to distract himself from his sudden bibliophilia as to ascertain their location.
“I’ve no idea,” said Ellen and she seemed perfectly happy about that.
“We’ve pretty much mastered the sailing bit,” said Dave.
“But we can’t navigate for shit,” said Joe.
Ellen pointed at the horizon.
“We’re heading for that,” she said.
“But we don’t know what ‘that’ is,” said Kavi. He grinned.
Jay squinted at the horizon.
Between sky and sea was a short sliver of green.
“Maybe we should name it after you,” said Dave. “You brought us here.”
Jay scrutinised Dave’s face, searching for evidence of sarcasm or spite, but Dave was smiling too, just like Ellen and Joe and Kavi.
After a while, Jay started smiling, too.
Epilogue
Language laughed.
About the Author
Michael Sellars was born in Oldham, suckled in Middleton, nurtured in Knutsford and raised in Liverpool. This makes him Northern. He has contributed stories to All Hallows, Murky Depths, Nocturne, Fusing Horizons, Morpheus Tales, the Best Tales of the Apocalypse anthology from Permuted Press and the From the Trenches anthology from Carnifex Press.
Hyenas is his first novel. A sequel, Tygers, is nearing completion and a further instalment, Dragons, is planned.
Find out more:
www.michaelsellars.info
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29