Mark Gagnon
Bio
My life has been spent traveling here and abroad. Now it's time to write.
I have three published books: Mitigating Circumstances, Short Stories for Open Minds, and Short Stories from an Untethered Mind. Unmitigated Greed is do out soon.
Achievements (1)
Stories (464)
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Click on Accept. Top Story - March 2022.
It was one of those nights when there was nothing on TV and it was too early to go to bed, so I was web surfing. I had heard about a site that was like Amazon but all their items were pre-owned (used). They sold everything from houses to hose clamps, vacation packages to vacuums — you name it, they had it for sale. I eventually found the site and started exploring a virtual cornucopia of items for sale. Why someone would buy slightly used shoelaces is beyond me, but there they were for 25 cents per lace. As I was scanning other items, an information box popped up on my screen informing me that, after reading the Terms and Conditions, I would need to click the Accept button if I wanted to continue using the site. I had 10 seconds to click Accept. No one, me included, ever takes the time to read the 25 plus pages of legalese that are usually included in the conditions box. I clicked Accept and continued browsing. About an hour later, I called it a night and went to bed.
By Mark Gagnon4 years ago in 01
Speak English Please!
Even as a young boy, the idea of traveling the globe, meeting different people, and exploring unknown places fascinated me. As I got older, I crisscrossed the U.S. and Canada, taking in all each country offered. My wandering spirit was insatiable. Europe was next.
By Mark Gagnon4 years ago in Wander
Freedom Lost-Never!
Alexander stood by the window and watched the exploding bombs in the distance. The bright orange and white flashes of light briefly turned the night sky into day. Darkness reestablished its dominance except for where the bombs had exploded. In those areas, the glow of freshly ignited fires illuminated the neighborhoods under siege. He refocused his attention on where his wife was offering solace to their two small children. They were exhausted, but sleep refused to come. He left the window and cuddled with his family.
By Mark Gagnon4 years ago in Fiction
The Eavesdropper
The congregation bowed their heads in reverent reflection as the vicar droned on about the evils of sin and the ultimate reward for the righteous. His ability to preach about topics they had recently been thinking about baffled them. This week’s sermon covered infidelity and the desires of the flesh versus chastity and faithful adherence to wedding vows. As he delved deeper into the subject, several women shifted uneasily on the church pew. Multiple men adjusted their gaze to the floor and refused to look up. They all felt as though he was addressing them directly. How could he sense what was on their minds?
By Mark Gagnon4 years ago in Fiction
A Labor of Love. Top Story - February 2022.
We met one sunny spring afternoon. I had stopped off at a colleague’s new house to help him move when I first laid eyes on her. The previous owners had abandoned her in a field behind the house. Tall grass hid the multicolored exterior, flat tires, and cracked and torn interior. I found a weathered top along with both side curtains tossed haphazardly in the trunk. For me, it was love at first sight.
By Mark Gagnon4 years ago in Wheel
What If?
A beam of sunlight entered his room, turning the wall opposite the window a soft gold. It was the only bright light in the otherwise subdued hospice room. The old man in the hospital bed watched the beam flicker as the fluttering curtains crossed in front of it, creating a change in hues and shapes on the wall. The sight was a pleasant distraction from the constant beeping of the machines stationed next to his bed. He had always enjoyed the sun’s rays bouncing from object to object, casting shadows on some and presenting others in stark detail. What if this would be the last time he saw the sun?
By Mark Gagnon4 years ago in Fiction
Spirit of the Eagle
Chapter 1 Early evening, Max’s favorite time of day, the 15-year-old stood at the edge of a forested piece of land next to his family’s farm and watched as the moon crested the horizon. The orb was a source of wonder to him, its size and shape, changing with the passing of each night. Although he knew this happened because the Earth’s shadow was passing over the moon’s surface, it still fascinated him.
By Mark Gagnon4 years ago in Fiction
Cyclops
Two FBI agents stared down at the mutilated corpse. It was the middle of the Great Depression, so finding a body in a rail yard was not an uncommon occurrence. Finding three engineers’ bodies, each in a different rail yard, in three different states, and all displaying the same wounds was. The cause of death for each man was a stab wound directly into the heart. The left eye had been removed postmortem, and a cat’s eye marble inserted into the empty socket. The coup de grâce was the word Cyclops written across each victim’s forehead in their own blood.
By Mark Gagnon4 years ago in Fiction
Room With A View
I travel a lot for work and usually stay at one of the major hotel chains. Their rooms are normally clean, beds comfortable, and the interior walls soundproof enough that if the person next door sneezes, I don’t feel compelled to say, “Bless you.” Unfortunately, none was available for this trip.
By Mark Gagnon4 years ago in Horror
XXI
XXI Humans, just look at them, each involved in their own little world; oblivious to everything around them, including me. I was human once, but I’ve strengthened into something more, greater, superior to what I once was. Now I look at these creatures as a wolf looks at a rabbit, or a cheetah at a gazelle. They are nothing more than prey. My quarry has unwittingly wandered within the boundaries of my hunting grounds at the end of Canal Street. The elevated railway line casts a perpetual shadow onto the pedestrian walkway below, obscuring sunlight during the day and blocking the glow from the city’s lights at night; it’s a predator’s paradise. Now I must choose my evening’s entertainment.
By Mark Gagnon4 years ago in Horror
