Sep 08 2009
Short Story – ‘Stealing the Rose’
Stealing The Rose
by Johne Cook (as Ian Stewart)
12 pages
first appeared in Ray Gun Revival, Issue 06, 2006/09/15
This story was written when RGR was still very new and the slushpile was empty. I wrote and submitted it under a pseudonym and it went through the normal submission process. The Slushmasters suggested that it get a rewrite, so I ended up writing the rewrite request to myself. Happily, the Slushmasters liked the second attempt and picked it up, and this is what came of it.
This story is based on a real episode. The encounter with the security officer in the first scene is nearly a word-for-word rendition of a real incident with a security officer where I worked as a tech writer. I meant well, but that first run-in was a little dicey. However, we ran into each other a week or so later in the hallway, and he turned out to be a really great guy, and we were fast friends ever after.
Oh, and my instinct about the special forces training was right on. 
Ed Matteson, this one’s for you.
Anything worth having is worth stealing, and anything worth stealing is worth protecting.
Or is it?
Download: Stealing The Rose
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.