Moonlit waves splashed around Betsy’s toes. She danced away from the enticing surf, then tiptoed back, the cool water soothing her sunburned legs. Could she end the pain, she asked herself. Not from the sunburn but from existence in this alien body.
The sand guaranteed endless life as a slave, as an experiment, as a hybrid “thing”.
The ocean, on the other hand, enticed Betsy with offers of death but also freedom.
When the electronic voice in her brain called Betsy to evening devotions, Betsy shook her head and strode into the waves, and watched her form dissolve around her.
Mr. Tobin holds a degree in mathematics from LaSalle University and is retired from L-3 Communications. He acted as a judge for The Were-Traveler’s Shinigami Stories: Reaping the Harvest of Souls issue and has four stories published by The Were-Traveler. Currently Mr. Tobin is the Associate Editor for Whortleberry Press’ Strange Mystery anthology. Seventy-five of his shorts stories and poems are published in print and on various web sites. Follow him on Twitter @TimTobin43.
