BEACON ROAD BEDLAM – BLITZ

 

The pockmarked road stretched out to meet the gutter-ash gray of the horizon. Bleak and without end, it drew a bead to nowhere, anywhere. Dreary, leafless trees peppered chalky smudges of landscape on either side.

A black car tore down the road at a furious pace. The motor howled a guttural wail; the exhaust snarled in response. With a long hood and wide, fastback body, the Camaro sailed across the asphalt as if slung by a slingshot.

Behind the wheel, the Driver pressed his foot firm against the accelerator, his etched face set in grim persistence. He drove like he was being chased, like if he slowed even for a moment he would be overtaken.

A mop of shaggy hair fell across his forehead and neck. He wore the same red flannel as he had the day before, and the day before that. It was the same red flannel he had worn for the last eighteen years; he died wearing it.

Ian Lewis prefers not to be bound by a particular genre. Though the inspiration for his work varies, it often finds roots in something he dreamt. He strives for a gritty realism and maintains an interest in the humanity of his characters. His hope is that readers find themselves haunted by his stories in the sense that the narrative sticks with them long after they’ve finished reading, leaving them with a subtle restlessness for more. Mr. Lewis is the author of “The Camaro Murders,” “Lady in Flames,” “Beacon Road Bedlam,” “Power in the Hands of One,” and “Godspeed, Carry My Bullet.” He has been writing since 2002.