by Regan W. H. Macaulay

The woman pauses and heaves a sigh. She clutches a live cricket with her index finger and her thumb. It wriggles for its life, which will end shortly. Not like her life. Not like theirs.

She is the woman at the end of the universe and her time will never come. They are the creatures she looks after: the last of the Moca salamanders, the final pair of Bumble Frungit toads, a single Royal Fish of the New Siam government, and three mammals whose names are long forgotten. There are more – feeding them all is an endless and repetitious task. They are suspended in perpetual time. Immortal. Trapped. And they all eat crickets. That’s all that’s left to eat.

A Frungit toad laps the cricket from between her fingers. Squish. The toad gulps, swallows hard. The cricket is gone. The woman’s envy swells inside her like an angry flame.

About The Author: Regan W. H. Macaulay

Regan is an art-fart and an animal-enthusiast who loves New Zealand, Winnie-the-Pooh, horror movies and a few select individuals. Writing is her passion, but she’s also into producing and directing theatre, film, and television. When she’s not writing or spending time with her husband (writer Kevin Risk), she spends quality time with her pets (a Chihuahua, two Siamese cats, and a few frogs and toads). You can find her at her website reganwhmacaulay.weebly.com.

Fast-Paced Author Interview (at high speeds! risking dire consequences!)

The Squid: Who would you invite for a roadtrip on SHIELD’s hovercarrier?
RM: I would invite Jesus on a road trip on SHIELD’s hover carrier, because it’s the right thing to do.
The Squid: Now, say you’re a science fiction/fantasy action hero — a pretty sweet gig, by the way. Tell us which one you are most like, and why:
    a) Conan the Barbarian
    b) Han Solo
    c) Captain James Tiberius Kirk
    d) Buckaroo Bonzai
    e) Rick Deckard
RM: Okay… I think I’d be Captain James Tiberius Kirk (TV, the original movies, and new movies — the whole shebang) because I try to make pyjamas look like a uniform. I also make insufferable cockiness look cute.

About The Artists

From clockwise, the art above was created by: boogy_man, Snickers79, vjeran2001, and caltiva.

More by Regan W. H. Macaulay