Assorted Fantasies
This collection includes all of Joel Puga's previously published historical and contemporary fantasy short stories. Bizarre creatures¸ evil spirits¸ fantastic ruins and spooky graveyards are just some of the things you will find within these pages. The stories included are: The Last - Terrorized by the thought of death¸ a man lets himself be contaminated by vampirism to prolong his life indefinitely. However¸ when Hell and Heaven's legions face each other in the ultimate battle¸ he becomes the last human being on Earth. Will he let himself be dragged peacefully into one of the afterlife kingdoms? Sasabonsam - During the War of Guinea¸ a group of Guinean guerrilla fighters bring down a Portuguese airplane. When investigating the wreck¸ they discover not only that the pilot survived¸ but also that he isn't human. Intellectual¸ one of the guerrilla fighters¸ is forced to face the monster¸ as well as the tribalism that infects the minds of his comrades. The Castle - Thomas gets a last minute invitation from his cousin Michael to Christmas dinner. But Michael's motives are darker than Thomas could have ever imagined. Susan - After a short and awful life¸ Susan faces death. Recalling her days on earth¸ she tries to deduce to which of the postmortem kingdoms she will be sent. However¸ her final destination reveals itself as surprising in more than one way. A Literary Quest - In his search for rare books¸ Cirio finds the elusive bookstore of Mormont¸ the location of which changes constantly¸ but is said to contain some volumes almost impossible to find. However¸ even after everything he went through to get there¸ will Cirio's quest be completed? The Saga of Me¸ Divine Justice - Heaven¸ Purgatory and Hell¸ the three realms of the afterlife. Agents from each side try to manipulate Man¸ making it do things it wouldn't normally do¸ to influence its final destination. All to get more souls and gain an advantage in the Eternal War. I can't accept it. It isn't fair for the place of eternal rest (or torment) of a person to be determined by what a third party led it to do. And I fight to prevent it. A God In Humaitá - During the Passage of HumaitḠone of the most important moments of the Paraguayan War¸ the intervention of a Guarani god changes the course of history. However¸ for two soldiers on opposite sides¸ it's a catastrophic event. Wendigo - After Spain agrees to an alliance with Nazi Germany¸ Portugal is forced to do the same so as to avoid annexation. As a result¸ Portuguese soldiers at Lajes¸ in the Azores¸ come under attack from an American force that wants to occupy that strategic point. Frustrated by the stubborn resistance of the defenders¸ the Americans turn to a very unconventional weapon. The Curse of the Arched Bridge - Something around the Arched Bridge is drowning the children of the village of Perre. Suspecting a supernatural cause¸ the population turns to the Church for help. However¸ seeing the powerlessness of their priest¸ three men decide to solve the problem themselves. What they'll have to do to protect their children will haunt them for the rest of their lives.