Sting

When ordinary people are faced with the unusual and the ugly, some repel, others attempt to set matters straight, while others choose to sting. Sting is a collection of short stories where the mundane and the extraordinary collide. Working the late night hours in a county morgue, Cole and Willy find themselves growing desensitized and death weary until the arrival of a much different cadaver: that of a ten-year old runaway without identification or known next of kin. Driven by a newfound sense of compassion, the friends join up to change a broken and callous system- if only for one night. A twelve-step meeting is violently interrupted by a massive earthquake, trapping the members in a room with no method of escape. Finding themselves thrown together in strange and trying circumstances, they must join forces to confront their predicament. When finally rescued, a disturbing reality is revealed that challenges each member's sense of empathy. Ricky is an awkward new kid at a typical high school. When the kids taunt and ruthlessly humiliate him, Ricky's way of retribution is odder than his peculiar way of dress or his appearance: Ricky draws realistic and unsettling pictures featuring each bully; pictures which prove more cruel and sinister than any hazing he suffered. Other stories include an elderly matriarch who becomes addicted to carrying out her husband's abuse even after his death. And a young commuter who makes a life altering decision after stopping to look inside a discarded bag.