Kevin Gaylord
Bio
Two-time author who lives in the western North Carolina, along with wife and two young boys. Long passionate about writing, I feel compelled to take stories rattling around in my mind, and slave over a laptop until they are out.
Stories (10/0)
The Blind Path to Freedom
The darkness in the tunnel was absolute. The experience was like what they imagined being in deep space would be like. The void that surrounded them needed to be filled with something, and the darkness itself was drawing their bravery from them. The group had given in to English’s leadership, each person relying completely on the hand in front of him or her to lead the way; were they to lose hold of one another’s hands, disaster would surely ensue.
By Kevin Gaylord2 years ago in Fiction
English in the Dark
Delivering English, Chapter 14 English lay in absolute darkness; it was not like being in a darkened room or even in a room with no windows and a closed door but an actual complete void of light, which caused his eyes to begin to hallucinate stars and spots
By Kevin Gaylord2 years ago in Fiction
One Deep Breath
High Vista, Chapter 17 The River “This is madness.” The words fell from Sam’s mouth as he and the rest of the group stared at the swiftly moving water beside them. The surface appeared alive under the glow of the lamplight. It threw water sporadically around the small cave and continuously drove forward with an unrelenting pace.
By Kevin Gaylord2 years ago in Fiction
Black Tom
“Algo esta mal. Puedo sentirlo en mis huesos.” —Captain Esposa Caribbean Sea 1709 “Something is wrong. I can feel it in my bones,” Captain Esposa mumbled while peering out over the sea-splashed deck. The Nuestra Señora del Mar was the only galleon in a small fleet and therefore carried the bulk of the gold they’d collected from across the Spanish territories in the Caribbean. It was a proud position for Captain Esposa but a perilous one for the Señora, the hurricane swells coming over her deck walls that night. The weight of the bullion had slowed her far behind the safety of the rest of the ships, and the captain knew they were now perilously alone in the storm.
By Kevin Gaylord2 years ago in Fiction
Life Could Be A Dream
Virginia 1954 The copper penny sat motionless, awaiting the charge of the steam-driven beast. The Atlantic Coast Line was rushing down the tracks where Neil had laid the coin only minutes before. He felt the tension rising as the locomotive blew its horn repeatedly and got exponentially closer to its target. The horn screeched and growled like the scarlet macaw at the zoo. Backing away from the tracks, he sat down in the long grass of a nearby embankment, awaiting the impact.
By Kevin Gaylord2 years ago in Fiction
Lessons Learned
I love my job because I am empowered to pass on some of learnings that I’ve been lucky enough to come across through my life thus far. As a leader in business, I understand that one of my most important responsibilities is to groom the next generation of business leaders. Anyone spending enough time reading books on leadership, listening to dynamic speakers, or working through an MBA program can bring myriad quotes and logic to the ‘growth and development’ table, but I love my job because I coat those items with a flavor of my own past.
By Kevin Gaylord3 years ago in Journal
Part Ridge
David never meant to be there, but Goliath was inevitable. The sleep was deeper than normal, forced further down into the subconscious by way of intravenous care. David was so far gone that even dreams were absent from his journey. While Goliath simply continued its steady lumbering forward, closer, and closer to an unforeseen destiny.
By Kevin Gaylord3 years ago in Fiction
Delivering English
The light was blinding and terrible. English McKay thought of the pain in terms of light rather than jolts of electricity being forced intentionally into his brain. It took several sessions of the electroshock therapy for him to realize the incredibly loud noises he was hearing beyond those of the actual machine were his own screams.
By Kevin Gaylord3 years ago in Fiction
STOP
“Goddamnit!” “Hey! Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain, Jim.” “What? This is frustrating. Seriously, stop giving me that look. Okay, let’s think this through for a moment. You honestly believe that with the vast amount of knowledge that we possess in today’s world about how we’re made up, how the planets came to be, what stars are, how utterly insignificant human existence is against the vastness of space and time…well, our perception of time at least…that the answer to all great mysteries is an omniscient puppet master requiring belief without proof?
By Kevin Gaylord3 years ago in Journal
Eighty Years
I suppose it is time to go. It seems more difficult than expected after all these many years. Some things change, some never do; I’ve been here through a lot. I’ll miss it, but I am tired…so tired. I wonder where I’ll end up. After so long, I can hardly remember where things began.
By Kevin Gaylord3 years ago in Fiction