W. Tavi Lee

About

Hailed from California, now living off-grid in Nevada's rugged landscape, W. Tavi Lee is a novelist & short story writer who channels a never-ending stream of ideas into captivating narratives.

Writing

Short Stories

Toast
Saving Sasquatch
Interview With A Vampire
Supernova

Novels & Novellas

Three of Us

Cafe by the Sea

Moonlight Shadows

Mask of La'u Boback

Benji Became a Detective

Curiosity Kat

Balraga's Bar

Rocket Man

Contact

@wtavilee

TOAST by W Tavi Lee

They sent probe after probe. Each one reached the same point in space before going offline, ceasing to send back data. Audio, video, location, nothing. Even with the current technology it took 6 full rotations for each one to reach the outer edge of the system.Executives were mad because they kept paying for no results. The scientists sending out the probes were dumbfounded and had no explanations for the executives.Finally they needed an answer the probes couldn't provide and sent a real person.That's where I come in. People call me Toast. Named because I once burnt a piece of toast so bad that the entire space station had to evacuate. This was back when the first versions came into operation. The stations were small, only a dozen guys could live there. And the safety systems weren't all that great. Really it wasn't my fault. I mean really, who approved a toaster to be brought up? But once they give you a name, it sticks and you just eventually own it.Now the station I’m in is 1000 fold of that first one. Really, it’s a small town floating in space. The company currently has 6 of these beasts heading towards the edges of the galaxy. Self sustaining in every area. A marvel to look at.When I had first laid eyes on it at the space dock, it was 3/4 of the way complete. Drones and workers were rushing to complete it by deadline. All us crew were making our way here. Extensive training, role assignments and a last hurrah before heading out into the deep.—Mission 18.1I’m the .1, meaning there were 18 probes sent before they decided to send me. I wouldn’t say I’m nervous, but I’d be lying. There’s talks around the station that it’s aliens. We haven’t encountered any while exploring, colonizing and mining every rock we’ve passed in the galaxy, but many still hope they exist. I’d rather not find out that it is true. Probably not bode well for me when I show up."Surprise"It’s my job though. I train, I study, I fly short missions to nearby rocks, dropping off supplies and personnel. It sounds more exciting than it really is. Everything is on auto pilot for the most part, we’re just there to make sure the AI is doing its job. Not like we could stop it. If they control the entire ship (which they do), what good is an override button if the AI just says no.I’ll be in stasis for a long while and be woken up right before I reach the point where the probes have been disappearing. Hopefully I can transmit back some footage of the first aliens before they either destroy me or take me back and do experiments.ShudderI hope they choose the first one. But really, I don’t think it’s aliens. My guess is an electrical field or something that the probe doesn’t know how to handle. I’ll probably find all 18 just drifting around, waiting to be rebooted.Two rotations until I leave. For missions like these, when they have to send a human, you’re treated like a celebrity. Time off work, extravagant dinners, etc, etc. Basically a last supper or hurrah. I think of the hundreds of people this station alone has sent out, one guy made it back. But he was crazy and incoherently babbled ever since.He came back though and the company considered it a success. It’s hostile out there in space, I can’t imagine how much worse it would be if aliens decided to show up.

Saving Sasquatch by W. Tavi Lee

“So are you in?”“Is the Pope black?”“WHAT? No, that doesn’t even make sense. And that’s wrong on so many levels”. Beck shook his head as he double checked the gear laying out on the table.“Of course I’m in! I mean we’re saving Sasquatch! Who does that?” Ronnie said, the fat, crude but lovable best friend who was leaning against the doorway.“We do Ronnie, we do. So that makes 5 of us.”4 men and a woman sat in Beck’s small kitchen getting prepared for an adventure none of them even considered a possibility. In the last 48 hours they learned a lot.One - Sasquatch turned out to be real. Too many eyewitness accounts, videos, instagram photos, and tweets of the creature for it not to be.Two - People really didn’t like it being around. Like a call to arms, people were advocating "let’s kill the beast" sort of stuff.Three - People really don’t like you defending Sasquatch.As they were preparing to find Sasquatch, there were groups out to not to save it. The town was on the brink of snapping. Drawing lines in the sand. For Sasquatch or against him, her, it. Word of people starting to arrive from all over to witness an urban legend for themselves. Or hunt it.Seven Hours EarlierAll hell broke loose on a chilly October evening, just as the sun hid behind the mountains of Washington.The first reports that came in were disregarded, just like every other call from people claiming to have seen the mystical Sasquatch. But after getting a half dozen more calls lighting up the board in the same area, all from people who swore they saw a large creature roaming around town, Sheriff Mike Bass started to think he should report it to the Governor and only when his deputy called screaming he almost hit it with his car did he take the situation seriously.Everything became a blur after that. Calls came pouring in and he couldn’t handle the load, letting them go unanswered. Keeping the deputy on the line, trying to gather what little information there was in-between incoherent yelling.“Mike, you’ve gotta believe me. It ran out in front of me. I think I might of clipped him as I slammed on my breaks.”“It? Him? Roger, tell me what you’re talking about”“Sasquatch. Swear to God.”“OK. I’ve been getting a lot of calls about sightings, about people seeing one.”“Shit. So it’s not the booze that’s making me see things.” Roger confided.“Great. We doing this again Roger?”“What? It’s not a lot. Not like anything happens here anyway. Well not since tonight.”“OK, whatever. Want me to call for backup?”“Don is probably more buzzed than I am.”“So that's a no.” Mike said, staring at a fully lit board.“Yeah, send him over if he's sober. I’m over on Knotty Pine Lane. Near the Millers. I’m going to get out and look around. Let him know to chill, so he doesn’t go all Rambo and shoots anything that moves. Like me.”“That’s not a good idea. Stay in your car.” he tried to say. But he just heard “yeah, yeah” before the line went dead.Mike sat there for a second, processing what was going on. Sasquatch was real. He always knew it was real. All the stories he’d grown up with he knew it had to be real. And here is the proof. The board hadn’t been this active since the fire of 08.Snapping back, he started to get Don on the radio. An old timer that still worked because he didn’t have anything to retire for.“Don” Mike radioed, bypassing protocol because nobody else followed it in the rural population of a few thousand.“Go ahead” Don said with a drawl.“Got a call from Roger and he wants backup over by the Millers.”“Everything alright?”“Yeah, just a bunch of calls for Sasquatch sightings. More than usual.”“Really? I’m on my way.”“Good. Be careful, he’s already searching outside so don’t go shooting up anything moving.”“Hey, you don’t have to tell me. It only happened that one time.” Don stated.“Whatever, just get over there and help him out.” Mike finished.Letting out a sigh he punched the first blinking light to get concerned citizens to calm down.

Interview With A Vampire by W. Tavi Lee

“I hate twilight. The movies, books, all of it. It has ruined my reputation. Being a vampire myself and having that crap become part of pop culture, I hate it. When I’d go on the hunt for a new lady friend I can devour in many different ways, all they want to do is see me glimmer and shine in the light. What the hell is that? We don’t do that. We fucking burn. Like really bad. Man it ruined eternity for me. It really did. When they realize I am what I am, I swear to God, they’re disappointed.”“So vampire life is tougher now?”“I’m afraid it is Joan. They ask why I don’t look like Edward or sparkle or be all moody. It might be hard to believe but not all vampires are going to be good looking, most aren’t actually. I’m a little above average. I dress well, I get the blood stains out of my teeth, keep them sharp so I don’t have to saw them back and forth to puncture. That’s the worst. You’ve cornered her, she’s screaming or bitching that I’m not like Edward and you just want her to shut up, so you get to work but you can’t even poke two holes into her neck. It happened once or twice. It was a disaster. The cops were involved, they chased me for days. A nightmare. After that snafu, I vowed to keep my teeth sharp. Every night before I go out I give them a little sharpening. Never had a problem since.“I thought you were reformed? Asking for their blood instead of taking. I’m quoting you now “Leads to less screaming.”, end quote.“Joan, I am. Honest to God. That incident was the last time it was involuntary. But back to twilight. I hate that fucking movie. My language, I apologize, but it really gets me going. Stalking after females isn’t fun anymore with all their “Edward this, Jacob that”. I mean I’m not even a werewolf. You know. And I won’t switch to animals or guys. That’s not my thing. I know what you’re thinking, he doesn’t bite guys or animals and has written off gals as well, how does he survive?”“Yes, how do you?”“Here’s another thing that pisses me off about people Joan, their perception of vampires. We don’t NEED blood to survive. Sunlight still burns the hell out of us but blood is just a nice treat that also makes us stronger and live forever. I can eat the same crap as everyone else. McDonald’s, tacos, whatever.”“So you can pick if and when you want blood?”“Basically yes. I’ve adjusted to this new lifestyle Joan and it’s alright. I’ll live.”“So you have a new reality tv show coming out.”“I do Joan, I do. It’s a project I’m really excited about. The “night in the life of a vampire”, basically following me and some friends of mine doing our thing at night. It’s exciting.”“I admit, I’m excited about this show. Not many people can honestly say they’re a vampire or know one. But I have one question, because of twilight, are people's expectations going to be different?”“Joan, Joan, Joan, why’d you have to keep bringing twilight up? You hurt me.”“Sorry but I had to ask.”“OK, why is my show different? Joan, because it’s real. I’m real. I don’t sparkle.”“Let’s change the subject to the vampire the newspapers call “The Slasher”. Sill on the loose, still killing women by biting them, sucking their blood and then slashing their throats. Do you think it’s an actual vampire that’s doing this? If so, do you know who it could be?”“It’s tragic what’s happening. There is a sick person out there Joan. Very disturbed individual. When the police came to me, they asked for my professional opinion. I haven’t shared this with anyone, but here on your show I’ll tell you and the viewers what I told the police. With the evidence they showed me, I am 100% positive that it is a real vampire. I have my suspicions as to who, but I’ll leave it at that.”“You’re saying a vampire is responsible for these brutal killings.”“I am Joan. Sad to say it. You don’t want to see someone else like you, in this day and age, doing something so horrible. I mean, 1,000 years ago when I was roaming London, It was a blood bath. We were all going crazy. Many people were killed or turned when we were there. I still think back to that time and wish I hadn’t partaken in the frenzy.”“Killed or turned? Was there never an option to let them live and not be turned into a vampire?”“ Joan. That’s where I’d like to set the record straight. A vampire does not have to kill to drink blood. Most do because they’re animals and not taught good manners. Just kill and drink and kill and drink, sometimes turning their victim. I have not killed anyone for a long long time. When I did drink blood, I always made my victims, wait I don’t like that word, my vessels have the choice. If they didn’t want their blood sucked, I’d find someone who did.”“So all the blood sucking was voluntary?”“At least now it is for me Joan. I give them a choice and it feels so much better.”“But you’ve also said it’s more difficult now, how?”“For me, yes. I ask them to let me drink some of their blood. For awhile it was fairly easy, most said yes, few ran away screaming. But now Joan, it’s only vary rarely that I find someone willing to give up some blood that doesn’t go on and on about twilight.”“So you really don’t like twilight. Did you ever read the books or watch the movie?”“Hell no Joan. I’d rather step into the light and burn up into ashes. Yes, Twilight ruined a good thing. At least for me. I’ve heard some of the other vampires loved what it did to people. These are vampires that kill people mind you. Made it easier. But I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”“Well, I guess that is it for this interview. Thank you for your time.”“You’re welcome Joan”

Supernova by W. Tavi Lee

Zane pulled his hoodie tighter. The street corners flickering light above him was the only noise while he waited.His hands fiddled with the data stick inside the pouch, his mind going from calm to panic with every breath. The data was swiped from a company he contracted for, one of the big ones. Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world working for the conglomerate. They had a dirty little secret. Actually a big world altering secret that people needed to know about.Stumbling upon the data by accident was the best worst thing that happened to him. Trying to cash in led him to grow a conscience and turn it over to someone that could blow it wide open.Now he was at the corner in a sketch neighborhood, with information that will change the world. He shivered, though it wasn’t that cold out.He’d found a blogger that would publish it. It needed to be calculated he said and that’s why Zane was not going to be involved. He was there to give all the data to Oren Supernova an eccentric writer that exposed conspiracies with real evidence and facts. Wildly popular and right most of the time.Nobody really knew what Oren looked like or who he was. Could be female for all Zane knew.As he flipped his wrist to flash the time, a shadow started coming across the street. Hooded, dark clothes. A standard outfit for new age cyber punks these days he smirked to himself. It’s game time.