Apply a grammar checker to my two latest stories

_posts/2024-12-07-12-days-of-short-stories-7.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: "Twelve Days of Short Stories - Day 7"
 date: 2024-12-07 12:52:02 +0000
-last_modified_at: 2024-12-11T22:17:16+00:00
+last_modified_at: 2024-12-11T22:49:17+00:00
 toc: false
 classes: wide
 categories: stories
@@ -15,18 +15,18 @@ This is the fourth of a series of short stories I am writing this December.\
 {: .notice--info}
 
 I opened my eyes and looked down at my legs.
-They were covered by a light blanket but I could see my feet poking up under the end of it.
+They were covered by a light blanket, but I could see my feet poking up under the end of it.
 My eyes were foggy, eyelids heavy; I must have been asleep for a while.
 Moving my head seemed impossible — as if different parts of my body were waking one after the other — so I settled for turning only my eyes.
 
 The room was fairly empty, a small chair was in the corner.
-No one was sat in it but if there was anything on it I couldn't see, the blanket over my feet was just in the way.
+No one was sat in it but if there was anything on it, I couldn't see, the blanket over my feet was just in the way.
 There didn't seem to be anything to my left beyond a window with the blinds drawn, but to my right I could see a faint outline of a door.
 
 I could hear a sound.
-A slow beeping washed over me as my ears tuned to conciousness.
+A slow beeping washed over me as my ears tuned to consciousness.
 
-I tried to move my neck again but as I did a pressure built in the side of my face.
+I tried to move my neck again, but as I did, a pressure built in the side of my face.
 My face was pressing into something, my head was held in place.
 Changing tactics, my focus came upon moving my hand up to my face, so it could free my neck.
 The hand moved but was quickly halted; it was restrained somehow.
@@ -35,10 +35,10 @@ The beeping quickened slightly.
 God, I wish someone would turn that off.
 
 The other arm was restrained too, so were my legs.
-Oh God.
+Oh, God!
 
 The beeping hastened it's incessant, annoying, chime.
-This time is was followed by a louder alarm.
+This time it was followed by a louder alarm.
 
 Voices grew louder to my right; someone must be on the other side of the door.
 I tried shouting for help but all that would come out was a muffled cry; my mouth would not open and as hard as I tried I could not get my jaw to open.
@@ -52,26 +52,26 @@ I couldn't turn my head to see who was there.
 
 The beeping raced.
 
-From my right a tall figure came into my field of view, closely followed by a shorter second one.
-The taller of the two was dressed in a white knee-length coat below which I could see dark trousers.
-It turned and my eyes crossed over its blue buttoned shirt, a white badge pinned to it, to its featureless flat face.
-It was about the correct size for a persons head but instead of eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, there was smooth unending flesh.
+From my right, a tall figure came into my field of view, closely followed by a shorter second one.
+The taller of the two was dressed in a white knee-length coat, below which I could see dark trousers.
+It turned, and my eyes crossed over its blue buttoned shirt, a white badge pinned to it, to its featureless flat face.
+It was about the correct size for a person's head, but instead of eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, there was smooth unending flesh.
 
-I began to thrash against my bindings and the beeping drove ever faster.
+I began to thrash against my bindings, and the beeping drove ever faster.
 
-The second figure turned, and it's face was as smooth as the first.\
-"He is not improving" it liplessly spoke, "We must sedate him again."\
+The second figure turned, and its face was as smooth as the first.\
+"He is not improving" it spoke without lips, "We must sedate him again."\
 "Agreed" the first responded.\
 As each of them 'spoke' I could see their faces writhing; it looked as if hundreds of snakes were trying to break out from under the skin.\
-"Get away from me" I tried to scream but my mouth would still not move.
-I pulled against bindings I could not see as hard as I could but they did not relent.
+"Get away from me" I tried to scream, but my mouth would still not move.
+I pulled against bindings I could not see as hard as I could, but they did not relent.
 
 The beeping was chiming so fast now that it was almost a single, excruciating tone.
 
-The shorter one pulled something pointed from its jacket and started toward me, the skin on it's hand squirming as well.
+The shorter one pulled something pointed from its jacket and started toward me, the skin on its hand squirming as well.
 "I'm powerless" I thought to myself as the needle came towards me, "there is nothing I can do."\
-I felt a sharp sting in my arm and began to feel drowsy; as the seconds passed I could not pull my eyes away from the faces of my captors.
-My eyes became heavy, the writhing faces became blurry and the world around me went black.
+I felt a sharp sting in my arm and began to feel drowsy; as the seconds passed, I could not pull my eyes away from the faces of my captors.
+My eyes became heavy, the writhing faces became blurry, and the world around me went black.
 
 I opened my eyes and looked down at my legs.
-They were covered by a light blanket..
+They were covered by a light blanket...

_posts/2024-12-11-12-days-of-short-stories-11.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: "Twelve Days of Short Stories - Day 11"
 date: 2024-12-11 22:11:00 +0000
-last_modified_at: 2024-12-11T22:12:37+00:00
+last_modified_at: 2024-12-11T22:49:17+00:00
 toc: false
 classes: wide
 categories: stories
@@ -19,34 +19,34 @@ I decided to go to a Hot Pot restaurant with my other half and I have no regrets
 {: .notice--warning}
 
 "Man, if I don't make a breakthrough on this case soon the Chief is going to draw me a new pair of curtains" I said to myself.
-The cigarette smoke haze hanging in the air hadn't bothered me for the last 20 years but it was bothering me today.
-I uselessly batted away the my most recently exhaled cloud so I could stare directly at the map without further interruption.\
-"There's gotta be something in here, boss" Dan Ellis said from behind me — or Rook as I had been calling him since he started a month ago — "although I'm not seeing it. My drink needs a top-up. Need anything from the break room?" he asked.\
-"Don't worry about me, I've had enough Coffee to keep me up for the next week and I can feel my skin crawling. Go get some air, this ain't going anywhere anytime soon and maybe it'll give you a fresh perspective" I heard myself say, but my mind was already elsewhere.
+The cigarette smoke haze hanging in the air hadn't bothered me for the last 20 years, but it was bothering me today.
+I uselessly batted away my most recently exhaled cloud so I could stare directly at the map without further interruption.\
+"There's got to be something in here, boss" Dan Ellis said from behind me — or Rook as I had been calling him since he started a month ago — "although I'm not seeing it. My drink needs a top-up. Need anything from the break room?" he asked.\
+"Don't worry about me, I've had enough Coffee to keep me up for the next week, and I can feel my skin crawling. Go get some air, this ain't going anywhere anytime soon, and maybe it'll give you a fresh perspective" I heard myself say, but my mind was already elsewhere.
 
-The truth was I wasn't a damn dime closer to figuring out who this son-of-a-gun was.
-Every woman in this city is waiting on me to take this scumbag down so they can feel safe going out again.
+The truth was, I wasn't a damn dime closer to figuring out who this son-of-a-gun was.
+Every woman in this city is waiting for me to take this scumbag down so they can feel safe going out again.
 "There's got to be a connection here" I said to no one in particular, I'd take an idea from the walls if they had any.
 
-Scanning over the map of the city, the photos of the victims were held in by red push-pins; string taught between them.
+Scanning over the map of the city, the photos of the victims were held in by red push-pins; string taut between them.
 May Welsh was the first and the worst.
 I remember it vividly, you'd have to be a heartless deadbeat to forget it.
-The partners of the law firm she worked for found her in the office when they opened up in the morning; what was left of her was sprawled out in the middle of the floor.
+The partners of the law firm she worked for had found her in the office when they opened up in the morning; what was left of her was sprawled out in the middle of the floor.
 She'd been closing up for the night but hadn't made it as far as the door, the poor thing.
 
 It was the first dead body Rook had seen up close, and it was a bad one.
-He damn near vomited directly on the body before we could get a good look at her and even thinking about the scene now made my stomach turn something fierce.
+He damn near vomited directly on the body before we could get a good look at her, and even thinking about the scene now made my stomach turn something fierce.
 
 The doctor surmised that she was dead before he chopped off all her fingers and toes.
 It's a small mercy that she was gone before her lips were cut off and her eyes gouged out.
 The cuts were rushed and crude; obvious to anyone looking from across the room.
-Either this guy was using a butter knife, or this was his first time and he had no idea what he was up to.
+Either this guy was using a butter knife, or this was his first time, and he had no idea what he was up to.
 
 Whoever this freak is, to do this to a poor thing like May, he must have a rage in him that's burning him up inside.\
-I remember telling Rook "He's going to want more blood, mark my words".\
-I wish I had been wrong.
+I remember telling Rook, "He's going to want more blood, mark my words".\
+God, I wish I had been wrong.
 
-I followed the string from May's pin over two city blocks on the map, to an alley behind 'Franks Bodega'.
+I followed the string from May's pin over two city blocks on the map, to an alley behind Frank's Bodega.
 Pamela Harper was second; brutally taken too early in broad daylight.
 
 It was a couple of days after May; God, the ink was barely dry on my report.
@@ -62,16 +62,16 @@ Having to use less brute force.
 Knowing where to cut.
 
 "I'm back" Rook said behind me.\
-I hadn't heard him come back and I damn near turned around and shot him out of shock.\
+I hadn't heard him come back, and I damn near turned around and shot him out of shock.\
 "You doing alright, boss?" he asked, presumably noticing all the colour had drained from my face.\
 "Yeah kid" I mumbled, "you just caught me deep in my own thoughts".\
 Pausing to sigh deeply, "I'm as good as I can be knowing we are no closer to finding this guy".\
 "What links the victims together?" I continued.
-"From talking to their acquaintances they don't seem to have known each other.
+"From talking to their acquaintances, they don't seem to have known each other.
 Did they know our killer?
 Was it random?
 There doesn't seem to be anything in common with the sites".\
-Pointing at the locations on the map "you've got a top notch lawyers office, a dirty alley, and a fancy salon. You couldn't get three more distinct places".\
+Pointing at the locations on the map, "you've got a top-notch lawyers office, a dirty alley, and a fancy salon. You couldn't get three more distinct places".\
 "Boss" Rook said, nodding towards the door.
 
 Porter stood there, he rapped his knuckles against the door frame pointlessly.\