Shadowrun: Where the Thirsty Desert Dreams (A Short Story) by David McDonald

THE OUTBACK HOLDS MANY SECRETS…

Alex Wynter is a down-on-his-luck decker-turned-private investigator trying to stay one step ahead of his past mistakes. When a Renraku subsidiary hires him to solve a brutal murder of one of its employees in Melbourne, he’s glad to take the job—and the nearly unlimited expense account that comes with it.

But as he tries to figure out who the murderer is, Alex begins to realize there’s more going on here than the violent death of a vice-president. And before he’s through, he’ll come face-to-face with the shadows of his past…and an encounter with a being more powerful than any megacorporation in the Sixth World…   

Note: This free short story download is available between September 1–30, 2025, and contains an ebook file compatible with most ereaders, including Kindle.