# Tommy Sweeney — Short Fiction character guide

> Tommy Sweeney in Short Fiction by Frank Belknap Long.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Tom, Tommy

**First appearance:** 0000-the-hounds-of-tindalos

## Snapshot

Steve's level-headed buddy and narrator, who warns that loving an image can kill—then walks unarmed into five-to-one gunfire to save him anyway.

## Who they are

Tom is the steady voice beside Steve's fevered obsession, the friend who says 'compulsions can kill' and means it, watching his captain trade bullets over a mirror he'd be wiser to bury. When Steve takes a bullet in the shoulder and their position turns hopeless, Tom tosses his smoking gun into the sand and steps into the open with his hands raised, promising to come back and fix the wound. His loyalty is the story's counterweight to Steve's fixation: clear-eyed, unglamorous, and willing to pay for a friend's life with his own.

## Relationships

### [Sally Anders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/sally_anders)

_friendship_

A close friendship or alliance, likely with shared experiences or mutual support.

### [Cynthia Jackson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/cynthia_jackson)

_romantic_

A romantic relationship, with Cynthia and Tommy as lovers or a married couple.

### [Cynthia Jackson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/cynthia_jackson)

_romantic_

A romantic relationship, with Cynthia and Tommy as lovers or a married couple.

### [Sally Anders](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/sally_anders)

_friendship_

A close friendship or alliance, likely with shared experiences or mutual support.

### [Cynthia Jackson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/cynthia_jackson)

_romantic_

A romantic relationship, with Cynthia and Tommy as lovers or a married couple.

## In the story

### [Lake of Fire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/chapters/lake-of-fire)

Narrator and companion to Steve; reveals himself as Tulan Sharm, the Martian ruler.

### [The Timeless Ones](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/chapters/the-timeless-ones)

Appears as a young boy despite ten years passing; demonstrates walking through walls and mentions the Green People.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/chapters/i)

Narrator; awakens with dread, hears a scream, and leads Harry to investigate the well.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/chapters/iii)

Narrator and prime suspect after his shoes match the murder footprints; struggles with his feelings for Molly.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/chapters/iv)

Narrator and protagonist; falsely accused of murder, nearly lynched, then witnesses the monster's rampage and reconciles with Molly.

### [The Calm Man](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/chapters/the-calm-man)

Sally's son, who exhibits an abnormal calmness and shares a secret bond with his father, ultimately leaving Earth with him.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters/tommy_sweeney
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_17_se/characters