by D Kershaw
Facebook: elgilesauthor
Website: www.elgilesauthor.com
You darkened my Soul
by Chris de Monclin
Foolishness and ignorance are killing me.
Humans always took me for granted, believing I would right their wrongs. Oil spills spreading darkness, a continent of plastic dispersing into the food chain, radioactive wastes leaking into my depths...all poisons asphyxiating me slowly.
Once, I hosted millions of species living in symbiosis; they’re now all joining me in this journey towards the inevitable.
So, I take my revenge, blindly taking lives. An imprudent sailor, a presumptuous surfer, maybe an appetising swimmer or a diver. Who will be next?
What did you expect? That I’d die without fighting? You perverted me, fools!
CHRIS DE MONCLIN has lived in Germany, France, Australia, and the USA, visited 35+ countries and enjoyed every encounter.
Passionate about Franco-Belgian graphic novels, he writes to challenge himself in storytelling, put into words his nightmares, or when his talented author wife doesn’t adapt his ideas the way he likes.
Shark Fin Soup
by McKenzie Richardson
Tossing the last of the de-finned sharks into the now blood-sullied water, Marcus stretched with a groan. His back had been bothering him lately. Hunching over thrashing sharks didn’t help matters.
He cast his eyes out over the open water. In the distance, a boat approached, its tall sail cutting the sky.
His forehead rumpled. It was going awfully fast; must have a motor of some sort.
Suddenly, an enormous creature erupted from the water beneath what he now saw was a fin. Massive mouth agape, serrated teeth looming.
Marcus cried out before the entire boat was plunged into darkness.
MCKENZIE RICHARDSON lives in Milwaukee, WI. Her horror stories have been featured in various anthologies including Evil Lurks, Pandemic, and After: Undead Wars. She has also published a variety of poems and flash fiction pieces.
Facebook: mckenzielrichardson
Blog: www.craft-cycle.com
Song of the Sirens
by Rowanne S. Carberry
Wind howls through the sails.
Thick, black clouds cover the only light.
Each drop of rain like bullets.
“Drop the anchor, we aren’t going further tonight.”
They scramble to do as they’re told.
The captain heads to his quarters for the night.
Sometime later he hears singing.
I’m not the only one on the whiskey tonight.
The ship moves.
Running onto deck, he stares as his crew steer the ship in a trance.
He hears a soft, sweet voice, calling out to all who pass for help.
Taking his place, he steers the ship towards the voice, and into oblivion.
ROWANNE S. CARBERRY was born in England in 1990, where she stills lives now with her cat Wolverine. Rowanne has always loved writing, and her first poem was published at the age of 15, but her ambition has always been to help people. Rowanne studied at the University of Sunderland where she completed combined honours of Psychology with Drama. Rowanne writes to offer others an escape. Although Rowanne writes in varied genres each story or poem she writes will often have a darkness to it, which helped coin her brand, Poisoned Quill Writing – Wicked words from a poisoned quill.
Facebook: PoisonedQuillWriting
Instagram: @poisoned_quill_writing
The Stowaway
by Crmetheus Christopher
“Good lord!” Mason croaked in disbelief, frantically pacing back and forth.
“All I did was my job, same as every day.”
He glanced nervously back down into the ship’s bilge where a small hand could be seen just breaking the surface of the water in the boats recess.
Looking up towards the engine room door, he saw the ship’s captain was fast approaching accompanied by a distressed looking couple, and immediately he began to feel a terrible sadness well up inside of him.
“All I did was my job,” Mason said, gazing out at the ocean, same as every day.”
CRMETHEUS CHRISTOPHER is an author from Boston Massachusetts. He is an eclectic artist who writes with a unique passion and flair for storytelling, he is the author of two books.
When The Lions Came(Fantasy) and Mayhaps Tomorrow(Psychological Thriller). He is also the creator of The Authors Embers Podcast.
Hunting in the Shallows
by G. Allen Wilbanks
She watched the child playing in the shallow waves on the beach. His parents lay contentedly sunning themselves on a blanket a few yards further away.
“Hello, Sweetie. Are you enjoying the water?” she called to him.
The boy glanced to where she waited, seeing only her head above the surface.
“The ocean is nice and warm over here. Can you swim out to me?”
The boy laughed and waded toward her.
“Such a sweet boy,” she said, urging him on. She smiled at his progress, careful not to reveal her long pointed teeth until it was far too late.
G. ALLEN WILBANKS is a member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and has published over 100 short stories in various magazines and on-line venues. He is the author of two short story collections, and the novel, When Darkness Comes.
Website: www.gallenwilbanks.com
Blog: DeepDarkThoughts.com
Surf & Turf
by Jacob Baugher
I remember when we found them. We dived into the black. Blinking cyan and sea-green indicators illuminate the submersible’s cockpit. Megan sits beside me, manning the hydro-propulsion thrusters. Outside, it’s like inky outer space. Constellation Marianas.
The exterior lights flicker on, illuminating squidy faces. Over the comm, a mucous-filled voice burbles, “Greetings.”
They take us to their city. Glowing bubbles cling to the trench like barnacles. Slimy, tentacled handshakes are exchanged. We’ll return. Diplomacy is important.
When we dive again, a fat man in a chef’s hat sits in Megan’s chair. He says, “Yes, they’ll do nicely. Ready the steamers.”
JACOB BAUGHER teaches Creative Writing at a small university near Pittsburgh, PA. When he’s not teaching or coaching the track team, he can be found in the Cuyahoga Valley hiking with his wife and son or brewing beer on his front porch. He’s received honourable mentions for his work in the Writers of the Future contest and he co-edits a series of Fantasy and Science Fiction anthologies titled Continuum. His work also appears in Black Hare’s Deep Space and Area-51 anthologies, as well as in the Dark Drabble Anthologies Worlds, Angels, Monsters, Beyond, and Unravel. He also hates pineapple on pizza.
Evolution
by Catherine Kenwell
When research divers discovered a new, brilliantly fuchsia brain coral along the Great Barrier Reef, they marvelled at its unique beauty. The ocean life had been dwindling; climate change and human interference had killed many of the sea creatures.
Collectors weren’t far behind its discoverers; thieving divers chipped away at the bright-pink brain, killing off large areas of the magnificent specimen of sea life.
Now, I’ve heard from a friend of a friend, that only when the coral is exposed to the air does it explode, emitting chemicals that kill everyone within several meters. True? Could be. Evolution, you know.
CATHERINE KENWELL is a Barrie, Ontario, mediator and author. After 30 successful years in corporate communications, she sustained a brain injury, lost her job, and joined the circus. She writes both horror/dark fiction and inspirational non-fiction. Her works have been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Trembling with Fear, Siren’s Call, and HellBound Books.
Website: www.catherinekenwell.com
Hammer - God - Serpent
by Umair Mirxa
Hvitserk wiped the ocean’s spray off his face and attempted, once again, to understand the sight before him. The storm, rapidly g
athering to the north, did not help visibility.
Thunder struck; it split the clouds asunder. The sea roared; its wrath awakened.
From the waves emerged a form as monstrous as it was majestic. From the skies dropped a hammer onto its head.
Thor followed in mighty Mjölnir’s wake and wrestled Jörmungandr back underwater.
It was the last sight Hvitserk beheld before the ocean swallowed his ship.
The end of the world had begun. It was the time of Ragnarok.
UMAIR MIRXA lives and writes in Karachi, Pakistan. His first published story, ‘Awareness’, appeared on Spillwords Press. He has since had stories accepted for publication in anthologies from Zombie Pirate Publishing, Blood Song Books, Black Hare Press, Iron Faerie Publishing, Clarendon House Publications, Fantasia Divinity Magazine & Publishing, and The ReAnimated Writers Press. He is a massive J.R.R. Tolkien fan, loves everything to do with mythology, fantasy, and history, and wishes with all his heart that dragons were real. When he’s not writing, he enjoys reading novels and comic books, playing video games, listening to music, and watching movies, TV shows, and football as an Arsenal FC fan.
Website: umairmirxa.com
Fun Cruise
by Nicole Henning
The rowboat rocked as the water churned around it. She looked around wildly, seeking out other survivors. The only thing that greeted her was more rioting water as it swallowed what was left of the splintered cruise ship.
Groaning, she grabbed her aching head with both hands and tried to stay focused. She was alive and needed to start rowing if she wanted to stay that way. Before she could grab the oars, a pale grey hand reached out of the water and gripped her wrist. Squeezing, the hand pulled her into the water, where she floated with the rest.
NICOLE HENNING is a book-a-holic who lives in a big-little town in Wisconsin. She surrounds herself with all things scary and bizarre and enjoys creating unique art. When she isn’t writing she enjoys playing video games and spends a lot of time snuggling with her dog Allie aka Princess Prissy Pants. Reading, writing and horror are her biggest passions in life.
Fashionably Late
by John H. Dromey
After briefly researching her family origins for a school project, Maureen became obsessed with genealogy. She worked diligently to identify not only all of her immigrant ancestors—those who’d made at least one transoceanic voyage to reach their new home—but also those they’d left behind.
One day, wearing only a bikini and flip-flops, Maureen picked up her car keys and headed for the door.
“I thought you were going to visit your great-great-grand-pappy Stewart’s grave, today,” her roommate said.
“I am.”
“Dressed like that? Are you being properly respectful?”
“I don’t have much choice. He was buried at sea.”
JOHN H. DROMEY was born in northeast Missouri, USA. He enjoys reading—mysteries in particular—and writing in a variety of genres. In addition to contributing to the Black Hare Press series of Dark Drabbles anthologies, he’s had short fiction published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Martian Magazine, Mystery Weekly, Stupefying Stories Showcase, Thriller Magazine, Unfit Magazine, and elsewhere, as well as in numerous anthologies, including Chilling Horror Short Stories (Flame Tree Publishing, 2015).
Twilight on the Sea
by Timothy Friesenhahn
The stars reflect from the still sea waters. Slipping in out of consciousness, I cling to the hope of rescue. The small raft I salvaged from the wreckage was I all could find, and I was lucky I found it. From the depths it came in the night. A beast of the waters, a monstrosity of catastrophic desires. In one swift swipe of its enormous tentacle it took our ship. Like a vacuum, it inhaled most of the wreckage and my shipmen. Slipping in and out of consciousness, I pray to the stars that the Kraken doesn’t come for me.
TIMOTHY FRIESENHAHN is thirty years old from Texas, where he lives with his fiance and two dogs. He has been writing since eight years old rather it be stories, poems, or lyrics. He played in a band off and on for several years until he was electrocuted. His lifestyle had to change from there and he went to a WFPB diet and settled down and decided to pursue his dream of writing novels.
The Shark and The Sea Cloud
by Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway
Duuunnn dun.
Spindly legs paddled at a desperate pace.
Duuunnn dun.
The sheep bobbed up and down on the ocean surface as it swam, its beady black eyes fixed upon the horizon; on the ship it had fallen from. Never looking back at the exposed fin.
Duuunnn dun dun dun.
What a delicacy the shark had come across. It had never seen a sea cloud before, only lots and lots of land ones, and the unreachable sky ones.
Dun dun dun dun.
So close, its rare treat in reach, the shark could already taste it...
DUN DUN DUN DUN DUNNNN.
LYNDSEY ELLIS-HOLLOWAY is a writer from Knaresborough, UK. She writes fantasy, sci-fi, horror and dystopian stories, focussing on compelling characters and layering in myth and legend at every opportunity. Her mind is somewhat dark and twisted, and she lives in perpetual hope of owning her own Dragon someday, but for now she writes about them to fill the void... and to stop her from murdering people who annoy her. When she’s not writing she spends time with her husband, her dogs and her friends enjoying activities such as walking, movies, conventions and of course writing for fun as well!
Website: theprose.com/LyndseyEH
Addicted
by Theresa Halvorsen
I wait for the fog to roll in and surface, water beading on my skin. I’m empty. Hungry. Humans play in the waves, standing on wood. I submerge and swim closer. They’ll see me as a piece of seaweed, a hunk of wood. I nudge a board and one falls. I take a quick sip. She’s mine. Addicted. Her heart will pound, hands will shake without me, without the ocean. She’ll visit in the morning, at night. Float on the waves. And each time I’ll take more. She’ll think she loves the ocean. But she’s wrong. It’s only me. Forever.
THERESA HALVORSEN is a speculative fiction writer, and the author of the Dad’s Playbook to Labor and Birth. Website: www.theresahauthor.com
Fluorescent Hell
by Paul Eric Carberry
In the chill of night, adrift at sea, a sailor enveloped by complete darkness glances over the edge. A brilliant orchestra of rich colours cries out to him from below, inviting him to join them. Eerily beautiful, hauntingly peaceful, hypnotised by display, he answers their call. Jolted awake by frigid, cold waters, the sailor kicks his limbs. A swarm of hellish fish race towards him. From the depths where no man should go, devils of the deep with luminous, hideous bodies devour the sailor. Snarled teeth ravage the flesh, tearing and shredding jaws drag him down into a fluorescent hell.
PAUL ERIC CARBERRY is the author of the Zombies on the Rock series. His tales of the zombie apocalypse in Newfoundland are inspired by George A. Romero’s Living Dead series. He has also published several short stories over three “from the Rock” anthologies including “Halloween Mummers”, “The Light of Cabot Tower”, “Into the Forrest” and “Harmon Field”. His Zombies on the Rock series currently has three novels, “Outbreak”, “The Viking Trail” and “The Republic of Newfound” and is currently working on the fourth novel “Extinction”. Paul is from Newfoundland and is currently living in Shearwater, Nova Scotia.
Website: engenbooks.com/zombies-on-the-rock
Surf’s Up, Surfer’s Down
by Brandi Hicks
“Bruh, I’m telling you, don’t go out there today. The guys said they saw, well, they don’t know what they saw, but it wasn’t good,” Sam begged his friend.
“Listen, man, they were probably smoking and saw some seaweed floating. The swell is massive.” Drew grabbed his surfboard and headed toward the beach.
Drew paddled out. He turned around to get in position for a ride and waved at Sam. Sam was frantically wa
ving back, but Drew didn’t notice, he was focused on the shadow that swam by him. The shadow breached, opening its massive mouth, and swallowed Drew whole.
GROWING UP IN WEST Virginia, Brandi Hicks loved to have her nose in a book, her eyes toward the night sky and putting a pen to paper. Her imagination was always sparked by her grandfather and her mom taking her to new places and teaching her about the unusual. She loves fantasy, sci-fi, and learning about science and history. She has two beautiful children, and hopes to instill creativity and a love of reading in them. Finding new crafts to try keeps her busy when not playing with her kids or working.
Siren Song
by Musaab Sultan
“Just three more miles till we reach Varus port, Cap’n,” the first mate called,