by D Kershaw
Website: www.vonniewinslowcrist.com
O Captain
by Henry Herz
O Captain! My Captain! Our hunting trip is done.
The ship has gathered mermaids all, the captives sought are won.
The port is near, the cheers I hear, their Sunday best a’wearing.
While follow eyes our bloody prow, our vessel grim and scaring.
From ruthless trip the victor ship returns with bullion sought,
‘Though now our craft is anchor’d, the lesson dearly bought.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My master does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
Upon the deck my Captain lies red,
My skipper fallen cold and dead.
HENRY HERZ edited BEYOND THE PALE, featuring stories by Peter Beagle, Heather Brewer, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Kami Garcia, Nancy Holder, and Jane Yolen. He authored the short stories Gluttony (CLASSICS REMIXED anthology), Zombie Sonnet 43 (MONSTERS anthology), Ghost Father (BEYOND anthology), Sins & Virtues (ANGELS anthology), and Pay the Piper (Highlights Magazine). He authored the books: MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES, WHEN YOU GIVE AN IMP A PENNY, MABEL & THE QUEEN OF DREAMS, CAP’N REX & HIS CLEVER CREW, HOW THE SQUID GOT TWO LONG ARMS, ALICE’S MAGIC GARDEN, 2 PIRATES + 1 ROBOT, THE MAGIC SPATULA.
www.henryherz.com
The Leviathan
by Jim Bates
In the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana Trench, there lives a huge beast scientists call the Leviathan. Two men in a research bathyscaphe led a scientific exploration of the trench in the early sixties. The only known photo of the beast was taken at that time, just before radio contact was lost. The image is of the oesophagus of the creature as the vessel was swallowed whole. The screams of the two scientists to this day still haunts those who heard it. The tragedy has been kept secret. Can you image what would happen if word got out?
JIM BATES lives in a small town twenty miles west of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His stories have appeared online in CafeLit, The Writers’ Cafe Magazine, Cabinet of Heed, Paragraph Planet, Nailpolish Stories, Ariel Chart, Potato Soup Journal, Literary Yard, Spillwords (Dec, 2019, Author of the Month), The Drabble, The Academy of the Heart and Mind and World of Myth Magazine. In print publications: A Million Ways, Mused Literary Journal, Gleam Flash Fiction Anthology #2, the Portal Anthology and the Glamour Anthology by Clarendon House Publishing, The Best of CafeLit 8 by Chapeltown Publishing, the Nativity Anthology by Bridge House Publishing and Gold Dust Magazine.
Website: www.theviewfromlonglake.wordpress.com
A Mother’s Rage
by Kaitlyn Arnett
Rubbish filled her precious waters, touched her children, yet the people feigned surprise that their planet grew ill.
But she was done. She was sick of watching her children suffer, sick of the trash loitering amongst the waves, sick of crying salty tears.
On January 1st, she struck.
Waves crashed against every shore, every state, every country, dragging people out to sea.
January 2nd, her reach extended further. Floods raced inland, reclaiming everything the humans had stolen from her.
By January 3rd, more than half the world had fallen into her salty depths.
This was the price for their ignorance.
KAITLYN ARNETT is a teen author who has been writing for five years. She focuses on the fantasy and thriller genres, specifically drabbles and short stories.
Toes in the Water
by Raymond Johnson
Sandy had loved the ocean ever since she was a child. She recalled inhaling the briny sea air and the taste of salt on her lips when she’d climbed from the warm water; watching crabs scuttle and building castles with a bucket.
Today, she found herself sitting idly with her toes kicking ocean water as her legs dangled over a ledge of stone, and she ate the last bit of her sandwich. She hadn’t expected to find herself on the sea front, but she was glad that she had been climbing Pikes Peak when the ocean rushed in from nowhere.
RAYMOND JOHNSON is a funeral director in central Ohio who basically writes horror and Litrpg stories in the little spare time he has. He has five children, a wife, a dog, and a cat and for fun he does a YouTube show called the Litrpg Audiobook Podcast.
Piss on It
by Dawn DeBraal
“Ouch, I’ve been stung!” shouted Olivia.
“Wait, I’ll piss on it. That’s supposed to take the sting out,” said Margaret, who squatted over her friend.
“That did nothing. It still hurts like hell. Are you sure that’s what you’re supposed to do with a horsefly bite?’ Oliva asked.
“Horsefly? I thought you were stung by a jellyfish. You’re killing me!” Margaret laughed at her friend, who had just suffered one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. “I’m in pain from laughing so hard!” cried Margaret.
Oliva found a large stone and put Margaret out of her misery.
DAWN DEBRAAL lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband Red, two rat terriers, and a cat. She has discovered that her love of telling a good story can be written. Published stories with Palm-sized press, Spillwords, Mercurial Stories, Potato Soup Journal, Edify Fiction, Zimbell House Publishing, Clarendon House Publishing, Blood Song Books, Black Hare Press, Fantasia Divinity, Cafelit, Reanimated Writers, Guilty Pleasures, Unholy Trinity, The World of Myth, Dastaan World, Vamp Cat, Runcible Spoon, Dark Christmas, Siren’s Call, Iron Horse Publishing, Falling Star Magazine 2019 Pushcart Nominee.
Amazon: amazon.com/Dawn-DeBraal/e/B07STL8DLX
Beneath the Surface
by Carys Crossen
Sometimes the sea moaned.
Deep, strange moans belched from the blackest, deepest recesses of the ocean. Recording devices—belonging to oceanographers, fishing vessels, amateur monster hunters—documented them, transmuted them.
Speculation raged about what kind of creature made them. A disfigured whale, or a strange beast, unknown to science. The Kraken, even.
Scientists discredited them all. It’s the ice in Antarctica, they repeated. One ice shelf grinding against another.
Now the ice was melting.
“What do we tell people?” the scientist responsible for suppressing information about the moans asked the secretly convened council of world leaders.
None of them answered.
CARYS CROSSEN has been writing stories since she was nine years old and shows no signs of stopping. Her monograph The Nature of the Beast has been published by University of Wales Press and her fiction has been published by Mother’s Milk Books, Ink and Sword Magazine, Riggwelter, Dear Damsels, Honey and Lime Lit and others. When she’s not writing she’s walking dogs/contemplating nature/living in Manchester UK with her husband.
Best Laid Plans
by J.W. Garrett
Jason strayed from his underwater adventure group.
I paid to see the sunken ship, and that’s what I’ll do.
Ducking behind the coral reef and clumps of seaweed, he headed for the wreckage. The instructor said it was unstable. On the ocean floor? How could that be?
After checking his oxygen levels, Jason swam through a hole in the side. Inside, the ship burst with colourful sea life. Fish, stingrays, jellyfish, even a seahorse meandered by.
I’m good. A few more minutes...
He tugged at a fallen door.
A long tentacle dragged him inside.
Another one shut the door again.
J.W. GARRETT has been writing in one form or another since she was a teenager. She currently lives in Florida with her family but loves the mountains of Virginia where she was born. Her writings include YA fantasy as well as short stories. Since completing Remeon’s Quest-Earth Year 1930, the prequel in her YA fantasy series, Realms of Chaos, she has been hard at work on the next in the series, scheduled to release August 2020. When she’s not hanging out with her characters, her favourite activities are reading, running and spending time w
ith family.
Website: www.jwgarrett.com
BHC Press: www.bhcpress.com/Author_JW_Garrett.html
Late Night Swim
by Mark Mackey
Elizabeth McGraven, strapped to a hard steel operating bed, cried in intense pain as a scalpel was cut into her stomach. It caused blood to escape, which was collected into metallic vials. She was being experimented on, deep beneath the ocean.
She’d been captured by one of the extra-terrestrial races called the Filercane during a late night swim at McClernan Beach. It was beyond terrifying—a Grey, but with tentacles connected to its torso. Dragged quick as a flash down into its ovalish silver craft, it then cut into her throat, and she closed her eyes for the last time.
MARK MACKEY is a speculative fiction writer who now resides in Rockford Illinois after spending an abundance of time in Chicago. The author’s stories can be found in various anthologies, some charity, some not, including some belonging to Australian publisher, Black Hare Pres, and Suicide House Publishing, now known as Nocturnal Sirens Publishing, headed by Natalie Brown.
Barry drowns his feelings
by D.J. Elton
Barry’s emotions cool completely as he sinks into the sea.
That fierce madness haunting him whenever he sees his father is gone. Whispered far away when he touches the water wall. Feet in water. Legs sliding. Cold. Comforting.
Confronting those feelings head on, he greets the ocean as he sinks down.
It’s cold, clean. Clears his tight heart. Soothes his mad, bad head where pain gets stuck. Hot, horrible.
Yet here he can sink down in pleasure. There’s no need to worry. To think. To reflect. It’s all null and void here. Barry loves the ocean. It has power. Magic.
D.J. ELTON is a writer living in Melbourne’s west. As a child she came from England to Australia, on the last boat down the Suez Canal, where she underwent a sacrificial dunking ritual in the court of King Neptune, and has never looked back. She likes creating speculative micro fiction and short stories, as well as random essays. Her work has been published in several anthologies, and she has written a historical fantasy novella, ‘The Merlin Girl.’ When not playing with a pen, she likes most of all to go to the green country.
Wave Goodbye
by D.M. Burdett
My lungs burned and my head pounded, but she watched from afar as I floundered.
Breathe.
Her dark eyes—ebony pools—pleaded, but her smile was wide, sharp teeth glinting, as I slipped below the surface.
I reached out, movements slow and tortured, but she dodged and dived.
Breathe, she whispered without words from close behind, just as darkness began to curl at the edges of my world.
Breathe, she bellowed, her face close to mine, and I sucked in a great lungful of salty water.
And as I closed my eyes for the last time, she finally kissed me.
D.M. BURDETT initially roamed as an army brat, but now lives in Australia where she spends her days avoiding drop bears and killer spiders. She has published a Sci-Fi series, has short stories in various anthologies, and has published two children’s series. She is currently working on the first book in a dystopian series.
Website: www.dmburdett.com
Facebook: DMBurdett
Live Raft
by Dawn DeBraal
Floating in the ocean for weeks, two thin men aboard a crumbling raft.
“I found something,” shouted Zeb as he reached into the water.
“Is it edible?” Bob asked hungrily.
“I don’t know, let me pull it off.” Zeb reached into the water, grunting as he brought up the creature.
“Oh, my God! It’s a giant shipworm!” Bob cried, putting his head in his hands.
“Shipworm? Is that bad? There’s a whole bunch of them on the underside of the raft.”
“You idiot, they eat wood!”
A piece of the raft floated away.
“We’ll be ok, that piece got away.”
DAWN DEBRAAL lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband Red, two rat terriers, and a cat. She has discovered that her love of telling a good story can be written. Published stories with Palm-sized press, Spillwords, Mercurial Stories, Potato Soup Journal, Edify Fiction, Zimbell House Publishing, Clarendon House Publishing, Blood Song Books, Black Hare Press, Fantasia Divinity, Cafelit, Reanimated Writers, Guilty Pleasures, Unholy Trinity, The World of Myth, Dastaan World, Vamp Cat, Runcible Spoon, Dark Christmas, Siren’s Call, Iron Horse Publishing, Falling Star Magazine 2019 Pushcart Nominee.
Amazon: amazon.com/Dawn-DeBraal/e/B07STL8DLX
The Harrow’s Last Sail
by Ali House
Deep beneath the dark waters lay The Harrow. The ship was preserved by the cold, intact except for a large crack in the middle, almost splitting it in two.
Tales of her demise had spread quickly, and although many assumed she lay at the bottom of the ocean, nobody knew where.
Some said she was taken by a rogue wave, others by mutiny, and others by a fierce battle. But if one were to look at her now, they would see a large octopus-like tentacle wrapped around her, and if they could read thoughts, they’d hear one simple word:
“Mine.”
ALI HOUSE is the author of sci-fi/fantasy novels The Six Elemental and The Fifth Queen, along with various short stories in the “From the Rock” series published by Engen Books. She is a traveller, baker, and fan of the Oxford comma.
Website: engenbooks.com/tag/house-blog/
Into the Arctic
by C.L. Williams
I am in the ocean, doing my usual hobby of scuba diving, when a current takes me out of my spot in the ocean. The current knocked me out as I float along the waves and into uncharted waters. The sound of my oxygen tank running low wakes me up, I’m now low on oxygen, and I’m freezing.
I see the icebergs below, and that is when I realise the current sent me south. I’m now in the Arctic Ocean. Ice barriers build around me, and now I question what will kill me first; the ice or lack of oxygen.
C.L. WILLIAMS is an international best-selling author currently living in central Virginia. He has written eight poetry books, four novellas, one novel, and a contributor to a multitude of anthologies and magazines. His most recent anthology appearance ANGELS: Dark Drabbles #2 from Black Hare Press became a number one in hot new releases. C.L. Williams is currently working on his second novel and a new poetry book.
Facebook: writer434
Twitter: @writer_434
Prey
by Dawn DeBraal
Sam searched the rocks, looking for crabs, away from everyone else. Finding many of the small creatures, he plucked them from the water and put them in his bag. There would be good eating tonight.
Excitedly, he leaped across a small crevice. His foot slid down the wet stone, becoming wedged. He tried pulling up the stones around his crushed foot; tugging, he prayed his foot didn’t break.
While Sam was preoccupied, trying to set himself free, a creature in the rocks watched its prey and waited for the rising tide to take Sam. There would be good eating tonight.
DAWN DEBRAAL lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband Red, two rat terriers, and a cat. She has discovered that her love of telling a good story can be written. Published stories with Palm-sized press, Spillwords, Mercurial Stories, Potato Soup Journal, Edify Fiction, Zimbell House Publishing, Clarendon House Publishing, Blood Song Books, Black Hare Press, Fantasia Divinity, Cafelit, Reanimated Writers, Guilty Pleasures, Unholy Trinity, The World of Myth, Dastaan World, Vamp Cat, Runcible Spoon, Dark Christmas, Siren’s Call, Iron Horse Publishing, Falling Star Magazine 2019 Pushcart Nominee.
Amazon: amazon.com/Dawn-DeBraal/e/B07STL8DLX
Resting Place
by N.M. Brown
The October sun sparkled off my wife, Annie’s, eyes the day we got married. We got married with ocean waves licking our feet. High tide came faster than expected, soaking her dress as she laughed with joy.
> As we ride into the sunset on our boat, I think back to that day. Decades have passed since then, taking more of Annie’s health with each passing year.
She passed away this morning.
I decided it’s my time too. The medicine I’ve taken will stop my heart by the time we reach bottom; eternally resting in the ocean we got married at.
SINCE N.M. Brown made her first post to a popular Internet forum, she’s taken the horror community by storm. Her ability to create, terrify, and drive home her stories is insurmountable. N.M. Brown’s published works can be found in multiple anthologies for all to read, but be forewarned, if you do... you may want to call your therapist after, her stories are terrifying, disturbing and devilishly unsettling. She is not only a fright visually, but also has a creepy tentacle in horror podcasting as well. Sinister Sweetheart writes, voice acts and is the media director of the Scarecrow Tales podcast.