by D Kershaw
Website: Sinistersweetheart.wixsite.com/sinistersweetheart
Facebook: NMBrownStories
Never Fall in Love with a Mermaid
by Wondra Vanian
Cartoons make mermaids look all cute and adorable but, truth is, they’re just jerks. Which was why Dave hunted them.
One of the reasons, anyway.
There was also the fact that Margaux broke his heart and dove back into the sea without a backward glance. Dave had taken his revenge on many merfolk since then, but never Margaux.
Until now.
She was surprisingly calm with a harpoon pointed at her heart.
“What do you have to say for yourself?” Dave demanded.
“You humans,” she sneered, haughty as ever. “Stories make you sound all fun and exotic, but you’re just jerks...”
WONDRA VANIAN is an American living in the United Kingdom with her Welsh husband and their army of fur babies. A writer first, Wondra is also an avid gamer, photographer, cinephile, and blogger. She has music in her blood, sleeps with the lights on, and has been known to dance naked in the moonlight. Wondra was a multiple Top-Ten finisher in the 2017 and 2018 Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll, including the Best Author category. Her story, “Halloween Night,” was named a Notable Contender for the Bristol Short Story Prize in 2015.
Website: www.wondravanian.com
The Sea Maiden
by McKenzie Richardson
Her underwater home was decorated with the skulls of drowned sailors, phosphorescent algae adorning their empty spaces so they glowed like ghastly jack-o’-lanterns. She fingered a jewelled ring from her collected treasures on the table, rubbing at the dried blood that marred its surface.
Through the porthole of the shipwreck, the waters darkened momentarily before resuming their usual luminance. She peered out to see the receding shadow of a boat overhead. Glancing in the mirror, she picked a bit of meat from between her knife-edged teeth and smiled.
Then silently, she swam up to the unsuspecting boat, prepared to feast.
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
Call of the Siren
by Emma K. Leadley
“I ain’t no witch!”
“Throw her overboard!”
The sailors grabbed the screaming cabin girl, binding her arms and legs. They threw her over the side and jeered as she disappeared downwards until just a few bubbles remained. Beneath the waves, Lizzie’s lungs weighed like iron, and her vision faded. She was near dead when the mermaids approached. They kissed her on the mouth, breathing life back into her body.
“One of us,” they chanted, untying her limbs.
Lizzie swam back to the ship and sang the most beautiful song, watching the sailors fling themselves to their deaths at her call.
EMMA K. LEADLEY is a UK-based writer, creative geek, and devourer of words, images and ideas. She began writing both fiction and creative non-fiction as an outlet for her busy brain, and quickly realised scrawling words on a page is wired into her DNA.
Website: emmaleadley.co.uk
Twitter: @autoerraticism
His Very own Mermaid
by Carole de Monclin
He visited the sheltered cove almost every day, plunging below the surface with anticipation.
When the tide was just right, light streamed through and illuminated his love.
She looked even more beautiful than she had on land. The ocean had made her its own, transforming her delicate body.
And she belonged only to him.
Thinner chain bracelets should be gracing her ankles, but they were necessary to anchor her among the jagged rocks. Her hollow ribcage sheltered fish and octopuses. Sadly, some of her smaller bones had drifted away.
Even when she didn’t, he’d known she belonged amid the waves.
CAROLE DE MONCLIN travels both the real world and imaginary ones. She’s lived in France, Australia, and the USA; visited 25+ countries; and explored Mars, Ceres, and many distant planets. She writes to invite people on a journey. Her stories can be found in The Arcanist, The Deep Space Anthology, and every volume of the Dark Drabbles series.
Website: CaroledeMonclin.com
Twitter: @CaroledeMonclin
Webbed
by Cassandra Angler
The sound of scraping against the side of the boat woke us, concerns of icebergs raced through our minds. We rushed to the bow and froze in awe. She stood over six feet, pointed fins at her side. The face was sunken and skeletal. We backed away, unsure. She hissed and spat green goo at our feet. It ate away the wood of the ship to its core; the wood dropping away like liquid fire. We scattered, and it chased, webbed feet shaking the ship with every step. Water filled the boat, most jumped overboard. I was the only survivor.
CASSANDRA ANGLER is a married mother of four who lives in the State of Ohio in the USA. When she isn’t busy caring for her family, Cassandra works on her upcoming novel due out in November of 2020 titled Contaminated. Cassandra has three short story publications as well as several flash fiction and drabble publications.
The Cecaelias of Kepler 62f
by Vonnie Winslow Crist
Archie navigated the mini-sub through Kepler 62f’s ocean. Usually, the exoplanetary research vessel was packed with team members arguing about evolution. But today, he was speeding to Outpost Two alone.
Without warning, a translucent alien flung herself onto the sub’s windshield. Archie saw her lower half was tentacled, while her upper portion appeared humanoid.
The word Cecaelia came to mind, but before he could whisper the name of the mythological siren, others of her kind latched onto the windshield. They were all singing.
Enraptured by their voices, Archie closed his eyes and let his vessel drift to the ocean’s floor.
VONNIE WINSLOW CRIST is author of The Enchanted Dagger, Owl Light, The Greener Forest, Murder on Marawa Prime, and other award-winning books. Her fiction is included in “Amazing Stories,” “Cast of Wonders,” “Outposts of Beyond,” Killing It Softly 2, Defending the Future - Dogs of War, Midnight Masquerade, Chaos of Hard Clay, and elsewhere. A cloverhand who has found so many four-leafed clovers she keeps them in jars, Vonnie strives to celebrate the power of myth in her writing.
Website: www.vonniewinslowcrist.com
The Call
by Eddie D. Moore
Brandon walked on a sandy beach under a majestic night sky. It was the perfect night for a romantic stroll. Unfortunately, his fiancé hadn’t shown up yet. His phone chimed, and after checking the message, he sighed and shook his head.
A feminine voice gently called Brandon’s name from the water, and when he searched the waves, he caught a glimpse of a naked woman between the swells.
“Who’s there?”
“Come to me, my love. A night like this shouldn’t be spent alone.”
Brandon’s eyes lost focus, and he followed the seductive call until a dozen hands pulled him under.
EDDIE D. MOORE travels hundreds of hours a year, and he fills that time by listening to audiobooks. When he isn’t playing with his grandchildren, he writes his own stories. You can find a list of his publications on his blog or by visiting his Amazon Author Page. While you’re there, be sure to pick up a copy of his mini-anthology Misfits & Oddities.
Website: eddiedmoore.wordpress.com
Amazon: amazon.com/author/eddiedmoore
Deep Blue Fear
by Thomas Sturgeon Jr.
I’ve always had a fear of being in this ocean; so full of deep water; creatures along with sharks and squid. My friends had wanted me to come along with them out on a cruise ship. I told them that I didn’t want to go out into the ocean. I became angered with them when they jumped into the shark infested w
aters while I stayed onboard.
I had to face my fears. I saw my friends were in danger after I noticed a huge fin come out of the water.
Without warning, a huge snake had swallowed my friends whole.
THOMAS STURGEON JR. began writing at 13 years old. He loves to read and spend time with his family and friends. He loves horror movies and fiction. He currently lives in Chatsworth, Georgia and wants more out of life. He’s been published before in Weird Mask magazine and by Deadman’s Tome. His short stories that were published were “The Dead City” and “Disturbed Valentine”. He currently is at work on a Horror short story collection and he is loved by his family and friends. Despite being told by his teachers that he would never be published, he has proved them wrong.
Deep Dive
by Shelly Jarvis
I am an explorer. I’m seeing something no one else has.
Sometimes it helps when I think this; makes me braver. Today it does not.
It was easier when I was watching through the HOV’s cameras. I could pretend I was somewhere else, safe. But staring out this porthole, seeing these things with my own eyes...
I shudder, unable to suppress the fear coursing through me. I pick up the radio again, but there’s still no response. I need someone to hear me, a person.
The things gnashing against my ship—they hear me. But they are far from human.
SHELLY JARVIS is a speculative fiction author from West Virginia, US. She found a life-long love of sci-fi and fantasy in the 3rd grade when she found Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” Shelly is an avid reader, a Whovian, the ideal viewer of dog rescue videos, and undoubtedly Ravenclaw. She currently has three YA sci-fi books available for purchase on Amazon.
Website: www.ShellyJarvis.com
A Quizzers’ Guide to Geography
by Hannah Retallick
Arctic: Smallest–The one that’s also the coldest. Pretty pathetic, I know.
Southern: Small–The one that’s sometimes known as the Antarctic Ocean. Also cold.
Indian: Medium–The one that’s the warmest. Cocooned by Africa, Asia, and sunny Australia.
Atlantic: Big–The one that’s sometimes called The Pond. Home of the mystic Bermuda Triangle.
Pacific: Bigger–The one that’s known as the biggest. You might have to take another look.
World: Biggest–The one that’s growing yearly, growing uncontrollably, while humans sleep. The one that ends us.
*Please refer to Note 13 at the back for further Oceans quiz trivia.
HANNAH RETALLICK is a twenty-six-year-old from Anglesey, North Wales. She was home educated and then studied with the Open University, graduating with a First-class honours degree, BA in Humanities with Creative Writing and Music, and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing. She was shortlisted in the Writing Awards at the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2019, the Cambridge Short Story Prize, the Henshaw Short Story Competition June 2019, and the Bedford International Writing Competition 2019
Website: ihaveanideablog.wordpress.com
The Prize
by Lynne Phillips
Julian donned his snorkel and mask, grabbed the net bag and dived.
Deeper and deeper he went, his eyes darting everywhere, seeking the prize that would make him rich.
The abalone clung tightly to the rock. Julian worked quickly to lever them off and fill his net. He smiled and kicked off, but something had hold of his ankle.
The giant squid held fast. Julian frantically tried to pull the suckers off, but the squid held firmer. It pulled him towards its cave. Out of breath, Julian let go of the net. His precious prize scattered on the ocean floor.
LYNNE PHILLIPS, a retired teacher, lives in the beautiful Northern Rivers Region of New South Wales Australia. Her stories, across all genres, have been published in anthologies and various online magazines. Her priority is spending time with her family. Her passions are reading, writing and keeping fit.
Way Downtown, NY
by Shawn M. Klimek
Captain Omar withdrew a bouquet of flowers from the ice cooler and began wiring them to a lead weight. Sweat dripped from his brow. “This heat,” he complained.
“It’s the humidity,” Felix countered sagely.
“December wasn’t always like this.”
Ahead, waves broke against a rusting, ruined radio tower, jutting like a periscope leaning into a headwind.
“Shut engines, and moor us to that,” Omar commanded. “Time to pay our respects.”
“Here, sir? But we can still make New York by nightfall. I can already see the skyline.”
“That’s New New York ashore,” Omar corrected. “New York is thirty fathoms down.”
SHAWN M. KLIMEK is an internationally best-selling short-story writer and poet, and author of Hungry Thing. More than 150 of his works have been published online or in such anthologies as BHP’s Deep Space, Eerie Christmas, Bad Romance, Jibbernocky, and every book in the Dark Drabbles series.
Website: jotinthedark.blogspot.com
Facebook: shawnmklimekauthor
The living island
by Stephen Herczeg
I slept. My boat drifted peacefully, on a calm and still ocean, beneath a dark and moonless night. Safe I had assumed.
I was wrong.
Crunch. We struck solid ground. Staggering to the deck, I was thrown overboard, the boat lurching suddenly.
My breath burst out as I landed on solid ground.
Through blurry eyes, my boat was crushed and disappeared without trace.
I stood on a small barren island of some strange spongy rock.
As the morning sun beat down, a long, low moan erupted all around. The ground shifted beneath my feet.
The island moved.
It was alive.
STEPHEN HERCZEG is an IT Geek based in Canberra Australia. He has been writing for over twenty years and has completed a couple of dodgy novels, sixteen feature length screenplays and numerous short stories and scripts. His horror work has featured in Sproutlings, Hells Bells, Below the Stairs, Trickster’s Treats #1 and #2, Shades of Santa, Behind the Mask, Beyond the Infinite; The Body Horror Book, Anemone Enemy, Petrified Punks and Beginnings. He has also had numerous Sherlock Holmes stories published through the Belanger Books - Sherlock Holmes anthologies.
Amazon: amazon.com/-/e/B07916SQQS
Facebook: stephenherczegauthor
Fishing
by Gabriella Balcom
Aaron cast his line, watching it soar through the air, landing in the ocean with a plop.
Time passed and he got no bites, eventually giving up on fishing. Shucking his clothing down to his boxers, he dived off the boat, his body slicing through the water.
An enormous shark suddenly launched itself at Aaron, mouth gaping wide, revealing dozens of wicked teeth, and he shrieked.
It yanked him under, biting his leg. Searing agony shot through him, and he surfaced screaming.
The nightmare creature ripped away part of his chest. Blood bubbled from his lips, and everything went black.
GABRIELLA BALCOM lives in Texas with her family, loves reading and writing, and thinks she was born with a book in her hands. She works in a mental health field, and writes fantasy, horror/thriller, romance, children’s stories, and sci-fi. She likes travelling, music, good shows, photography, history, interesting tales, and animals. Gabriella says she’s a sucker for a great story and loves forests, mountains, and back roads which might lead who knows where. She has a weakness for lasagne, garlic bread, tacos, cheese, and chocolate, but not necessarily in that order.
Facebook: GabriellaBalcom.lonestarauthor
New Treasures
by Liam Hogan
The beach had been closed since the storm.
Grim-faced police in protective clothing traipsed up the slipway, carrying tarpaulin-covered stretchers. Bodies of migrants, so went the rumour. A dilapidated fishing boat overloaded with those seeking a better life.
Emil
y snuck down anyway, in the dying light of the fifth day. Storms always brought new treasures, and she could no longer resist.
There wasn’t much to see. She walked the waterline, picked up a shell. She recalled her grandfather, a beachcomber before her, telling her if you held it to your ear, you’d hear the ocean.
All Emily heard were screams.
LIAM HOGAN is a London based short story writer, the host of Liars’ League, and a Ministry of Stories mentor. His story “Ana”, appears in Best of British Science Fiction 2016 (NewCon Press) and his twisted fantasy collection, “Happy Ending Not Guaranteed”, is published by Arachne Press.
The Show Must Go On
by Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway
Waves crashed against the shore, in time to the music inside her head, her movement as fluid and graceful as the tide itself.