by D Kershaw
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
Silence
by James Lipson
“Did you have a chance to read my story?”
Crickets.
“Hey there, sorry to bother you again. But have you had any time to read my short story?”
Nothing.
“Don’t forget, I sent you a story to read!”
Silence.
It’s not the criticisms that never come, nor the cadence of your uninterested wandering eyes. It’s not the mention of the new book you started reading, or the ease in which you forget week after painful week, regardless of the self-demoralising reminders I force myself to send.
No, none of these hold a candle to the echoing stillness of your response.
JAMES LIPSON’s debut book, Fallen and Other Stories, was published in 2019. His short stories have appeared in Black Hare Press Anthologies, Teleport Magazine, Inner Circle’s Writers Group Anthologies, and others. With a background in art, James has naturally turned to illustrating as he writes, bringing many of his short stories to life not only with descriptive detail, but also detailed visual imagery.
Website: www.jameslipson.com
Instagram: jameslipsonart
The Fool
by Jennifer Hatfield
The first time John unzipped his jeans, Victoria fell in love. She hated him because she loved him. When she got pregnant, he demanded that she abort.
She stopped at his work site on her way home one day. The way his hands caressed her body was like a pianist playing Beethoven. She had an orgasm, from fantasizing about what was next.
John, pursuing his own orgasm, was pummelled in the head. Victoria dragged his body to the chipper, and flipped him in.
Horrendous sounds and blood curdling screams echoed through the woods.
A life was exchanged for a life.
JENNIFER HATFIELD spent a large portion of her life being a dedicated mother and wife. She managed her epilepsy diagnosis, and handled the loss of her husband. Grateful to find comfort in the ability to write in an effort to express her feelings, thoughts, and struggles. She’s published 5 poems.
Road Rage
by Shawn M. Klimek
Facing bumper to bumper traffic at the freeway onramp, Murial signalled in vain for several minutes. When a boob in a Buick glanced down at his cellphone just as a gap opened, she surged forward to interpose her bumper. Oblivious, the boob rolled forward until he heard a scrape. His face turned white and he cursed, then stepped out of the car so hastily that he forgot to engage the brakes. Seeing a gun in his hand as he rounded his hood, Muriel instinctively backed up. Released, the Buick lurched forward, running him down. Muriel pulled in behind it, laughing.
SHAWN M. KLIMEK is the middle child of seven creative siblings, a globetrotting, U.S. military spouse, an internationally best-selling short-story writer, award-winning poet, and butler to a Maltese. More than one hundred and fifty of his stories and poems have been published in digital magazines or anthologies, including BHP’s Deep Space, Eerie Christmas and every book so far in the Dark Drabbles series.
Website: jotinthedark.blogspot.com
Facebook: shawnmklimekauthor
A New Horror Story
by Cindar Harrell
It’s strange how easily love can turn to hate. I didn’t believe it until I met her. She was the love of my life, and yet she will be the end of me, but I am determined to take her with me.
She moved on easily after leaving me to rot on the side of the road. I found her in the library and knew she would go to the back where the lights were dim.
I was there, waiting in the stacks of the horror section, knife at the ready.
It’s time I gave her a new horror story.
CINDAR HARRELL loves fairy tales, especially ones with a dark twist. Her writing is often fairy tale inspired, but she also loves mystery and horror. Her stories can be found in various anthologies from publishers such as Black Hare Press, Iron Faerie Publishing, Dragon Soul Press, Blood Song Books, Soteira Press, Fantasia Divinity and more. Traveling is a passion for her as it inspires her imagination to run wild, especially in places that have a mystic presence in the air. She regularly moonlights as another human, but no matter who she is, she is always writing. Her novella inspired by The Snow Queen is set to release in 2020 as well as her debut novel, Lithium, and short story collection, Perchance to Dream.
Facebook: CindarHarrell
Out of Time
by Dannielle Viera
It hadn’t always been blue; in fact, until quite recently, his face had been crimson with rage. Reaching down, she tried to use her cuff to wipe away a trickle of dried blood from his temple. But the sanguine stain remained.
She had clocked him hard with his precious antique hourglass to stop his vicious attack, and now his time was up. Hers was just beginning. A fitting end, she thought. She stood and stretched, a feeling of freedom washing over her body. Stepping outside into the crisp winter air, she turned her pale face to the sun and smiled.
DANNIELLE VIERA has been involved in the Australian publishing industry for over 20 years – first as a copywriter and then as an editor, project manager, proofreader and author. She has worked on over 100 non-fiction books, writing about subjects as varied as the history of Christianity, Native American mythology, vampires, knights and the death of Hollywood film stars. Some of the books for which she is credited as a contributor include Outside In Gains a Soul (ATB Publishing, 2019), A Christmas Cornucopia (Christmas Press, 2019), and Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble: Magical Poems Chosen by Paul Cookson (Bloomsbury UK, 2020).
Facebook: DannielleVieraAuthor
Stupid People
by Stephen Herczeg
Everyday it’s the same thing.
Those stupid people over the divider, talking their stupid talk about stupid subjects. Constant uninformed drivel of things they have no idea about.
I could have a better conversation with my shoe.
They make coffee with that stupidly loud machine of theirs, then stand around it for the next hour and talk absolute crap.
What’s it today? Bad drivers? The Government? School kids? Who cares? Just shut up.
Hang on, it’s working.
I put a little something extra in their machine this morning. They’ve all gone quiet, except for the dull thuds.
Peace at last.
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
A Little Bit of Torture
by Jodi Jensen
She could kill him.
He deserved it.
But there were other ways, better ways to make him pay.
Rowan hummed softly as she gathered her carefully acquired corn husks, twine, sticks, and moss, then assembled the doll.
Finally, she turned to where he sat, gagged and bound to a chair, and snipped a large swath from his shirt.
After she’d dressed and baptised the doll, she turned to her ex-lover once again. His wide eyes, muffled pleas, and ineffectual struggles fuelled the d
arkness inside of her.
She picked up a pin and grinned. “Shall we begin today’s lesson on cheating?”
JODI JENSEN, author of time travel romances and speculative fiction short stories, grew up moving from California, to Massachusetts, and a few other places in between, before finally settling in Utah at the ripe old age of nine. The nomadic life fed her sense of adventure as a child and the wanderlust continues to this day. With a passion for old cemeteries, historical buildings and sweeping sagas of days gone by, it was only natural she’d dream of time traveling to all the places that sparked her imagination.
Twitter: @WritesJodi
Facebook: jodijensenwrites
A Dance with Suspicion
by Carole de Monclin
I don’t blame the siren. I blame the man.
Sirens tempt, but a good man should resist the call.
Mine didn’t.
Again, he pretends to work late.
I wait in the dark ruminating. Time swallowed my curves and lined my face. It gave him rugged charm.
The gravel crunches under his tyres and my grip tightens on the gun. He bought it for protection. My dignity and pride need protecting.
My finger doesn’t hesitate. In the bitter silence that follows, I pry a card from his hand,
“Surprise. Three months of clandestine lessons, and I can tango now. Let’s dance.”
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
Jennifer’s Lament
by Stuart Conover
Jennifer and Jonah were cursed to be.
From a deal he struck, they’d be married eternally.
A young man she’d once been nice to in passing
Had turned to stalking her and harassing.
Jennifer thought she’d gotten rid of him.
But now her future appeared to be grim.
Jonah made a pact with a demon in disguise.
Now she would be forced to look into his eyes.
And at the alter say “I Do”
Though Jennifer had planned a coup.
The last of the vows were “Till death do you part.”
Immediately after, she’d plunge a dagger into his heart.
STUART CONOVER is a father, husband, rescue dog owner, published author, blogger, journalist, horror enthusiast, comic book geek, science fiction junkie, and IT professional. With all of that to cram in daily, we have no idea if or when he sleeps or how he gets writing done! (We suspect it has to do with having evil clones.) Stuart is a Chicago native and runs the author resource Horror Tree.
The Guardian
by James Lipson
If he ever gets close enough, I swear I will bite him, you’ll see! How many times must he fail before realising he’ll never win? I am the guardian of my domain, an ever-vigilant hero standing patrol while those I have sworn to protect rest comfortably inside.
At noon today, like every day, I will meet my adversary at the border, I will look into his dead grey eyes and tell him, “Not Today!”
“MARCUS, AS SOON AS the mail gets here, please go get it. Oh, and don’t let Haley out, you know how much she hates the mailman.”
JAMES LIPSON’s debut book, Fallen and Other Stories, was published in 2019. His short stories have appeared in Black Hare Press Anthologies, Teleport Magazine, Inner Circle’s Writers Group Anthologies, and others. With a background in art, James has naturally turned to illustrating as he writes, bringing many of his short stories to life not only with descriptive detail, but also detailed visual imagery.
Website: www.jameslipson.com
Instagram: jameslipsonart
Cancer
by Ximena Escobar
Alice didn’t recognise the healer. Dressed in rags, she looked too much like the awful woman in her mirror, so she turned her and her drops of ‘Forgiveness’ away. Instead, she fantasised about disfiguring Susan’s face with acid.
But bitterness had already taken its toll and that same untameable hatred that would hurt Susan—stronger than her curses, louder than glass breaking—materialised into a murderous mass.
Like white flags rising, Alice finally let go.
Now she feels happy when birds perch by her window; smiles at the flowers by her deathbed...
Forgiveness heals... Don’t let it in too late.
XIMENA ESCOBAR is writing stories and poetry. Originally from Chile, she is the author of a translation into Spanish of the Broadway Musical “The Wizard of Oz”, and of an original adaptation of the same, “Navidad en Oz”, both produced in her home country. Since 2018 she has published several short stories in various anthologies and online platforms, and is now slowly working on her own collection. Ximena has a degree in Arts & Communication Science and lives in Nottingham with her family.
Facebook: Ximenautora
Twitter: @laximenin
Al Moto’s Revenge
by J.B. Wocoski
Tired of Souto, my most arrogant friend, betraying me again by stealing my latest girlfriend, I plotted my revenge.
On New Year’s Eve, my plan came to fruition as I purposefully ran into him in a saki bar. I found him inebriated from already drinking heavily. Everyone egged me on as I toasted him, again and again, with impunity.
Later, as I led him away, they had no idea of what I was going to do beneath the docks of Tokyo. I chained and gagged this drunken sot and left him to drown in the high tide and to rot.
J.B. WOCOSKI is the author and narrator of the shortstorypodcast.com with three flash fiction short story books published in the last three years. He is currently working on book 4 “Short Story Podcast 2019.” He writes mostly science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories. He won the 2016 Little Tokyo Short Story Writing Contest with his short story “The Last Master of Go”
Website: shortstorypodcast.com
Loathing
by C.L. Williams
“I hate you!” he said while staring down his nemesis.
“This will be the FINAL TIME you do something to ruin me!” he added.
He was angry at someone for being done wrong, his heart now filled with hate.
“I am going to get my revenge on you for everything you have EVER done to me. I’ll see to it you never ruin anyone the way you ruined me!” He finished his rant and grabbed a knife.
It was at that moment when the revelation happened; he was yelling at the mirror. He walked away, and he slit his wrists.
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
Going Down, Sir?
by Andrew Anderson
Naomi burned with fury when she saw The Man spit upon Jake.
Jake was a friendly homeless man who occupied the top step of the longest vertical staircase in the city—281 steps. It was a prime spot, milling with wealthy tourists here for the world-famous arts festival.
Jake only begged until he had enough money for a bed for the night; Naomi empathised, having been homeless herself once.
Naomi lost count of how many stairs The Man hit on the way down when she pushed him. The applauding tourists thought it was a performance...until they saw the blood.
ANDREW ANDERSON is a spare-time writer of microfiction, flash fiction and short stories, from Bathgate, Scotland. His work has been published on FlashFloo
d and Re:Written, and published in Black Hare Press anthologies.
Twitter: soorploom
The Last Dance
by Kimberly Rei
The fox glared through the hazy window. The witch inside took no notice, and that was fine. It was going to take the fox some time to gather his resources.
Never again would he walk on two legs. Never again would he dance with a girl or enjoy sweet wine. The witch had seen to that.
His yipping howls drew others of his kind. Those who remembered but could not revisit. Those she had doomed to a short burst of life.