The Cave, by Audiowriter
Three hundred feet down inside this damp, dark abyss, I heard something breathing just up ahead. I shone my headlamp into the blackness, only to see a massive row of menacing razor sharp teeth. I backed away but it slowly advanced, creeping toward me. I tripped on a rock and fell flat on my back, and then it was upon me. Straddling me, its face only inches from mine, breath reeking of rotted meat with sinuous strings of dead flesh hanging from between those savage teeth. I struggled and fought valiantly until my skull finally cracked from deep canine punctures.
~~~
Audiowriter is an entrepreneur of many endeavors and a seasoned musician, located in southern Indiana.
He has an obsessive compulsion to spend every available moment creating written text and audio recordings of melodic musical notes. He currently has several completed novels on the shelf awaiting publication, varying from graphic horror to commercial fiction. Also in his literary arsenal is an abundance of short stories, drabbles and lyrics. Many of his original songs and music are directly inspired by the intriguing tales flowing from his wildly descriptive imagination.
Should you dare to enter the realm of Audiowriter, go to - www.customaudioproductions.com/Audiowriter
duel, by Reed Beebe
duel. The wizards Valerian and Agathias began their battle. Ancient Valerian, his long white beard blown wildly by the winds conjured by his young, beardless opponent, used a counter-spell to knock Agathias to the ground. Reciting spells, Valerian raised his arms, ready to deliver a death blow to his arrogant former apprentice, but the cunning Agathias hurled a lightning bolt through his old mentor’s heart. Agathias stood over the dying wizard, but could barely hear Valerian’s curse, binding him forever to this moment. Leaving Valerian, as he always did and would, Agathias forgot his curse as he prepared for the
~~~
Reed Beebe writes fiction and poetry in Kansas City, Missouri. His stories have been published by The Were-Traveler, Flashes in the Dark, and Fever Dreams.
Small Things, by E.A. Fow
Small things made her feel desperate. Strapped to her chair, fully encased in her flight suit and helmet, the countdown clock speeding towards lift off didn’t bother her. She never thought about the impending g-forces which would crush her forwards to back, upwards to down then painfully release her. Instantaneous immolation if the engines exploded didn’t worry her, nor the myriad and worse possibilities of lingering death caused by any of the vast array of complications that could result from rocketing into space. However, the itch on the side of her helmeted nose tormented her. She could not bear it.
~~~
E.A. Fow is originally from New Zealand but lives and writes in Brooklyn, NY. Her stories have appeared in various print and online publications including Imagination & Press’s Cartography, Penduline, Luna Station Quarterly, and Fiction365. Links to these and other stories be found on her website, EAFow.com.
Cornered, by Laura Matheson
He had her cornered, unless she was willing to risk the trees.
“Just a little piece of tail, honey?” He leered at her, rank, sweaty.
Shuddering, she backed up.
“You don’t wanna do that, doll.”
She crouched, on the cusp between.
He moved, faster than she’d thought possible, grabbing her arm.
She wrenched away, falling backward into a tree.
He paused, stepped into the trees. He loomed over her, then grabbed at her again. “Just a taste, love?”
The tree behind her moved. She whimpered.
“Run,” it whispered.
“Just a taste, love?” it asked her attacker, branches sweeping toward him.
~~~
Laura Matheson is just another mom, two little ones in tow, pencil at the ready, and camera in hand. Originally from the Canadian west coast, she now lives in rural Saskatchewan with her boys, husband, and their two crazy English Springer Spaniels, where she teaches Communications and Technical Writing at SIAST. Visit her website: www.plainstext.com .
A Pint of Blood, by Michael A. Kechula
Frank answered a newspaper ad: “Beautiful Vampire Seeks Male Donors.”
They met in a restaurant.
“You’re cute,” she said. “What’s your blood type?”
“A-Positive.”
“My favorite! Mind losing a pint tonight? Sipping blood gets me incredibly aroused.”
Frank couldn’t wait.
“Dessert?” asked the waiter.
“No.” Squeezing Frank’s thigh, she whispered, “You’re my dessert.”
And he was. But he was also appetizer and main course.
Her ad lied. She was a man-eating zombie, not a vampire.
Newspapers accept ads from vampires, werewolves, ghouls, but not zombies. This despicable discrimination forces honest female zombies to lie when placing WOMEN SEEKING MEN ads.
~~~
Michael A. Kechula’s flash and micro-fiction tales have been published by 150 magazines and 50 anthologies in 8 countries. He’s won 1st prize in 12 writing contests and 2nd prize in 8 others. He’s authored 5 books of flash and micro-fiction tales, including a book that teaches how to write flash fiction. See his publisher’s site at:http://www.booksforabuck.com/ to read a free story or chapter in all of his books.
The Award, by Tim Tobin
When I tapped for the one thousandth time the voice inside my tablet told me I’d won.
Won what, I wondered? A new computer? An eGizmo?
But when I touched the spokesman on my screen, he reached through and grabbed me. And pulled. Hard.
My hand and my arms and shoulders slid into the screen. With my last ounce of strength I held my head out. But my computer was too strong.
The monster of chips, wires and heat awarded me the prize of electronic life.
I hope my wife logs on soon. The monster tells me she’ll win too.
~~~
Mr. Tobin holds a degree in mathematics from LaSalle University. He retired from L-3 Communications after a career in software engineering. Fifty of his short stories and poems are published. He is a member of the South Jersey Writer’s Group and of the Dead Poets Society of Camden County College. And he is on Twitter @TimTobin43.
The Crystal Chamber, by Maria Kelly
The second survey crew landed near an object embedded in the southern hemisphere of a dead world. They’d lost contact with the first team months ago.
The artifact resembled an enormous crystalline worm buried in the earth. A nearby cave led them down into a chamber filled with alien devices. Numerous bones lay scattered all around.
What they thought was the artifact blocked the passageway on the opposite side.
A portal was set into the construct, lined with spikes that sparkled like icicles.
They understood too late as the chamber began broadcasting black noise.
The worm was ready to feed.
~~~
The Crystal Chamber was previously published by Luna Station Quarterly in December, 2010.
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Maria Kelly lives in Florida where she writes weird shit and publishes The Were-Traveler. Her works have been published in Luna Station Quarterly, Aoife’s Kiss, and with eMergent Publishing. She is currently working on her first short story collection called Kill the Crow, which will be coming out soon. Her website is http://mariakellyauthor.com. Her Twitter profile is @mkelly317. She is on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MariaKellyAuthor.
Buried, by Audiowriter
Wait, please stop! You don’t have to do this! I won’t tell a soul! Then, gritty dirt sticks to the moisture of my open eyes. Oh God, I need to wipe it away, but I can’t, I can’t move! My mouth and nostrils are filling with raw, damp earth. Why must I be buried without a casket? The dirt is getting heavy, there must be several hundred pounds of it on top of me. I have to get out of here! But I can’t move, because I’m dead, but why can I still feel my body? This must be hell.
~~~
Audiowriter is an entrepreneur of many endeavors and a seasoned musician, located in southern Indiana.
He has an obsessive compulsion to spend every available moment creating written text and audio recordings of melodic musical notes. He currently has several completed novels on the shelf awaiting publication, varying from graphic horror to commercial fiction. Also in his literary arsenal is an abundance of short stories, drabbles and lyrics. Many of his original songs and music are directly inspired by the intriguing tales flowing from his wildly descriptive imagination.
Should you dare to enter the realm of Audiowriter, go to - www.customaudioproductions.com/Audiowriter
Broken, by Tobi Summers
He’d been a werewolf for less than sixteen hours, and he already had a broken arm. Wyatt shuddered to think about what damage he could do to himself in six months.
“Are you done fighting yet?”
The boy’s voice was cold and business-like from outside the cage, and it made Wyatt’s cheek twitch. “Go to hell.”
A shrug. The boy didn’t look like he felt threatened.
“I’ll kill you,” Wyatt growled.
The boy’s eyes flicked to the padlock and he raised an eyebrow. “Probably not. But I’ll bet you can break the other arm trying.”
And sure enough, Wyatt did.
~~~
Tobi is a writer who daylights at a legal publishing company. She loves long walks on the beach, the beautiful music a well-crafted sentence makes, and grammatical constants. She has been seriously writing since she was 12, and she is currently putting the finishing touches on her first novel. You can visit her blog at www.tobisummers.com.
Determined, by Stephanie Wright
Glynis pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. “Freak,” she muttered, but the pain didn’t stop. It rarely did when the visions came.
With the pain came the searing light and, this time, the sight of the curve hugging Bellow’s Bluff lit with headlights, the twin flashes of pain and high beams blinding her retinas from behind. A glimpse of after their deaths, the rain and her children’s tears. A friend of her son’s and love for her desperate daughter at last.
She lifted her wrap from the bed and nodded to James. “It’s time to go, love.”
