by D Kershaw
Website: www.zoeyxolton.com
I Know
by Gabriella Balcom
“I need to talk,” Walsh said. “Please come.”
Rod sighed. “Okay.”
Soon, Walsh sped across the Atlantic, not stopping his motorboat until they were hundreds of miles out at sea.
“Edie’s cheating,” he announced, watching the other man’s eyes widen. “Don’t play dumb. I know.”
Stiffening, Rod glanced away.
Walsh grabbed him, tossing him overboard.
Rod’s head went under. He surfaced, coughing up liquid. “Please! I can’t swim.”
“You shouldn’t’ve screwed Edie.”
“Help!” Rod flailed around wildly for a while, water flying everywhere, before he sank. Bubbles appeared in the water.
Starting his boat, Walsh raced away, not looking back.
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
Her Return
by Deanna Bollinger-Hill
From sunrise to sunset, the woman was found kneeling, facing the wide blue ocean.
The beachgoers noticed the pained expression on her face, the tears that stained her cheek. Children avoided her while they played. The adults looked on, not wanting to bother the strange woman.
After a few days, the beachgoers noticed that the woman never moved from her spot. She wore the same clothes, the same pained expression.
Concerned, a man approached her and asked if she was alright.
The woman turned to him, “My daughter, Abby, was swept away. I’m waiting for the ocean to return her.”
DEANNA BOLLINGER-HILL lives in Missouri with her husband and their adorable fur babies. She is a writer that loves to introduce readers to her dark side with her own brand of horror, mysteries and the paranormal. When she’s not writing, she loves to read, create roleplaying games and spend time with friends.
Unmoored, Evermore
by Catherine Kenwell
“What is that up ahead?” the captain asked.
The behemoth silently slipped through the dense fog.
“It’s gone, Captain. No sign of it now.”
An unearthly groan from behind; the crew turned in unison.
“It’s a ship, Captain. A massive vessel.”
“Ahoy, up ahead!” shouted the captain. “You there! Identify yourself!”
Again, the monster ship faded into the impenetrable mist.
“Captain, what is it? It seems to be everywhere, yet... nowhere!”
“Hogwash,” muttered the Captain. “It can’t be...”
Sky and sea turned dark. They drifted into the peculiarly stifled stillness.
A bloodcurdling snap. The ship shuddered.
“We’re inside something, Captain!”
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
Shipwrecked
by D.J. Elton
Floating through a pale green sea. My energy has finally left. For long hours trying to stay afloat, yet cold and fear are both biting. Such a burden, so I just let go completely.
Down, down...so graciously, sliding into this gentle fluid tomb.
Eventually, it seems I took my leave, and left. Silently giving up the pull of gravity. Just slipped out, and my body was free, light like a rubber ball. It bent and bounced through coral, rock, sea weeds.
They’ll say I drowned, but I know better—that it was just my body left to decompose.
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.
Killer Waves, Wretched Hearts
by Russell Hemmell
Sun-scorched, seasick, Alina stumbles towards her lover’s body, once riding the oceans and now lifeless on the shore.
“I’ll conquer that wave for you,” Kara had said.
But night had fallen, and shoals of intruders had come. The tapestry of Alina’s skin had turned into a constellation of pain when she had fought them off, back into the sea.
Marine creatures were famished, but not as much as Kara.
Hungry for life, chasing the waves.
Then she was gone, leaving nothing behind but salt-soaked memories, a surfboard of the colour of blood, the caress of Kona wind over empty seashells.
RUSSELL HEMMELL is a French-Italian transplant in Scotland, passionate about astrophysics, history, and speculative fiction. Winner of the Canopus Awards for Excellence in Interstellar Writing. Recent stories in Aurealis, Flame Tree Press, The Grievous Angel, and others. SFWA, HWA, and Codexian.
Twitter: @SPBianchini
The Return
by Chris Bannor
The fog rolled in from the ocean, and no one noticed the silence creeping in with it. The grey of isolation surrounded them and they stumbled, unaware of the dangers it contained.
Humans were on guard in their vulnerable places; the streets and alleyways, the closed offices and secluded corners. Here, in nature, they forgot that, though they might be top of the food chain, they were not the only predators.
Screams pierced the air, though the fog ate their source even as they left terrified mouths.
They said from the ocean, all life began. It was time to return.
CHRIS BANNOR is a science fiction and fantasy writer who lives in Southern California. Chris learned her love of genre stories from her mother at an early age and has never veered far from that path. She also enjoys musical theater and road trips with her family but is a general homebody otherwise.
Facebook: chrisbannorauthor
Website: ChrisBannor.com
Swallowed
by C.L. Williams
Steve takes his girlfriend Kasey to the beach for a day of fun. Steve finishes his bottle of water and throws the bottle into the ocean. A stunned Kasey looks at her boyfriend in disgust.
“Babe, you know the ocean doesn’t like when you throw pollution into it.”
“What’s the ocean going to do?” Steve laughs.
A wave comes to shore and grabs Steve. He can’t move, as the ocean has him by the foot.
“STEVE!” Kasey screams.
The ocean forms a mouth and swallows Steve before going back to gentle waves.
“I tried warning him,” Kasey says before leaving.
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
Behemoth
by Maxine
Churchman
I come, not with gaping maw and gnashing teeth, but with stealth and subversion; an indiscriminate killer; adept at generating great suffering and slow lingering deaths.
For eons you have known me; you created me, and didn’t fear me.
Ignored for so long, I drifted on tides and currents. From the deepest depths to the nearest shores, I spread. The world is mine and your puny efforts to contain me scare me not—I have no feelings, no chink in my armour, no weakness you can exploit.
See me and weep; for I am the thing of nightmares—your pollution.
MAXINE CHURCHMAN lives in Essex UK and has recently started writing poetry and short stories to share. Her interests include learning to improve her writing, reading, knitting, walking and teaching yoga. She is also planning a novel.
Dr. Ventham’s Log
by Sara L. Uckelman
Once, no one believed there was water on Mars. Then Phoenix came along and proved all of us wrong, and soon everyone believed there was water on Mars. Cold water. Ice water. Which is just ice, I guess.
I’m writing this for Gryphon to send back to Earth. Everyone believes that there’s ice on Mars, but even my team doesn’t believe there’s an ocean, hidden deep beneath the cryosphere, full of real, liquid, pure water.
But I’ve seen it. And I’ve seen the lizards that live in the depths, the Martians no one believes in. Check my logs. You’ll see.
SARA L. UCKELMAN is an assistant professor of logic and philosophy of language at Durham University by day and a writer of speculative fiction by night. Her short stories are published or forthcoming in Manawaker Studio Flash Fiction Podcast, Pilcrow & Dagger, Story Seed Vault, and The Martian Wave, and anthologies published by Exterus, Flame Tree Publishing, Hic Dragones, Jayhenge Publications, QueerSciFi, and WolfSinger Publications. She is also the co-founder of the reviews site SFFReviews.com.
Soldier of Fortune
by David A.F. Brown
A rainbow of corals and anemones illuminate the azure grotto. The raider swims to the wooden chest at the cave’s end, exactly where the villagers said it would be. Lifting the lid, he sees a small emerald engraved with a crying face—the Medusa’s Tear. He grabs the stone and dives back into the water.
In his haste, he fails to notice the swarm of pulsating, purple jellyfish propelling towards him. Their tentacles strike, barbs stinging and ripping his flesh, until his lifeless body sinks to the ocean floor. Trailing behind him, the Medusa’s Tear, its etched face now smiling.
DAVID A.F. BROWN is a Canadian author whose fiction has appeared in various anthologies, magazines and podcasts, including Tales to Terrify, Tell-Tale Press, Deep Fried Horror, Forgotten Ones, Forest of Fear – Volume 1 and Love: Dark Drabbles #7, and is forthcoming in Ancients: Dark Drabbles #10. He was a finalist in the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge 2019, an international competition of over 4,500 writers. He holds a BA (Hons) from Western University and resides in Caledon, Ontario, with his wife and son.
Facebook: browndavidaf
Monster from the Deep
by Cecelia Hopkins-Drewer
The leviathan scratched its scaly back with lazy claws as it watched the shadow cast by the hull. Should it attack?
The monster weighed the satisfaction of a full stomach against the annoyance of torpedoes; before concluding that this ship was not grey and might be a cruise liner.
Juicy passengers! Its salivary juices began to water.
The leviathan crawled up over the structure and crashed through the flimsy sundeck onto the open entertainment area. Bored vacationers eating ice-cream began to scream. The frenzied crew ran around looking for a harpoon launcher.
Meanwhile, the cold-blooded behemoth gulped down its fill.
CECELIA HOPKINS-DREWER lives in Adelaide, South Australia. She has written a Masters paper on H.P. Lovecraft, and her weird poetry has been published in THE MENTOR (edited by Ron Clarke), and SPECTRAL REALMS (edited by S.T. Joshi). Her novels include a teenage vampire series commencing with MYSTIC EVERMORE. Short stories have been published in WORLDS, ANGELS & MONSTERS, BEYOND, STORMING AREA 51, and UNRAVEL. (Dark Drabbles anthologies edited by Dean Kershaw).
Amazon: amazon.com/Cecelia-Hopkins-Drewer/e/B071G968NM
Website: chopkin39.wixsite.com/website
Awakened
by Gabriella Balcom
The hafgufa twitched in his sleep, sensing something wrong, then woke completely. Emerging from his deep ocean crevice, he narrowed his eyes and propelled himself upward, shooting through the strong undercurrents as if they didn’t exist.
Ripples soon spread on the water’s surface, but the men constructing the oil platform didn’t notice.
“Monster!” someone screamed when the huge creature exploded from the ocean.
Grabbing men in his tentacles, he ate one whole and bit a second in half. Another tried to escape by boat, but the hafgufa shattered it with one blow.
He killed everyone, then eyed the distant shoreline.
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
Someone’s Daughter
by Hari Navarro
Someone’s daughter loves to dance. The tips of her bare toes scrawl her name as their broken calligraphy pirouettes and carves across the sunken dunes and into the inky Indian pitch.
Tiny arms conduct the pull and push of the swell and waxy bloating flesh unfurls, shedding away from her bones.
Someone’s mother gazes through the tempest’s tears as they rake the cold cockpit glass beneath the splay of her fingers.
Her gaze hangs upon a vast plain of foam whipped peaks and the majestic closing yawn of innumerable troughs, and she knows.
She knows her little dancer is lost.
HARI NAVARRO has, for many years now, been locked in his neighbours cellar. He survives due to an intravenous feed of puréed extreme horror and Absinthe infused sticky-spiced unicorn wings. His anguished cries for help can be found via 365 Tomorrows, Breachzine, AntipodeanSF, Horror Without Borders, Black Hare Press and HellBound books. Hari was the Winner of the Australasian Horror Writers’ Association [AHWA] Flash Fiction Award 2018 and has, also, succeeded in being a New Zealander who now lives in Northern Italy with no cats.
Amazon: amazon.com/Hari-Navarro
Tumblr: harinavarro.tumblr.com/
Suicidal Sea
by Nerisha Kemraj
Raging waters, rapid swells,
the sea cries out in pain.
Stormy ocean—rising hell.
Unrelenting rain.
Remorseless wrath, undying anger.
A fierce rise in tide.
Heaving sighs, absent languor.
Watching waves collide.
The growing moon invites her fury
as worlds begin to fall.
And soon it starts to spell the end
for creatures great and small.
It’s far too late for mercy,
we abused her all the time,
and now she’s paying back slowly.
We were ignorant to the signs.
Destruction flows, pitiless.
She can’t control her anguish.
Body of blue—so perilous.
Wild, she’s left to languish.
NERISHA KEMRAJ resides in Durban, South Africa with her husband and two mischievous daughters. Writing since 2017, she has had over 100 short stories and poems published in various publications, both print and online. She has also received an Honourable Mention Awa
rd for her tanka in the Fujisan Taisho 2019 Tanka Contest. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Science, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from University of South Africa.
Amazon: amazon.com/author/nerisha_kemraj
Facebook: Nerishakemrajwriter
Blue Escape
by Carole de Monclin
The men are kept below deck in leg irons. At least I can see the sky, but the vast expanse of water terrifies as much as it fascinates. Some say it’s like a giant lake.
I’m scared of what awaits on the other side.
The rolling and cracking have become familiar, but I don’t recognise this world where pale-skinned intruders wave strange weapons, bellowing unintelligible orders. Where my people are beaten, imprisoned, and starved.
Patiently, I’ve frayed the ropes binding me.
I stand and lean over the rail. The water calls, promising an end to the nightmare.
I jump.
Free.
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.
