The Half That You See

by Rebecca Rowland

  The portrait is beautiful—really it is— and that adds to the mystery of your madness. I will say you captured my face perfectly well, though I can’t be sure if you knew that. I couldn’t help but admire your best work and wished I could have taken a closer look. I imagined myself stepping over your corpse and taking the painting, giving it to an art gallery, and walking away. Hands clean from your obsession and free to finally move on. But for the next few days, long and slow moving as they were, I sat there watching your corpse wither away.

  Outside I can hear the sirens and the sounds of someone pounding on the door. I find myself a little surprised it took so long for someone to get here.

  The police knock down the door and gaze at the mess you left behind. Some investigate and examine, while others cover your body. One officer looks at me and audibly gags. He requests that I be covered up and I am cast in shadows. Amongst the voices I hear someone compliment us, how strangely beautiful “the blood painting” is and musing about who “the girl” might be. Others voice their disgust, chastising people for staring like they’re in a museum. To clean up the mess you made.

  They are moving us now. Your body will go to the morgue, where they will search for an explanation of your death. A funeral will probably happen months later, where your family will cry and your father will regret letting you go. Your friends, who you isolated, won’t go and probably will say good riddance! But maybe they will go. I can’t say for certain. All I can do is speculate.

  But what of your labor of love? Will they store it away or sell it off in an auction? Maybe they will be smart and bury it in the trash. If I had a choice, I would burn it and pour the ashes down the drain.

  And as I am placed in a cold storage unit labeled Evidence, I will wish that they had burned me and let me fade into your mysterious death, a death that will be speculated on and questioned for centuries to come with no viable answers, at least none that make sense. I will remain in this imprisoned state, wishing for the chance to move on. All I have now is the hope that the next time, someone will be wise enough to free me from this wretched frame.

  About the Authors

  Michael W. Clark Ph.D. is a former research biologist, a college professor-turned-writer. Most recently, his stories have appeared in Lost Souls, Surprising Stories, Morpheus Tales Magazine, UC Berkeley’s Imaginarium, Black Heart Magazine, Tracers, Infernal Ink and 365 Tomorrows. He also has stories in the anthologies Fat Zombies, Creature Stew, Gumshoe Mysteries, Future Visions (vol 3), and Devils We Know. In January through March 2019, his sci-fi adventure novella The Last Dung Beetle appeared on SerialPulp.com. He is the editor and content provider for the website ahickshope.com. He lives in Southern California.

  Holley Cornetto was born and raised in Alabama but now lives in New Jersey. To indulge her love of books and stories, she became a librarian. She is also a writer, because the only thing better than being surrounded by stories is to create them herself. Her work has been published in several magazines and anthologies including It Calls From the Forest (Eerie River Publishing), Banned (Black Hare Press), and the fantasy library at Tell-Tale Press. She can be found lurking on Twitter @HLCornetto.

  Victoria Dalpe is an artist and writer based out of Providence, RI. Her short fiction has appeared in over twenty-five dark and horror anthologies and her first novel, Parasite Life, came out in 2018 through ChiZIne Publications and will be re-released in 2021 through Nightscape Press. She is a member of the HWA and the New England Horror Writers.

  Bill Davidson is a Scottish writer of speculative fiction currently living in Dorset, England. In the past four years, he has placed over fifty short stories with good publications around the world. There are too many to list, but they include Ellen Datlow’s highly regarded Best Horror of the Year anthology and large distribution magazines. Find him on BillDavidsonWriting.com or @bill_davidson57

  Douglas Ford lives and works on the west coast of Florida, just off an exit made famous by a Jack Ketchum short story. His fiction has appeared in Dark Moon Digest, Infernal Ink, Weird City, along with several other small press publications. Recent work has appeared in The Best Hardcore Horror (volumes 3 and 4) and a novella, The Reattachment, was published in 2019 courtesy of Madness Heart Press. In the harsh light of day, he sprinkles a little darkness into the lives of his students at the State College of Florida, and he lives with a Hovawart (that's a kind of dog) who fiercely protects him from the unseen creatures living in the wooded area next to his house. His three cats merely tolerate him, but his wife is decidedly fond of him, as he is of her.

  Justine Gardner is a former dog trainer, past pizzeria proprietor, and current freelance editor and writer. She was born, reared, and still resides in Brooklyn, NY, along with her husband, young son, and two cats of indeterminate age. Her story “Nature Will Provide” was a finalist in Regulus Press’s 2018 Literary Taxidermy Competition and was published in the contest anthology, Telephone Me Now. Her story “Blood, Bone, Feather” will appear in Issue 51 of the quarterly NewMyths. For more, please visit her website at GrumpstoneGazette.com or follow her on Twitter @JBGrumpstone. Pronouns: she/her.

  Eddie Generous is the author of several books, including What Lurks Beneath, Plantation Pan, Rawr, Nowhere, Trouble at Camp Still Waters, and many more. He is the founder/editor/publisher/ artist behind Unnerving and Unnerving Magazine and the host of the Unnerving Podcast. He lives on the Pacific Coast of Canada with his wife and their cat overlords. Follow him on his website JiffyPopandHorror.com and @GenerousEd on Twitter.

  Alex Giannini is the author of the children’s book, Sarah Faire and the House at the End of the World. He’s written for WWE and Bearport Press and spends his days as the programs and events manager at a public library. He’s also a co-creator of StoryFest, an annual literary festival in Connecticut that celebrates all genres. Alex exists on Instagram @AJG916 and on Twitter @AlexJGiannini.

  Kelly Griffiths lives with her family in Northeast Ohio and shares her writing journey with a posse of extraordinary women who call themselves The Little Red Writing Hoods. In an effort to have an original and rewarding midlife crisis, she’s climbed a volcano, run a half marathon, taken up mountain biking, and is presently on a quest to visit every island in the Caribbean. She survived a brain tumor and a twenty-year stint homeschooling four children. Her husband is her alpha friend, beta reader, and best idea. In 2019, she was nominated for Best Small Fictions by Gordon Square Review. Some of her work can be found in The Forge Literary Magazine, Ellipsis Zine, and Reflex Fiction. Keep up with Kelly at KellyGriffiths.wordpress.com.

  Sam Hicks is a writer living in Deptford, southeast London. Her fiction has appeared in, or is forthcoming in, the following anthologies: The Fiends in the Furrows, Nightscript V, Unfading Daydream, Ghost Stories for Starless Nights, Dark Lane 9, Vastarien and The Best Horror of the Year, Volumes 11 and 12.

  Luciano Marano is a journalist, photographer and author originally from rural Western Pennsylvania now residing near Seattle. His award-winning nonfiction, both written and photographic, has appeared in numerous national and regional publications, and he was named the 2018 Feature Writer of the Year by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. His short fiction has appeared in a number of places, including The Year's Best Hardcore Horror vol. 3, Crash Code, Breaking Bizarro, and Monsters, Movies & Mayhem, among others, as well as Pseudopod, Horror Hill and also Chilling Tales for Dark Nights. A U.S. Navy veteran, he enjoys movies (especially horror and documentary films), jogging, and craft beer, haunting used bookstores, and would choose Wolverine-style healing abilities if he could have any superpower (or maybe just the ability to grow Wolverine-style sideburns). Learn more at Luciano-Marano.com or visit his (sporadically updated) blog, CitMyWay101.wordpress.com. He tends to eschew social media but responds to serious correspondence via CitMyWay11@gmail.com.

  Matt Masucci is a writer and professor who lives with his family and three cats along the Gulf Coast of Florida. He writes horror and crime fiction. His w
ork has recently appeared in Shotgun Honey, Weirdbook, Great Jones Street, Under the Bed, Mystery Weekly, Three Minute Plastic, and Shotgun, among others. Visit his website at www.MatthewMasucci.com.

  Scotty Milder is a writer, filmmaker, and film educator living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He received his MFA in Screenwriting from Boston University. His award-winning short films have screened at festivals all over the world, including Cinequest, the Dead by Dawn Festival of Horror, HollyShorts, and the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and CthulhuCon. He has developed screenplays with independent producers and major Hollywood studios, and his low-budget feature film Dead Billy is currently available on Amazon, Google Play, and other streaming platforms. His short fiction has appeared in Dark Moon Digest, as well as anthologies from Sinister Smile Press, AM Ink Publishing, Dark Peninsula Press, Soteira Press, Fantasia Divinity Press, DBND Publishing, and Gypsum Sound Tales. Visit him online at facebook.com/scottymilderwrites, or find his films at DeadBillytheMovie.com or vimeo.com/trifectaplus.

  Mack Moyer is a dark fiction writer from Philadelphia. You can find him at MackMoyerAuthor.com. His new novella, Back to Her, is available on Amazon.

  Lena Ng skulks around Toronto, Ontario and is a zombie member of the Horror Writers Association. When she’s not complaining about the winter, she’s complaining about the summer. Despite the fact that she’s a horrible person, many people are surprised that she writes horror, likely because she looks like a pharmacist. She has short stories in four dozen publications including Amazing Stories, in venues from Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Her 2020 published and forthcoming publications include Mother Ghost’s Grimm, Beer-Battered Shrimp, The Bronzeville Bee’s Twisted Love anthology, What Monsters Do for Love, Hybrid Fiction, Strangely Funny VII, Thrilling Words, and The Community of Magic Pens. Under an Autumn Moon is her short story collection. She is currently seeking a publisher for her novel, Darkness Beckons, a Gothic romance. Join her mailing list by emailing ScaryStoryGirl@hotmail.com.

  Elin Olausson writes psychological horror and weird fiction. Her works have appeared in anthologies by Eerie River Publishing, Belladonna Publishing, and others. When she’s not writing, Elin works as a librarian. She lives in Sweden. Follow her on ElinOlausson.com and on Twitter: @elin_writes.

  Robert P. Ottone is an author, teacher, and cigar enthusiast from East Islip, NY. He delights in the creepy. He can be found online at www.SpookyHousePress.com, or on Instagram (@RobertOttone). His collections Her Infernal Name & Other Nightmares and People: A Horror Anthology About Love, Loss, Life & Things That Go Bump in the Night are available now wherever books are sold.

  Felice Picano is the author of more than thirty-five books of poetry, stories, novels, novellas, memoirs and non-fiction. His work is translated into seventeen languages. Several titles were national and international bestsellers, and four plays have been produced. Picano’s first novel was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award in 1975. Since then, he’s been short-listed and/or received awards for poetry, drama, short stories, and novels. An adjunct professor of Literature at Antioch University, L.A., he founded and taught at three West Hollywood Public Library Writing Workshops. He lectures throughout North America on LGBT Culture, Gays in Hollywood, and Screen Writing. In 2019, Justify My Sins: A Hollywood Novel in Three Acts was published. In 2020, Songs and Poems, a 50-year collection came out. His novel, Pursuit: A Victorian Entertainment, will be published in 2021, as will the re-publication of The Book of Lies. The first of his sci-fi trilogy, Dryland’s End, (2004, 2020) will be republished, to be followed by The Betrothal at Usk, and A Bard on Hercular in 2021. His strange stories are his special love and have been in OMNI, Twilight Zone, Best New Horrors, in many magazines and anthologies, and in three collections. Find him at FelicePicano.net.

  Edward R. Rosick lives in the wilds of northern Michigan with his two Bouvier des Flandres companions. He has had multiple short stories published in various magazines and anthologies, including Trigger Warning, Creepy Campfire Quarterly, and A Winter Shivers Anthology. His first horror novel, Deep Roots, is currently searching for a publisher.

  Susie Schwartz loves to motivate and encourage with words. Whether through her writing, blogging, speaking about living with Type 1 diabetes for 38 years, or through her music, sharing life with others is her passion. With both a fiction novel and a nonfiction work delving into life’s big questions on the go, Susie is in constant motion of artistic flux. After many years of poor choices and painful life events, Susie is determined to keep pushing forward. She’s been known to make people laugh and also cry. Sometimes the funny and the hard collide. Susie is a regular contributor to The Mighty, tackling all topics surrounding chronic illness. Fascinated by fashion, she can be found scouring the mall in pursuit of the latest trends. A Canadian citizen, Susie currently resides in Staffordshire England with her husband and puppy, Carlos the Chihuahua. Susie can be found on her website LessHealthStress.com, on her Facebook page: Things That Happen to Everyone That Only Happen to Me @whysusiewhy and @medicalmiss_stress on Instagram.

  Mahlon Smoke, when she isn't writing original short stories, works for her local newspaper as a photographer and reporter, writing articles about local events and interviewing artists, actors, and upcoming talents. Mahlon was born and raised in Akwesasne, a Mohawk Reservation that lies between the U.S. and Canadian borders. All of her life, Mahlon wanted to write, travel the world, and tell stories about the people she met; her fiction genres of choice are horror and fantasy, and she is currently writing her first YA novel. She is very optimistic about her future writing career, is aware that she has a long way to go, but is none-the-less happy to have her story "The Red Portrait" featured in this anthology.

  Laura Saint Martin is an emerging writer, currently working on a mystery series set on a horse ranch in Southern California. She also writes poetry about mental illness, blue collar struggles, animals, nature, and life on the autism spectrum. She works for Patton State Hospital and Rover.com. Due to her turbulent childhood, numerous and contradictory psychiatric diagnoses, and sensory processing challenges, she has determined that she is on the autism spectrum. She lives with her family and numerous spoiled pets in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. She has only recently started submitting short works to online journals and print anthologies and has several poems and short stories awaiting publication.

  T.M. Starnes is reading or watching horror, thrillers, or sci-fi movies when not practicing or teaching Kung Fu. T. M.’s favorite authors include Clive Barker, Patricia Briggs, Dean Koontz, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. T. M. prefers writing in those genres or in the post-apocalyptic and, occasionally, the romance genre. T. M.’s post-apocalyptic series The Unchanged and the science fiction survival series Aurora Skies and other novels are currently available on the author’s Amazon page. Upcoming news and other short story anthologies the author has participated in may be found on T. M. Starnes’ Facebook page.

  Mark Towse is an Englishman living in Australia. He would sell his soul to the devil or anyone buying if it meant he could write full-time. Alas, he left very late to begin this journey, penning his first story since primary school at the ripe old age of 45. Since then, he's been published in the likes of Flash Fiction Magazine, Cosmic Horror, Suspense Magazine, ParABnormal, Raconteur, and his work has also appeared three times on the No Sleep podcast and many other excellent productions. You can catch his terrifying story, “The Devil’s Ink,” in the forthcoming anthology from Silver Shamrock publishing, Midnight in the Pentagram. His first collection, Face the Music, has just been released by All Things That Matter Press and is available everywhere. Follow him on Twitter @MarkTowsey12, Instagram @TowseyWrites, and on his website, MarkTowseDarkFiction.wordpress.com.

  Lamont A. Turner is a New Orleans-area author and father of four. His work has appeared in numerous print and online venues including Horror for Hire: First Shift, Death and Butterflies, several volumes in the Scary Snippets series, Jitter, Dark Dossier, Theme of Absence, and The R
ealm Beyond.

  Nicole Wolverton is a Philadelphia, PA-based writer of mostly speculative fiction. Her short fiction has appeared in Aji magazine, Jersey Devil Press, The Molotov Cocktail, and elsewhere, and she is the author of the psychological thriller The Trajectory of Dreams (Bitingduck Press, 2013). She is an assistant coach to a dragon boat team of cancer survivors and their caregivers, a gin aficionado, and an avid traveler who dreams of one day visiting every country in the world. For more information about Nicole, visit her website at NicoleWolverton.com or find her on Twitter @nicolewolverton.

  About the Editor

  Rebecca Rowland is a proud member of the HWA, author of the short story collection The Horrors Hiding in Plain Sight, co-author of the novel Pieces, and curator of the horror anthologies Ghosts, Goblins, Murder, and Madness; Shadowy Natures, and the upcoming Unburied. A former high school English teacher and obituary writer, she pays the bills as a librarian and ghostwriter but vacations as an editor and author of transgressive and dark fiction. Despite her love of the ocean and unwavering distaste for cold temperatures, she resides in a landlocked and often icy corner of New England. For links to the publications where her work has appeared most recently (or just to surreptitiously stalk her), visit RowlandBooks.com.