Unravel

by D Kershaw

  “Help me,” his brown eyes say.

  But I run; give Nikki the money.

  They’ll find me soon anyway.

  JACOB BAUGHER teaches Creative Writing at Franciscan University of Steubenville. When he’s not teaching or coaching the track team, he can be found in the Cuyahoga Valley hiking with his wife and son or brewing beer on his front porch. He’s received honourable mentions for his work in the Writers of the Future contest and he co-edits a series of Fantasy and Science Fiction anthologies titled Continuum.

  Misdirection

  by Carole de Monclin

  “Can you look after my bag? I need to go to the restroom.”

  You acquiesce because I’m pretty, hoping I’ll agree to a drink.

  Unfortunately, you’re my mark.

  Most cons rely on people’s greediness; this one hinges on their kindness.

  After I leave, a man sneaks up close to my bag. Chivalrously, you dash to stop a potential thief.

  You never see my other accomplice walk behind you, snatch your belongings and leave the bar.

  It feels like your stuff vanished.

  When I’m back, you don’t suspect me. Before you go to the cops, I even pay for that drink.

  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. Stories have found her for as long as she can remember, be it in a cave in Victoria, the smile of a baby in Paris, or a museum in Florida.

  Website: CaroledeMonclin.com

  Twitter: @CaroledeMonclin

  Re-enactment

  by Charlotte O’Farrell

  By day, he was a modestly successful accountant. His days were made of stable, predictable routines. Decades stretched ahead, clear and uneventful.

  At the weekend, he was a Viking, battling his way across muddy fields. Historical re-enactment was his passion. He spent most of his cash on historically accurate equipment and Saturday trips to castles to fight other enthusiasts.

  When police found him holding the detached heads of his former girlfriend, his bullying boss, and the neighbour who played music too loudly at night, they wondered when the lines blurred.

  He boasted his cellar was full of his enemies’ skeletons.

  CHARLOTTE O’FARRELL is a lifelong horror fan who writes about all manner of the weird and wonderful. Her work can be found at the Drabble, the Rock N Roll Horror Zine and Horror Tree, among other places.

  Twitter: @ChaOFarrell

  Jealousy

  by Vonnie Winslow Crist

  Jealousy is destructive, thought Tulliford while noting crime scene details.

  Though the coroner would determine cause of death, the prize-winning gardener had apparently been bludgeoned with shovel, impaled with pitchfork, then covered with uprooted rosebushes.

  With the ground hard, footprints were unlikely. Unfortunately, he suspected the perpetrator had been wearing gardening gloves.

  I need the roster of gardeners who lost yesterday’s Blooming Roses Competition, mused Tulliford.

  Then, he spotted a floral fabric scrap beside the victim’s hand.

  Tulliford nodded. He’d purchased Mother a dress made of that fabric from a local shop.

  Which neighbourhood rose-enthusiast is the murderer? he wondered.

  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

  Eric

  by Lynne Lumsden Green

  Della was a true crime fan; she collected books on the subject and watched every documentary. It was a family joke that she knew how to commit the perfect murder. It stopped being funny when her husband, Eric, went missing.

  His body was never found. Poor Della wasn’t convicted of his murder, but she spent the rest of her life under a thundercloud of suspicion. Even her own children wondered if she had slayed their father.

  People forgot that Eric had read all those same books. He had a good idea about how to commit the perfect crime. And succeeded.

  LYNNE LUMSDEN GREEN has twin bachelor’s degrees in both Science and the Arts, giving her the balance between rationality and creativity. She spent fifteen years as the Science Queen for HarperCollins Voyager Online and has written science articles for other online magazines. Currently, she captains the Writing Race for the Australian Writers Marketplace on Facebook. She has had speculative fiction flash fiction and short stories published in anthologies and websites.

  Website: cogpunksteamscribe.wordpress.com

  Scene of the Crime

  by C.L. Williams

  I call my partner to the scene of the crime. I tell him I’ve been looking for clues while waiting for his arrival. He reminds me of protocol and then proceeds to look for clues himself. I tell him about the murder, the body, and how there is no known suspect at this moment. My partner then decides he’s going to interview the neighbours while I continue to look for clues. He lets out a rather loud knock and I soon see a clue on the ground! I place it in my pocket, no one can know I’m the murderer.

  C.L. WILLIAMS is an independent author from central Virginia. He has written eight poetry books, four novellas, one novel, and a contributor to multiple anthologies, with the most recent appearance being an all-ages anthology titled Temoli from Thazbook. His most recent poetry book, The Paradox Complex, features the poem “Sad Crying Clown” that is now a video on YouTube directed by Matthew Mark Hunter of MMH Productions. C.L. Williams is currently working on his first sci-fi book, an all-ages book titled Novo: Away from Earth. When not writing, C.L. Williams is reading and sharing the work of other independent authors.

  Facebook: writer434

  Twitter: @writer_434

  The Howler

  by David Bowmore

  She knew it was a bad idea; her friend going off with the cute boy in stacked heels. Who would she stagger home with now? Not one of those leering idiots from the nightclub.

  You are on your own, girl. Start walking. Don’t let anyone know you’re tipsy. Anyone might follow if they knew.

  What was that noise?

  Footsteps? Perhaps not—it was hard to tell. Yes, there, on the edge of hearing. Turn. No one there.

  Quicker, Sophie. Stop panicking.

  They never caught that bloke. What were the papers calling him?

  The Howler.

  “Who’s there?”

  Was that someone growling?

  DAVID BOWMORE has lived here, there and everywhere, but now lives in Yorkshire with his wonderful wife and a small white poodle. He has worn many hats in his time; head chef, teacher and landscape gardener. His first collection of short stories ‘The Magic of Deben Market’ is available from Clarendon House.

  Website: davidbowmore.co.uk

  Facebook: davidbowmoreauthor

  Lost Voices

  by Richard G. Taylor

  A small shaft of light finally shone into the container, in the distance a rumble of unfamiliar voices could be heard.

  Nobody spoke inside anymore.

  The stench within was unbearable, the heat mixed with vomit and rotting corpses bundled in the corner. The first to expire was a 3 month old infant, he was already malnourished and his mother’s milk expired a week into the journey, his mother followed shortly after grief and famine consumed whatever strength she had left.

  Seagulls squawked above, the handlers waiting on the dock waiting to take the surviving human cargo and dump the waste.

  RICHARD G. TAYLOR is a full-time analyst working in law enforc
ement and has been developing book ideas for the past five or so years. Richard has recently became a published author in anthology publications and on track to have his first book completed before 2019 ends. Richard lives in Worcestershire with his wife and their pet cat who both share the dream of someday opening a bookshop by the sea.

  Twitter: @writingpickle

  A Point of View

  by Maxine Churchman

  Memories are strange. Ask ten people what they remember about an event and you will get ten different answers. When the window smashed downstairs, my sister urged me to stay in my room, but I watched from the landing. My sister remembered just two men, wearing balaclavas, breaking into our home that night; I remembered there being three. She told the police they had Irish accents, dark clothes and smelled of ashtrays. She also said she didn’t recognise anything else about them. I remember hearing the voice of my sister’s boyfriend as he told her to keep quiet, or else.

  MAXINE CHURCHMAN lives in Essex UK and has recently started writing poetry and short stories to share. Her interests include leaning to improve her writing, reading, knitting, walking and teaching yoga. She is also planning a novel.

  Homeless

  By Stephen Herczeg

  The homeless have been disappearing down by the river. Those remaining hate the cops. A couple are willing to talk.

  “There’s a monster.”

  “Monster’s aren’t real.”

  “Keep looking and you’ll see.”

  I search high and low for any signs, but nothing makes sense. Their little shanty town is its own world, secluded, isolated, impenetrable.

  It’s the houses that back onto the river that interest me.

  The smell gets me first. Decay, rot, inside a tin shed.

  I break in through the squeaky door.

  It hits me, sight and smell. Bodies. Skinned. Bloated. Rotting. I gag.

  The door behind squeaks open.

  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.

  The Meathook Murderer

  by Brian Rosenberger

  The old lady sits alone in the dark. Her husband in the grave, her children long gone from the nest. The room lit by the TV, her sole companion these cold winter nights.

  The news—the Meathook Murderer claimed another. His fourth victim. The female reporter is short on details. She can see the reporter’s barely disguised nausea. She must have seen the body. Probably like all the others. Barely recognisable as human.

  More of the grisly details will be in morning paper. The old lady can’t wait. More headlines for her collection. She smiles, proud of her son’s accomplishments.

  BRIAN ROSENBERGER lives in a cellar in Marietta, GA (USA) and writes by the light of captured fireflies. He is the author of As the Worms Turns and three poetry collections. He is also a featured contributor to the Pro-Wrestling literary collection, Three-Way Dance, available from Gimmick Press.

  Facebook: HeWhoSuffers

  Underground Delivery

  by Crystal L. Kirkham

  Marcus studied the man sitting across from him. He seemed too normal to be a hitman, but he was one of the best.

  “Underground delivery okay for you?”

  “Pardon?”

  The man chuckled. “Buried. Unless you prefer another way of dealing with the leftovers.”

  “Whatever you think is best, so long as it gets done quickly.” Marcus slid the envelope across the table.

  The man took the envelope and slipped away. Marcus smiled. He’d make back that money tenfold once he got made partner at the law firm. It would be a sure thing with Mr. Hanson removed from the equation.

  CRYSTAL L. KIRKHAM resides in a small hamlet west of Red Deer, Alberta. She’s an avid outdoors person, unrepentant coffee addict, part-time foodie, servant to a wonderful feline, and companion to two delightfully hilarious canines. She will neither confirm nor deny the rumours regarding the heart in a jar on her desk and the bottle of reader’s tears right next to it. Her paranormal urban fantasy series, Saints and Sinners, is available on Amazon and her YA Fantasy, Feathers and Fae will be released October 11, 2019, from Kyanite Publishing.

  Website: www.crystallkirkham.com

  In Pieces

  by Sean Martin

  “Okay, let’s see... Good Lord...”

  “Yeah. Pretty impressive work, huh?”

  “But... how?”

  “Murdered. Eight months ago, maybe. Not sure exactly. Body was just left here to rot.”

  “Yeah, got it. Who found it?”

  “Kids. Now they’re screwed up for life.”

  “Obviously. But why?”

  “Kicks? Fetish? Who knows? C’mon.”

  “I’m not touching that.”

  “It’s just a— Hey, look! An arm. We can do it in pieces.”

  “Nope. Forget it. Leave it.”

  “Leave it?”

  “No wallet. No fingers. Hell, do you see a head? C’mon.”

  “You can’t just—”

  “Watch me.”

  “Fine. Cover it?”

  “Use that tarp.”

  “OK... Hey, look! Another arm...”

  SEAN MARTIN is a Canadian creator of “Doc and Raider” (docandraider.com), the longest running LGBTQ comic strip in history, and “The Littles”, flash fiction about ordinary people in not so ordinary situations.

  Summer Madness

  by Aiki Flinthart

  White curtains billow in the sultry breeze. But the sweetness of summer cannot disperse the heavy scent of blood. In one corner, his cot lies empty. The clown mobile dances forlornly in circles over scarlet-spattered sheets.

  I stand, bemused, set adrift by loss. He can’t be gone. He has taken my heart with him. I search the room again, hopelessly hopeful.

  A footstep falls, light, on the landing. I turn. Not my child. My soul is torn asunder once more. I fall, sobbing, into my husband’s arms.

  He murmurs useless reassurance, his soothing hands leaving bloody smears on my clothing.

  AIKI FLINTHART has had short stories shortlisted in the Aurealis awards and top-8 listed in the USA Writers of the Future competition, as well as published in various anthologies and e-mags. She has 11 published spec fic novels and has edited 2 short story anthologies. She regularly gives workshops on writing fight scenes at conventions. Lives in Brisbane. Does martial arts, archery, knife throwing and lute-playing.

  Website: www.aikiflinthart.com

  Mannequin Confidential

  by Jodi Jensen

  Elaina hid in the sewing factory, waiting, biding her time until her prime suspect, Dollinger, showed for work. She had evidence he was responsible for the missing women, but it was all circumstantial. She needed to find the bodies.

  The lights in the building flickered on and she slipped behind a bolt of fabric as a man hurried by.

  Dollinger.

  She turned, intending to follow him, and bumped into a mannequin.

  A muffled oof! came from the moulded figure.

  Elaina stumbled back and stared at the mannequin.

  Its eyes moved.

  Real eyes. Wide and desperate.

  She’d found her first victim.

  JODI JENSEN 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.

  To Do List

  by A.R. Dean

  I pull on my leather gloves and walk in the house. He really should have locked the door.

  This creep has been on my to do list for a while. I’ve been watching all the bad things he’s done. He’s been hurting children in my neighbourhood.

  Cops can’t catch him, and victims won’t talk. I must do what they cannot.

  I follow the snores to where he sleeps snuggled in his bed. I raise the hammer above my head and bring it down on his skull.

  Leave no trace, no connection, and only take the ones no one will miss.

  A.R. DEAN is a dark and twisted soul. Dean has spent their whole life spreading fear with the tales from their head. Best known for stories that terrify and show the evilest side of human nature. So, look for Dean haunting your local cemetery or under your bed, because they’re here to spread the fear. Turn off your lights and enjoy a scare. Keep a lookout for more stories from this master of terror.