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Submitted to Contest #272
A knock-knock-knock came from the top of his coffin lid.Ekkehard Freudg closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. One day’s sleep was all he wanted, one day of peace. That damn boy would jump at the shadows of his own bat wings. Ekk pushed up his coffin and glared at the boy, not even deigning to sit upright. He kept his arms crossed over his chest. ‘Yes, Dunstan, what is it?’Dunstan Grieves stood there in his PJs, holding a blanket. He shifted from one foot to the other, looking awkward. ‘I heard a noise, Ekk.’Ekk’s eyebrows rose. He tried to ...
The teens opened the doors, packs of beer on their shoulders like pallbearers at a funeral for booze.Beatrice Baxter gasped. She had visitors. It had been so long. She couldn’t remember the last time people had stepped through these doors. But my, how brazen these youngsters were in flaunting their rule-breaking. Did they have no fear of the coppers catching them breaking the dry laws? But, on the heels of that thought came another: was there to be a party here in the family manor? It seemed so. Oh, how Bea longed to host one of her grand so...
Submitted to Contest #271
The old man’s ghost passed through the wall, slipping out of sight like a child down a Slip ‘N Slide.Sadie Marshman let out her held-in breath, but the tension didn’t leave her body. That had been the twelfth ghost this morning. How many had visited whilst she’d been unconscious or out of it on hospital drugs? Sadie couldn’t say, but since they’d weened her off the good stuff, she’d become more aware of her surroundings. Wasn’t it enough that she’d had her accident and sustained her head injury? Must the dead also visit her? At first, she’d ...
Submitted to Contest #269
The doors slid open, and the witch entered the supermarket, a trolley rolling in front of her as if of its own free will.Harry Blanton froze. Edlyn Blackmane had been on his mind a lot this week, but not in a cutesy way. Girls were gross. Ew. No, she’d been on his mind since he’d heard the playground gossip from Webster McCarthy. Or, instead, an item in her possession had been on his mind. Webster was often full of it. He once claimed he held his breath for ten days but stopped at ‘the government’s request’. But this latest rumour had a ring...
Submitted to Contest #268
The castle doors groaned inward, breathing in the dry leaves like a man eating spaghetti.Benjamin Daniel’s heartbeat quickened. This building had to be the place.A pile of dead villagers lay to the side, drained of blood like discarded ketchup packets. Twin puncture marks adorned all their necks.Others might’ve missed such a clue, but he’d been hunting the vampire for decades. Benjamin had learned to detect his quarry in even the faintest of traces. He unsheathed a stake and pulled out his wooden mallet.Behind him, the setting sun knocked it...
Submitted to Contest #267
In the still of the night, the fire on the other side of the city billowed its smoke into the navy blue skies.Philbert Bowman’s already knotted eyebrows further tied themselves together. He’d known it was significant when they’d woken him from his sleep with their call. But he saw the blazes on the city outskirts, where he lived in a cramped house with his wife and kids. That cemented the severity of the situation. Phil worried – to tell the truth, he felt petrified – that all his research and hard work had gone up in smoke. If that were the...
Submitted to Contest #265
The sound of the airport tannoy coming to life – bingbingBONG! – reverberated around the terminal.Tony Dittman closed his eyes and inhaled between his clenched teeth. For the love of God, what was it now? Further delays? Say it wasn’t so. He hoped they were about to say they’d discovered time travel, and there would be no delays for anyone ever again. If Tony didn’t board a plane in the next ninety minutes, he wouldn’t be able to get to the hotel until noon. His interview was at 12:30. He’d never make it on time, meaning all his hard work wo...
Submitted to Contest #264
The bride and groom danced their first dance together, the room dark, the spotlight on them.Imogen Carlson tried and failed to grit her teeth. God, nothing was simple these days, not even the simple acts of jealousy and resentment. How cruel this dance was to parade their beautiful normalcy for everyone to see. She glared.Her mother leaned over – but not too close, gosh no – and whispered into her ear. ‘Do try to smile, dear. You’re positively green with envy. It is your cousin’s wedding after all, couldn’t you try to look happy for her? And...
Submitted to Contest #263
Chase came in from the evening, arms overladen with shopping bags. Jolon Dugal relaxed. He’d been half expecting the boy to refuse his requests because of insanity. He couldn’t hold it against Chase; the kid was only doing his job. But Jolon had to do this, no matter Chase’s discomfort. He opened his arms and smiled. ‘Chase, my boy! Good morning. How was the shopping excursion?’ Chase frowned for a fraction of a second but then erased it from his face. He paused, seeming to consider his words. He stared down at the many bags from many differ...
Submitted to Contest #262
The fat cat, arm around the pretty girl’s waist, pressed the unlock button on his car fob, which had a famous logo.Phil Hopskins glared. Whilst some poor sods – such as him – had to get up and go to work, others basked in a life of glorious luxury. It wasn’t fair, damn it. Especially on this day, the hottest of the year, or so the weatherman proclaimed. Lovely. It was only 7:30, and already sweat was trickling down his back, making his work shirt stick to his skin. And Phil was sure that when he got to work and took his blazer off, there wou...
Submitted to Contest #261
Gene Waters, the sweaty postman with beady eyes that were too close together, grinned at her like a shark.Lindsay Adams’s stomach dropped. Oh no. Not again. Couldn’t she ever go out running in peace? Why did her early morning efforts have to draw such attention? Lindsay wanted to get back in shape after years of working at the bakery, which had led to a bit of weight gain. Her boyfriend – now her ex, she had to remind herself – had called her fat and ended the relationship. He threw two-and-a-half years away because of a few pounds. And to t...
Submitted to Contest #260
The scream bit into the night, tearing through the peace like teeth through flesh.Travis Wells lurched awake; silk sheets pooled around him, revealing his well-toned abs. His heart – strong and resilient – throbbed inside his chest, but it did not gallop. Even when he woke up to a damsel in distress calling out for help, he woke up calm and collected. And that had been a damsel in distress – or, rather, the damsel in distress. It was Winona Chavez who rented the apartment two doors down the corridor. Travis wasted no time. He was out of bed ...
Submitted to Contest #255
The zombie staggered down an alleyway, disappearing into the gloom of the night. Viola Rodriguez frowned. That woman had been dead, all right: the eyes, the shamble, the stench, the groan. She would have run off screaming if she’d spied the creature a week ago. But it wasn’t a week ago; it was now, and Viola was a changed woman, unfortunately. And what did she have to lose? You couldn’t become both, could you? Besides, this was the first time she’d seen another monster – besides the one that haunted her dreams. She needed to know if there we...
Submitted to Contest #254
The neon sign strobed into the night, red like blood: ‘THE VAMPIRE NIGHTCLUB’.Dan Helsing grunted. He shook his head and pointed to the flashy thing. ‘You see that? How distasteful! There’s an actual vampire in our midst and these people are making money from the bloodsuckers’ name! The gall.’Simon frowned. ‘Um, Sir? I’ve been watching this place and it seems that they’re actually vampi—’Dan whipped his cape over his shoulders for good effect and barged through the black door. ‘Come along, Simon. We have a vampire to find. I have much to tea...
Submitted to Contest #253
The two surviving counsellors ran in opposite directions, screaming into the woods.Jacob Mara’s shoulders sagged. Each year, he got a bit more rotted. And each year, these camp counsellors got faster. Or did they stay the same, and he was getting slower? Now, there was a scary thought: would one day come when he couldn’t catch any of them? He adjusted his hockey mask, which had stayed with him through thick and thin, through life and death. And then he crashed through the undergrowth after his quarry.The topless blonde in a thong split left,...
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