Day 16 – 3 Drabbles

These three drabbles are from charity anthology It Came From The Darkness, in aid of The Max the Brave Fund.

Death Penalty

Theresa Jacobs

“It came from the darkness, so black it couldn’t be seen. But oh, I felt it.” Mark shuddered, eyes wide.

The doctor nodded. “Uh-huh. And what was this, it?”

“Pure evil, in its truest form.” He hissed, “Essence.”

“Well, Mr. Nolan, I find you perfectly sound. You’ve passed every test and I will not have you committed. You will be facing the death penalty for what you did to those people.”

Laughter boiled from Mark’s lips, his eyes rolled to the whites, his tongue cleaved in half and he leapt upon the doctor. “No Doc, you face the death penalty.”

Honeycomb Face

Eric LaRocca

It came from the darkness in the pit of my throat – a small honeybee the size of a dressmaker’s thimble. As I rubbed the precious cargo I’ve carried in my stomach for nine months, my husband looked at me with a wordless question.

I smeared sweat as thick as honey dripping from my forehead, my fingers gently massaging the tiny pinhole that had sprouted in my cracked skin.

Stomach curling, I sensed my insides harden as if they were suddenly made of cooling wax – a droning chorus of larvae beginning to crawl through me, a hive finally about to burst.

What Shadows Eat

Lou Yardley

It came from the darkness, made of shadows, doubt, and despair. I couldn’t see its eyes, but I knew it was looking at me. Staring. Studying. Night after night, day after day, it came to me. It became all I thought about.

Sat in the centre of my room, the shadow made a noise. It may have been a growl or stomach rumble. The trouble is, I didn’t know what shadows liked to eat.

I offered it my hand, but it didn’t lick or bite a finger. Instead, it swallowed me whole. It consumed me.

Now I’m in the darkness.

It Came From The Darkness is available for Kindle, in paperback, and on Audible here.