Voting is now open via a poll on our Facebook page. Deadline for votes is the end of September 13^th.

Young Girls Scream

By C. Marry Hultman

“Hey guys,” Colton buttoned his skinny jeans with a satisfied grin as he entered the back alley. The heavy bass of the after party vibrating through the wall.

“That fan girl sure sucked like an angel,” he said. It was what being part of As If — the quickest rising boyband in the US, was all about. He had never seen so much action working at Jiffy Lube. So what if some of the girls lied about being eighteen, where was the harm?

The other members had boarded the bus already. They were always finished with their girls before him, he liked to chat them up a bit, get to know them, before they serviced him. He was old fashioned that way, a real gentleman.

At the end of the alley, among boxes and debris he saw a seated figure. When his eyes acclimated to the dark, he realized it was their bus driver Carl. He appeared passed out.

“Great,” Colton screamed. “The driver’s drunk again.” Now they would have to wait for a replacement, it wasn’t the first time. He’d have to talk to Charlie, their manager, again. He sighed, flicked the remains of a cigarette at the lifeless blob and stepped onto the bus.

“Fucks sake guys,” he called out. “You dirty bastards, the bus is filthy.” They didn’t answer him.  The carpeted floor was sticky and a sickly metallic scent hung in the air.

Stop fucking around,” he was so tired of their shit. “Come on, how many times have I told you to store your crap?” He pulled out his cellphone and used its torch. A body lay before him. Scurrying back, he scanned the bus, nearly vomiting at the sight of the blood coating the walls and the four severed heads of his mates Chad, Brad, Tad and Nad displayed along the windows. Stifling a cry Colton turned to run, but a shadowy figure barred the door, a large knife glinting in the dark. He illuminated the form to reveal a young woman. Her pale visage startled him and he fell over the body again.

“Remember me Colt?” she said moving towards him and climbing up on his chest. “Lainey Foster. We met at the As If Cruise last year.”

“I meet so many fans at those things,” he whispered.

“You bought me drinks, even though I was under age. Then you and your friends dragged me to your suite, remember that?”

My God, he did. “You wanted it,” he stammered.

“You think a girl of fifteen wants five adult men to force themselves on her?” She allowed the point of the knife, to steadily, slide down his chest.

“Why would you come on the cruise if you didn’t?” He tried to act hard.

She laughed. “Colt, I adored you, but you’re just like the rest.”

“Please,” he whimpered.

“That’s what I said,” she mocked him and her eyes darkened as he felt the knife penetrate the abs he had worked so hard to maintain.

Voting is now open via a poll on our Facebook page. Deadline for votes is the end of September 13^th.

 

Death Shaped Box

By N.M. Brown

It’s been eight months since the incident and I’m still hearing sirens in my sleep.

It was a Thursday evening; I came home from work to an empty house. My wife Lena’s clothes and phone weren’t missing. Her cell phone sat abandoned on our counter; vibrating with calls and notifications.

The only thing signifying that she hadn’t been abducted was her missing car.

I hadn’t even completed all three numbers of 911 when police officers came to my door. Our neighbor Janice stood behind them; eyes rimmed red with tears. She had asked Lena to pick her son Thomas up from school due to a work emergency; meaning he was also missing.

They questioned Janice and I repeatedly over the following weeks to no avail. We knew less than they did. No one wanted our loved ones home more than we did.

Janice and I got the answers we asked for about two months later, but they weren’t the ones we wanted. Lena’s car was found burned up; crushed like a tin can. Someone saw a set of tire tracks heading off the mountainside and called it in once they saw the wreckage at the bottom.

This New Year’s Eve, I finally got the courage to try to remove the last of Lena’s clothes from the house. The closet had been cleared, leaving only the items she kept in the linen trunk. I painstakingly packed up her favorite skirts, dresses and shoes. My heart felt emptier with every new item I removed from it.

My heart broke to find a heart shaped box at the bottom, one I’d never seen before. A tag was taped atop it; my name scrawled across it in red ink. There was no lock; no key to be found. Only a simple, metal clasp kept me from the last gift my wife would ever give me.

My fingers fumbled to open it in a frenzied anticipation. The endless possibilities of her love called to me from inside. Once it opened, I felt my soul freeze and then shatter. Tears ran down my face as I punched our closet walls until my knuckles bled.

Laid inside, was a simple scrap of bloodied paper. A set of latitude and longitude coordinates (which I found led to the same mountainside her car was found at the bottom at) was written on it in my wife’s handwriting; along with a message.

Dear Tobyn,

I know about you and Janice. It always killed me that Thomas had your eyes. — Lena

N.M. Brown’s Facebook Page.

Voting is now open via a poll on our Facebook page. Deadline for votes is the end of September 13^th.

THE CHROME DEVIL KILLS

By Scott Donnelly

     I was hidden the best I could be, but I feared it wouldn’t be enough. If he was determined to find me, he would. I knew he would. He found everyone else. He killed everyone else. And now he was coming for me.

     I tried to control my breathing, and I felt sweat starting to bead on my forehead. There was a lump in my throat, and a knot in my stomach. I knew he was coming. It was only a matter of time before I’d see that mask again – the shiny chrome mask, with the face of the devil, that he donned as he threw an ax into one girl’s head, and shoved a knife into another man’s stomach. They all had tried to run, but it was to no avail. The Chrome Devil cut down another two out in the courtyard, and strangled a fifth in the basement.

     That was the last time I saw him. I’d already seen so much blood, and I didn’t want to be next on his chopping block. So I hid like a coward. I’d rather be a live coward, than a dead one.

     The floor outside my hiding spot then began to creak and crack ominously. He was getting closer. I trembled, and my teeth chattered. I tried to swallow, but the lump in my throat prevented that. I felt a tug on the heavy blanket I hid beneath. He’d found me! The Chrome Devil had found me!

     “No! Stay away from me!” I screamed out, viciously yanking back on the fabric. But it was no use, he’d won…

     The blanket was ripped back and I saw the outline of the psycho looming over me. I screamed, and he reached over to the wall and flipped the light switch. My eyes were blasted by a sudden burst of light, and then as my vision settled, I saw my mom standing over me; a look of genuine concern was plastered on her face.

     “Are you okay?” she exclaimed.

     I sat up in bed and tried to catch my breath. I was finally able to swallow, and I exhaled in relief. My mom then realized what was going on. She grumbled, “It was that movie, wasn’t it?”

     I didn’t respond to her. She could already sense my guilt.

     “I told you, you are way too young to watch movies like that,” she added. She went to flip the light off and I stopped her.

     “Leave it on, please!” I cried, still shaking the fear that occupied my mind.

     She shook her head and left my room, closing the door behind her. I sat up in bed and pulled the old VHS tape from under my pillow. I looked at the bloody cover art. She was right, an eight year old should not be watching splatter movies. But the rush was addicting.

     Plus, this was only The Chrome Devil Kills Part 2. I wondered if the video store had the rest of them…

Scott Donnelly’s Facebook Page

Today sees the release of The Curse Awakens, the superb sequel to the chilling Madman Across the Water by Caroline Angel. You can buy the book for Kindle and in paperback here.

 

Praise for Madman Across the Water –

A suspenseful and chilling tale. – Goodreads Review

Wow! What an amazing experience this book was to read! I could envisage everything that was happening!
Every scene was described so well! – Goodreads Review

Angel has done a fantastic job of teasing out the details throughout the book, making you want to keep on reading. The story has an addictive quality that made me want to keep going even when I should have been sleeping/getting ready to go to work. – Lou Yardley, author of The Deal Maker and Hellhound

Regarding the creature, I like how it wasn’t a one-trick pony. It had a lot of grizzly, creepy things that it could do to hurt you and seemed equally fond of both physical and psychological torment, which was a nice touch. Really gave it some depth. Swords & Spectres Reviews

You can grab the first book for just £1.99 for the next few days, available here.

Just a quick update but there has been a lot going on this past fortnight.

Yesterday the pre order went live for the sequel to Madman Across The Water and you can get your copy of The Curse Awakens for Kindle here. The book is released on the 26th and there will be an online launch via our Facebook page. This week only, you can get the first book for just £1.99 here.

Reviews have been coming in for The Vegas Rift by David F Gray and you can read them on our previous blog post. The Vegas Rift is ‘A delightful slice of cosmic horror’, a book of truly epic proportions. Available for Kindle and paperback on Amazon, and special hardback versions are exclusively available through Barnes & Noble.

If you’re in the mood for a quick, brutal read, then why not give The Ivory Tower by Antoinette Corvo a go? Just 99p on Kindle, this post-apocalyptic tale includes zombies, cannibals, and some exclusive artwork. Available here.

We have now made our final selections for the stories to include in F is for Fear, not an easy task with more than 80 submissions! Work now begins on the edits and formatting, with a release date planned for October 28th. You can find out about current open calls here.

Our first flash-fiction writing competition is now open for submissions and you’ll have the chance to win a month’s book promotion. Details can be found here.