After the Ascent

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by Evan Baughfman

 

Walter rose above his corpse. His spirit approached a widening glow.

Amazing! An otherworldly oasis opening up itself just for him! Sunlight! Beach! Palm trees!

Walter smiled at the sound of lost loved ones’ laughter. His philanthropic life would soon reunite him with his mother, his father!

The glow extinguished.

Walter plummeted. Pleaded.

He fell back into flesh.

Injected chemicals had begun to restart and preserve his brain.

Walter screamed at his doctors to release him. His mouth wouldn’t move.

Walter, trapped inside his skull, was stuffed into his cryochamber, a subzero casket he now certainly regretted ever paying for.

 


Evan Baughfman

Evan Baughfman is a middle school teacher and author. Much of his writing success has been as a playwright. A number of his scripts can be found at online resources, Drama Notebook and New Play Exchange. Evan also writes horror fiction and screenplays. More information is available at amazon.com/author/evanbaughfman

 

The Bookworm by L.T. Emery and Andreas Hort – Launches 26th June 2021

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I used to read books secretly during classes. I remember crying quietly during math because Sirius Black just died. After school, I’d usually visit the library. There’s this cherry tree next to the building. In summer, I’d borrow a book, climb the tree until I found a good branch, and I’d read while snacking on the cherries. Good times.

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Maggie D. Brace

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Maggie D Brace, a life-long denizen of Maryland, teacher, gardener, basketball player and author attended St. Mary’s College, where she met her soulmate, and Loyola University, Maryland.

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Passage for Two

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by N.E. Rule

 

Sandra’s knuckles whiten on the steering wheel as the wipers whip back and forth. Glancing into the rearview mirror, she gasps as a man leans towards her. She swerves to the shoulder and brakes. She reaches for the door, but his bony fingers dig into her collarbone.

“Who are you?!” she cries.

“A guide to the afterlife.”

“I’m not dead!”

“I’m here for the body you have in the trunk.” Then he nods to the passenger seat. “He’s your guide.”

A beast forms beside her. Screaming, she jerks free of his grasp as the transport truck hits her car head-on.

 

N.E. Rule

N.E. Rule attended Ryerson University in Toronto for creative writing and business communications. Her corporate writing portfolio includes software specs, marketing copy, and training materials. However, her passion is creative writing. The characters in her head refuse to wait for her to find spare-time to come out and play. Keep up with her her on Facebook.

Place of Caves by Charlotte O’Farrell – Launches 11th June 2021

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Place of Caves was my coronavirus lockdown project. I’d had the idea of a Nottingham-based horror novella bouncing around my head for years, with a secret order of priests and nuns sent to investigate demonic goings-on in the caves. But somehow, I’d never got around to it. Being inside for months and seeing the Black Hare Press call for underground-themed horror spurred me into action.

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