Tag Archive for: dark moments

Phoenix Fighters

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by Dawn DeBraal

 

Thousands of them, dead. Commander Helmet observed ravaged bodies as far as his eyes could see. Total devastation. His exhausted men sat, welcoming the reprieve while fresh recruits took up the grave detail. The men dug trenches, throwing dead bodies into them, while great fires rose, hot enough to burn the corpses.

A scream in the night. Helmet mounted his steed, riding out onto the battlefield. Even though his men had annihilated the enemy, the dead were coming back to life.

Soldiers screamed, running off. Mesmerised, Helmet watched the jerky movements of the newly risen, willing to do battle again.

 

Dawn DeBraal

Dawn DeBraal lives in rural Wisconsin with her husband Red, two little dogs, and a cat. She has discovered that her love of telling a good story can be written.  She has published over 200 stories in many online magazines and anthologies. Falling Star Magazine’s 2019 Pushcart Nominee.

 

Sacrifice

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by Darlene Holt

 

After aliens invaded, war waged against humanity, and civilians sacrificed normalcy to join the cause. Command assured us training wasn’t necessary, despite our lack of military experience. Just an injection to ward off illness.

When they released us into the streets to kill the invaders, I hid, paralysed by fear, as eight-foot, razor-toothed creatures devoured anyone crossing their paths. To my surprise, the aliens fell dead on the blood-splattered asphalt minutes after swallowing my human comrades.

Only then did I realise Command had injected us with a toxin. They didn’t need to train us after all; they only needed bait.

 

Darlene Holt

Darlene is a writer, editor, and educator whose most recent contributions appear in Eerie River Publishing’s Dark Magic anthology and Red Cape Publishing’s A-Z of Horror series. She currently resides in San Diego, California, where she enjoys reading and writing horror stories while spending time with her husband and cats. Amazon Author Central page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B093Z6D5Q2 

 

Recon

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by Andrew McDonald

 

The sentry never heard me. I stab all the way through his neck, behind the jugular. Pushing the blade forward, I tear out his throat. He dies without even a whisper. Quietly, I drag him into the woods, away from patrols.

With my hatchet, I split his skull, careful not to harm the brain. My knife severs the brainstem. Raising the brain to my lips, I sink my teeth into it, biting off gory chunks, swallowing the grey matter.

Closing my eyes, I sift through his memories. Childhood, first love, basic training, their hidden headquarters.

I radio for an airstrike.

 

Andrew McDonald

Andrew McDonald lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada with his wife and daughter.

 

The Body Truck

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by Jason Hardy

 

We find one slumped against a mailbox on Barrow, hand probing the machete notched broadside his skull. He brightens when he sees us; thinks we’re here to help. Larson helps him, alright…with a spike through the eye. We heave the body onto the truck.

On Flagler, we spot a lady in a creepy doll getup, gut-shot and groaning. She sees our uniforms and understands. Even tries to crawl away. Carney does the honours.

City’s always a bloody mess after the big night. Cleaning gigs pay well. Job’s simple: put the bodies on the truck.

Including the ones still breathing.

Jason Hardy

Jason Hardy is a financial services writer/editor (by day) and teller of strange tales (by night). He lives in southeastern Massachusetts with the ghosts of two betta fish, and has an upcoming story in the anthology 99 Tiny Terrors.

 

 

Escaping Inferno

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by Renee Cronley

 

Tonight, your locked doors are about as useful as mine were that night you came to me. In my heart I know the scent of the gasoline I’m painting your house with inspires the same fear in you as the chloroform did in me.

A restraining order is not justice.

I don’t have to live with you inside me anymore. That was like being dead.

When I strike the match, I come back to life. With a flick of my wrist, your hold on me goes ablaze and brings light to the darkness you forced on me.

Now I’m free.

Renee Cronley

Renee Cronley is a poet, writer, and nurse from Brandon, Manitoba. She studied Psychology and English at Brandon University, and Nursing at Assiniboine Community College. Her work has appeared in Love Letters to Poe, NewMyths.com, The Gateway Review, and is forthcoming in Black Hare Press.

 

 

A Quiet Word with the Boss

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by L.J. McLeod

 

The blood was still warm where it coated her skin. Crimson beads dripped slowly from her hair. She had even gotten some in her mouth; it tasted salty and metallic. When Tegan had seen her boss’s light on, she had only wanted to have a quiet word with her.

There was no one else around. It was the perfect time to bring up her completely reasonable complaint. But the woman was so stubborn and pig-headed! A soft noise made her turn, the scissors still gripped tight in her hand.

“Enjoying the Purge, hey?” the night cleaner asked.

“Enjoying the what?”

L.J. McLeod

L.J. McLeod lives in Queensland, Australia. She works in Pathology and writes in her spare time. She has been published in several anthologies and has been nominated twice for the Aurealis Award.  In her spare time she enjoys diving, reading and travelling.  

 

 

Liar, Liar

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by S. Jade Path

 

Frantically pulling against her bonds, Halle pleaded, “Please. Please, no.” Her voice jumped an octave, “Why are you doing this?”

“Why?” I crooned, grinning beneath the Purge mask.

I splashed petrol around her, watched it soaked into the scattered books—kindling for her pyre. I stepped close, and Halle’s panic-filled struggles intensified.

I grabbed her head, pushed torn pages and rags into her mouth, held them in place with phone cords.

Then I whispered, “Liar, liar.”

Her eyes, filling with recognition and guilt, turned to horror as my match fell.

Liar, liar pants on fire. Hanging by a telephone wire!

 

S. Jade Path

S. Jade Path is a fledgling author of short fiction, and a prolific creator of dark poetry. She has had a life-long obsession with crawling into the depths of the psyche and forging shadows into words. Her work parallels this penchant for delving into the fantastical and strolling amongst demons.

 

 

Clean Sheet

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by Pauline Yates

 

The Westridge football team walks the streets, searching for victims. The pre-season tradition—players can purge their sexual desires in a one-night fucking frenzy—has resulted in four consecutive premiership wins. No one reports the pack rapes, the deaths. All this town sees is the trophy.

Not me. I have a different purge in mind. From my bedroom window, I aim a rifle at the team. Tommy leads the pack. We’ve shared a kiss, talked about a future. He promised he wouldn’t partake. He lied. They all lied; town expectation their excuse.

My excuse? I hate football. Why complicate things?

Pauline Yates

Australian writer, Pauline Yates, has short stories published with Metaphorosis, Abyss & Apex, Aurealis, Redwood Press plus others. She is the winner of the short story category in the 2020 AHWA Flash Fiction and Short Story Competition. Discover more at paulineyates.com or on Twitter@midnightmuser1.

 

 

Whose Purge is it Anyway?

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by Tracy Davidson

 

He had waited months for this night. Months of patient planning, honing weaponry skills, studying his primary target. During the purge, he would happily kill anyone crossing his path. He wanted one person in particular. Not just to kill, but torture—punishment for deserting him.

He knew her well. Knew where she would run and hide. Becoming an instant widower would be quicker and cheaper than divorce.

The alarm sounded. Heavily armed, he stepped out of his front door. Barely saw the machete gleam in moonlight, before it buried itself in his chest.

 His wife… widow… knew him too well.

Tracy Davidson

Tracy Davidson lives in Warwickshire, England, and writes poetry and flash fiction. Her work has appeared in various publications and anthologies, including: Poet’s Market, Mslexia, Atlas Poetica, Modern Haiku, The Binnacle, Versification, Poetry Pea, Shooter, Journey to Crone, The Great Gatsby Anthology, WAR, In Protest: 150 Poems for Human Rights.

 

 

Heavy Lifting

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by Marion Lougheed

 

Damien huffed as he worked his shovel. The night was cold against his flushed cheeks.

He laid a diamond necklace on his growing pile of goods. Though dusty from the grave, the diamonds glittered like teeth.

One grave left to pillage. Nothing valuable here, only a broken pipe beside a grinning skull. A rat poked its snout through an eye socket.

“Hey,” the groundskeeper shouted. “Grave robbing’s illegal!”

“Not on purge night.”

“Ah, that’s right.” A shot rang out and blood bloomed across Damien’s chest. As he fell, a hand scooped up his collection. “Thanks for doing the heavy lifting.”

Marion Lougheed

Marion Lougheed is a writer, editor, and cultural anthropologist whose words have been published in print and online by Gypsum Sound Tales, The League of Canadian Poets, and The Capra Review, among others.  She grew up in four countries and currently lives in Canada. Twitter: @MarionLougheed