Warren Benedetto Archives - Black Hare Press

He Has His Father’s Eyes

August 18, 2022/by S. Jade Path

by Warren Benedetto

The angel Elom wept over his wife’s broken body. Blood pattered to the floor from the straw mattress upon which she gave birth.

Birth? No. It was no birth.

She had simply…ruptured.

The child was a giant—a Nephilim. It tore through its mother’s flesh: first its hands, then its arms, then its head.

Elom lifted the child. Its eyelids opened to reveal empty sockets, hollow and black. Blind, the baby traced its fingers across Elom’s face, exploring.

Mouth. Nose. Cheeks.

Eyes.

Elom screamed as the baby gouged his eyes from their sockets and pressed them into its own.

Warren Benedetto

Warren Benedetto writes short fiction about horrible people doing horrible things. He is a full member of the SFWA. He is also the developer of StayFocusd, the world’s most popular anti-procrastination app for writers. He built it while procrastinating. Visit www.warrenbenedetto.com and follow @warrenbenedetto on Twitter.

Showtime

January 29, 2022/by S. Jade Path

by Warren Benedetto

Deke woke from a dream of his life before the circus. He had been roaming under the endless Montana sky. A blinding light shone from above. A watery, gurgling voice spoke.

“This one.”

Then, darkness.

Deke’s eyes fluttered open. He was in a box of frosted glass, naked and cold. The lid opened. He squinted up at his captor, at its four tentacled arms, its translucent head, its singular yellow eye. Deke had learned that the least painful option was to simply comply. Perform his routine. Entertain the crowd. Survive another day.

His captor spoke. Its voice was liquid.

“Showtime.”

Warren Benedetto

Warren Benedetto writes short fiction about horrible people doing horrible things. He has a Master’s degree in Film/TV Writing from USC. He is also the developer of StayFocusd, the world’s most popular anti-procrastination app for writers. He built it while procrastinating. Visit www.warrenbenedetto.com

The Fog of War

September 3, 2021/by S. Jade Path

by Warren Benedetto

Jameson surveyed the battle-scarred landscape. Shadows rose from the mud, moving through the fog obscuring the carnage. The sharp smell of cordite hung in the air. Jameson’s ears were numb—the only sound was the agonising wail of an injured soldier on the ground beneath him. Shrapnel had shredded the man’s face; his stomach was a gurgling pile of entrails. Jameson read the patch on the man’s blood-soaked uniform. The name was familiar: T. Jameson.

His own.

Damn it, Jameson thought, recalling the whistling of the incoming mortar. Direct hit.

He sighed, then joined the other shadows in the fog.

Warren Benedetto

Warren Benedetto writes short fiction about horrible people doing horrible things. He has a Master’s degree in Film/TV Writing from USC. He is also the developer of StayFocusd, the world’s most popular anti-procrastination app for writers. He built it while procrastinating. For more information, visit www.warrenbenedetto.com, and follow @warrenbenedetto on Twitter.

Scrapple

April 18, 2021/by Black Hare Press

by Warren Benedetto

“I’ll have the scrapple,” I said.

The waitress glanced at the fist-sized bruise on my arm, then at Mike. I nodded. She jotted on her pad.

“Coffee.” Mike thrust the menu at the waitress. “Black.”

The waitress disappeared into the kitchen. Through the swinging doors, I saw her hand my order to the cook. He read it, then looked out at me. Eye contact. A small nod.

“What’s even in scrapple?” Mike sneered.

“Pork bits,” I explained. “Lips, nips, and assholes.”

The cook emerged from the kitchen. He approached Mike from behind, meat cleaver in hand.

“Mostly assholes,” I added.

Warren Benedetto

Warren Benedetto writes short fiction about horrible people doing horrible things. He has a Master’s degree in Film/TV Writing from USC. He is also the developer of StayFocusd, the world’s most popular anti-procrastination app for writers. He built it while procrastinating. Visit www.warrenbenedetto.com or follow @warrenbenedetto on Twitter.

Up on the Rooftop

December 22, 2020/by Anny Saludar

by Warren Benedetto

There was something on the roof.

The children huddled behind the couch, their tearful eyes glistening in the warm glow of the Christmas lights. The house shook with each heavy footfall thudding overhead. Plaster dust drifted from the ceiling like snow. A low growl echoed down the chimney, followed by the metallic scraping of a heavy blade.

“What was that?” Annie whispered, her voice trembling.

“I don’t know,” Joshua sobbed. “Do you?”

He directed the question at the fat man in the red suit cowering behind the couch next to them.

Santa shook his head, his eyes wide with fear.

Warren Benedetto

Warren Benedetto writes short fiction about horrible people doing horrible things. He has a Master’s degree in Film/TV Writing from USC. He is also the developer of StayFocusd, the world’s most popular anti-procrastination app for writers. He built it while procrastinating. Visit www.warrenbenedetto.com or follow @warrenbenedetto on Twitter.

Everything You Know About Witches

October 8, 2020/by Anny Saludar

by Warren Benedetto

“Everything you think you know about witches is wrong,” Selena sobbed. She struggled against the ropes binding her to the pole.

Father Hugo stuffed kindling under the logs at her feet. He cocked an eyebrow skeptically. “Everything?”

“Everything,” Selena insisted.

“Brewing potions?”

“Wrong.”

“Casting spells?”

“Wrong!”

Father Hugo lit a match.

“Shapeshifting?”

Suddenly, Selena’s face elongated into a long black beak. Feathers sprouted as massive wings unfolded from her back.

Her raven form lunged, driving her beak straight through Father Hugo’s face.

As Selena returned to her human shape, she wiped the blood from her mouth.

“Okay, maybe not everything.”

Warren Benedetto

Warren Benedetto writes short fiction about horrible people doing horrible things. He has a Master’s degree in Film/TV Writing from USC. He is also the developer of StayFocusd, the world’s most popular anti-procrastination app for writers. He built it while procrastinating.