The cracks let in the wind. A howling wind. Moving there, touching a hair, a face, a piece of cloth. A taste on it, of gunpowder and ash. Of the ending of the world.
Terry kept his hand on the handle, though if it went, it would not stop from going by his grip. Haley clutched a collection of towels and buttons that made a bear. Continue reading
“Between the three of us, we have genius on lock,” said one, and he slurped his coffee. None of them noticed, or perceived even subconsciously, that they were breathing in perfect tandem.
“Oh, yes, we are sure to make this world quake with fear,” said another, and he took a long draw from the creamy froth he had in his cup.
“I agree,” said the third, and he wiped his brow, which was sweating. Without talking about it, planning, or any indication of forethought, the other two did so too.
“So, then, we should begin on the plan—we need to work out how we will rule the world.”
“I agree with that.” Slurp. “First though, I think I need a refill on this.” Continue reading
(Originally Posted February 27th, 2016.)
Oh yeah, this is going to be weird. Strap in folks.
I call it:
—
Let’s paint a picture shall we? Let’s go with a living room. It’s a tad hazy at first, though. Since I didn’t give you any specifics. Or you just subbed in a living room like the one you have, or what a friend has. But you can see a living room now. You should see it clearly. Continue reading
I’d never learned to count past ten, so I’m not quite sure what age I am. We keep marks on the door and the walls, with chalk and dirt and mud. And fecal matter. So, if we ever learned how long a year is, we could figure it out, and then we’d know our ages.
Until then though, I am somewhere past ten. And for the last five of that ten, I’ve been in this room. They bring me birthday gifts, and I counted them. Each one was a slightly larger sack. I wear them until they are too small. Continue reading
Something was off with her footsteps. They sounded wrong. Jessica could not place why. She wandered, mostly bare legs moving through the subtle air-conditioning breeze, and her long silk shirt hung over her shorts.
“Hey, mom, are you home?” she asked, then stood ultra-still, and waited for some indication of a living being. Continue reading
Among the shelves, I was not sure I saw it. I glanced, and I glimpsed the piercing eyes of yellow and darkness. But, only for a second, and that made me hopefully unsure.
Because it would not be the first time I saw something I could not possibly claim was real. It would not be the only thing I was sure, in the moment, but only in the moment, I had seen. Continue reading
A skeleton laid, mostly in one piece, on the lawn of Old Sean’s property, and the kids of the town wondered why.
There were different theories, as there always were, but most of them came to the agreement it was, regardless of why, not a good idea to step on the yard. Despite being a pleasant, almost emerald green, the blades of grass held malice. Continue reading
The fire was warmer than Henry thought it ever could be. This close, it was something beyond heat; it was a dry pain, a wrapping skin melt. And he couldn’t move away from it, that option was even more dangerous. The shiny metal this close to his neck promised a much warmer and wetter pain should he make the attempt.
“You didn’t like my story, huh?” Finn asked, pressing the knife closer. With the light casting on his face, he was the second brightest thing in the forest of barren trees. A fox ran by and cracked twigs, and both boys–even if not consciously–noticed it.
“It wasn’t scary,” Henry replied, his eyes wide. “But I didn’t not like it.”
“What’s wrong with my ghost story? You want to see scary? I can show you scary!” Continue reading
Outside the room, the world starless, empty and cold. Inside the room, the man paced, back and forth—with little idea of what was happening outside. These two facts, as I have presented them, are all you need to understand. Continue reading
Fern was convinced that a clown was standing at the foot of his bed when he fell asleep each night. “This was not rational” his parents would tell him. His doctors, doctors for both his brain and his body, all said the cause was something deeply wrong with him. Continue reading
“Do you really have experience eating babies?”
The demon leaned forward and smoke spewed out from his nose—threatening to set off the sprinkler system.
“Tons.”
“Next.” Continue reading
Austin’s voice came so clear from the basement it made Sam look up from her magazine spread over the kitchen counter and take a step toward the sound. Her pink bathrobe swished around her ankles.
“Yeah, what is it, honey?”
“Come down, I just found something…something cool.” Continue reading
If you haven’t read it, here’s a link to part 1.
For everyone else, let’s continue, shall we?
That caught me off guard, and she nodded like I’d answered, told her whatever it was she wanted forgiveness for was okay. But, after a second, I just repeated my question: “So, what was it then?”
She answered without a pause. “It’s a biomechanical species of swarm insect. Though it acts as a single unit. Has a short lifespan, so every time its population grows low it latches onto one host and invades, repurposing organic material to make more and more of themselves until it can burst out without an issue.” Continue reading
A family of four did not survive for even four seconds. The first rev of the machine gun spewed death so fast they were not even aware that their flesh had jolted to pieces.
Innocent? Is anyone innocent?
Ken pressed the button on his console. He flicked a switch; he spun a few dials. He pressed another button. Continue reading
Don’t take your fingers for granted. I present a strange tale called:
This whole thing began, as many hauntings do, when I came across a dead body. I should clarify that, though, by saying that while this was by no means a normal occurrence, I was still not as concerned as some might have been in my situation. I’d seen some magical corpses in my time. Continue reading
Coolerbs Writes 