The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
Men and Their Machines
by Sumiko Saulson
Mounds of earth covered me like flesh here, where I’d slept for many ages… head tipped, back arched, leg crossed over my belly. That was before they awakened me. Men with their machines dug into the ground beneath my feet. My toes bled where the skin was broken. Now, I inhale the dust, gathering my strength for the day when I can rise up from this dust and destroy them.
Today was a good day. I could feel some sensation in my toe, after centuries of neuropathy. A man showed up in a bulldozer to hallow out the space between my knees. I rose up and kicked his wicked steel device. The ground shook, and the machine shivered. A tire burst.
Tomorrow, I will rise. I will shake the earth to its core! Men will feel the trembling ground, screaming of earthquakes and tremors. Then, I will stand! Bending down, I will scoop them up into my hands, one by one… and eat them.
How I miss the taste of human flesh.
Fiction © Copyright Sumiko Saulson
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
More from Author Sumiko Saulson:
The Void Between Emotions
Explore the darker side of speculative fiction with this collection of supernatural short stories involving sea creatures, ghosts, witches, mermen, shapeshifters, and more. The Void Between Emotions is written by an African American author and contains many stories that reflect African American culture, conflict and issues as well as other culture’s concerns fine examples of writing the other. The stories are primarily horror, with some science-fiction and paranormal romance. The Void between Emotions consists of the ocean-themed The Dance of the Sea Hare and Tortoise; a creepy tale about a young black man strangely obsessed with the recent influx of oceanic life onto dry land; Character Flaws, about a fictional character taking over his author; Bodies, about a human woman who hates her body as much as her witch girlfriend loves it, The Woman Who Couldn’t Stop Crying, about La Llorona, The Weeping Woman), Shallow Waters, about a loveable but unfortunately dangerous merman; Sweetness, a post-apocalyptic tale about a desperate werepig and a ruthless bacon hunter; The Birthday Present, about a girl who unexpectedly learns who her true father is during a wicked Sweet Sixteen party; This One Has Teeth, about a dentist visit from hell; Bloodsuckers, about a symbiotic parasite and vampire relationship; Ashes and Coffee, about a young homeless woman faced with death personified, and Therma Martin Zeda 2525, about a future dystopia and genetic engineering gone wrong.
Wonderfully dark and delightful.