The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

I Never Learned to Swim
by Rie Sheridan Rose

I knew cross-country skiing. I could run on snowshoes—and that isn’t an easy feat. The sun rose and set differently in our little corner of the world. And that world was always white. So I never learned to swim.

Still, we loved our little kingdom. Food was plentiful. We hunted and fished. We quarreled like any family—because that is what we were.

And then the edges began to melt away. One day we realized that the borders of our hunt were shrinking. What had taken three days travel now took two. Fishing was better for awhile, so we hardly cared.

But Alornerk disappeared in the night. We never found a sign.

The rest of the children went next. Almost all of them. One by one, too curious about the rising waters.

We drew the edges of our camp closer and closer, until we huddled atop the highest mountain in our land, looking out on an endless sea. The dried meats ran out. The fish…gods, we hated fish.

And still the waters rose.

The elders got too close to the edge of the camp. I saw them slipping away, but could not get to them in time.

Even the strongest are gone now. I am alone. The camp has shrunk to fifteen steps each way. Water laps my ankles. All I see is water, wherever I look. I am exhausted.

And I never learned to swim.

Fiction © Copyright Rie Sheridan Rose
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from Author Rie Sheridan Rose:

Skellyman

“I have always preferred the supernatural in tales of horror, the knot between life and death. Rie Sheridan Rose’s Skellyman is cool and creepy. Her first horror novel is a chilling read.” — Charlee Jacob – Stoker winner, Best novel, “Dread in the Beast”

Brenda Barnett is trying to cope with raising her four-year-old daughter all alone after an accident tore her family in half. As she and Daisy go for a much-needed treat, the little girl spots a Skellyman on the corner.

This pivotal encounter leads to a wave of mounting terror as Brenda’s life begins to come undone around her. Who is the Skellyman? Why does he keep appearing? Can the sympathetic policeman Brenda turns to stop the madness before it is too late?

And why does Daisy insist that her dead brother is trying to tell them something important?

Available on Amazon!

WRITERS WANTED!

Issue #40 of The Sirens Call – As Summer Leaves, Autumn Falls
Stories of disaster influenced by horrific intent.

Whether it be Mother Nature’s wrath or a devilish ghoul, a sprite most wicked or a stumbling fool, tell us a tale of disaster that happens as summer ends and autumn begins.

We are looking for stories, flash fiction and poetry of horrific happenings that take place in the summer months that lead into fall. As long as the piece is primarily horror/dark fiction, we’d love to see it!

Your piece can be creepy, sullen, emotive, freaky, elegant, bizarre, have a dark-humor edge to it, or simply be flat out scary as hell!

REPRINTS ARE WELCOME
Submission Deadline: August 10, 2018
Circulation: Approximately 35,000

Full page/single book cover ads for individual authors are available at $10 per ad. Please contact Nina@SirensCallPublications.com for advertising information.

All short story, flash, and poem submissions MUST be submitted to: Submissions@SirensCallPublications.com for consideration.

Visit our web site for more details: SirensCallPub.com