The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!
Seed of Fruition
by Elizabeth H. Smith
Unnoticed and unseen, the small fruit flourished. Its seed had been planted from another place, somewhere alien to its new environment. With each night it grew; and each day, it lived in fear of the sounds created by life around it. The invasive vegetation could hear the thump of machines over the fragile beat of tiny hearts nesting within. But untouched it remained, and nearly every bulb’s strength held to the end. From the weight pulling on its stalks, it knew the time would be soon. The fruit would fully mature, as would the many ravenous fetal beings waiting inside.
Fiction © Copyright Elizabeth H. Smith
Image courtesy of Christina Sng
More About Elizabeth H. Smith:
Elizabeth H. Smith is a storyteller who writes while trying to keep her cat, Luna off the keyboard. The musical group, Rasputina is her muse. She was born in the state of New York and would never feel at home anywhere else.
Through Clouded Eyes: A Zombie’s Point of View
Through Clouded Eyes: A Zombie’s Point of View: a collection of twelve stories told from the Zombie’s perspective.
They’re shambling toward you, feet dragging on the broken roadway. Arms outstretched, faces slack, they move as if they’re tracking your scent on the wind. You want to run, but you know there’s nowhere to hide.
Aware of their insatiable hunger, fear paralyzes you. These things were once human, people someone loved. Is there anything left inside them – some sliver of humanity that may save you from this nightmare? Your mind doesn’t want to accept the inevitable, a single thought consumes you: what are they thinking?
With your chance of escape dwindling, you snap out of it and run like hell knowing there is little to no hope; fate is coming for you. Soon you will see what they see Through Clouded Eyes…
Featuring stories from Maynard Blackoak, Calvin Demmer, Paul M. Feeney, Stacy Fileccia, Trevor Firetog, DH Hanni, Shannon Lawrence, Josh MacLeod, Zachary O’Shea, Neal Privett, Mark Steinwachs, and Alex Woolf
Spreading the Writer's Word 
What a great sense of foreboding you build in so few words – nice work!
Very ominous, terrific writing.