The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Surfing the Strange 
by K.R. Morrison 

Melanie surfaced, screaming curses as she spit out water.  She wiped the hair out of her eyes with her fist and looked around for her board.

It lay only a few feet from her. In a few furious strokes, she had gotten to it and pulled herself up.

“That Adrian!” she muttered. “Always with the bright ideas. I knew I shouldn’t have agreed to this.” She glared at the board. “What a dumb design! Looks like a propeller.”

She looked around to figure out just where she was, but didn’t recognize any landmarks. There was, however, an island close by, so she headed for it.

“That boy needs to get out of the sun,” she continued to herself. “When I find him…”

She spied a small cove as she neared the beach, so decided to go further inland. “So much sun and so much fun,” she fumed.

Melanie floated into the shade of immense trees, wondering as she looked around as to just where she was. Her phone lay snug in its waterproof pouch; her only hope was that she could get a signal here.

The board touched the edge of the cove, and she pushed it onto the shore. Once she was sure it wouldn’t float away, she walked up the beach a short distance and pulled out her phone.

As she switched it on, she became aware of something dripping. She figured it was humidity; the temperature was ridiculously high and the air was thick.

But when the drops hit her phone, she was aghast to see that they were red! She put out her arm and looked from wrist to shoulder—she was getting covered in crimson spots!

“Red sap?”

She looked up slowly, and her heart jumped into her throat.

Strung throughout the tree canopy were dozens of giant bats, and what she could only figure were remnants of their last meal.

Melanie gulped. She forgot about phone calls and the nasty things she was going to call Adrian, and raced back to her board. With her phone hastily stowed, she hopped aboard and pushed herself back out to open water.

She took a quick look over her shoulder, breathed a sigh of relief, and paddled toward what she hoped was the correct horizon.

Behind her, one of the “bats” pulled his cloak off his face. He sniffed the air, and one eye opened. He watched Melanie as she disappeared out of sight, and smiled to himself.

Adrian had done his duty. The hunt was on, and it was going to be a good one.

He might even let the boy have a taste this time.

.

Fiction © Copyright K.R. Morrison
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

More from K.R. Morrison:

Enoch’s Return: Pride’s Downfall Book 4

All hell broke loose, as demon fought saint, and undead fought mortal. Fangs and swords, fire and light, mingled in a cacophony of noise that would have awakened the dead — if they hadn’t already been in the pitch of battle.

Toby was looking forward to celebrating his 21st birthday with family and friends. However, the day is shattered by the arrival of his sister, Erica, fresh out of the juvenile detention center, where she has lived in isolation most of her life. There is something very wrong with her still; witness her biting the ear of her taxi driver and licking the blood from her lips, and the way she antagonizes everyone around her. The other thing that is very off-putting about the day is a gift he receives – a musty tent and a few iron spikes that have been lying in the ground for years. Toby faints at the sight of the “treasure,” while Erica reacts violently and runs off to who-knows-where.
While he is unconscious, Toby learns who he truly is, and of his mission.

Available on Amazon!