Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Michelle Joy Gallagher @Aphelia @darc_nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Image_02_Aug2021

The Trade
by Michelle Joy Gallagher

Brenda woke in a cold sweat. The gap in her heavy bedroom drapes let a blade of sunshine through the window that fell across her body, bisecting her. She watched the motes of dust floating in the light for a long time, wanting to delay the inevitable reacquaintance with reality. She could hardly remember the past week. Grief sharpened her memories of her father and dulled almost everything else. She kept thinking of when she was a little girl, feeling invincible, running around the park under her father’s watchful eye, wishing she could go back again. 
 She’d had an incredibly vivid recurring dream the night before and mulled it over, sitting up and gathering the strength to pour herself out of bed. She could remember a darkness, then a whisper. One that questioned her softly but had an edge to it. A hint of barely contained impatience. 
 “What would you give?” it asked her. She didn’t know how to reply.  
 “What would you give, to turn back the clock?”  
 She didn’t really consider the question before the answer left her mouth.  
 “Anything.” 
 A warm glow softened the darkness, allowing her to focus. Standing before her was a woman who looked just like her but had an unidentifiable wrongness. Something false and somehow empty. Not a reflection but a poor simulacrum. It made her uneasy.  
 “Anything.” The woman said, not mocking, but matching tone. 
 Brenda had moved toward her, inexplicably drawn closer.  She tried to force herself awake but nothing worked. The woman placed a hand on her face and her fingers at Brenda’s temples, then pressed harder and harder eventually piercing the skin, crushing the bone beneath. The pain was intense. Brenda screamed, but a sudden jolt stopped the pain and silenced her. 
“Everything.” The woman said.  
 The darkness enveloped everything again before Brenda awoke. 
 She swung her legs out of bed and put her head in her hands, finding something wet and slick as she felt at the place where in her dream the strange copy of her had harmed her. She checked her fingers, wide eyed, realizing it was blood.  
 Suddenly she lost all sight, and struggled to breathe, as if her ribs were in a vice. Her father’s voice came floating in, distant but undeniable. She laid back down, choking and sightless. Helpless.  
 The warm glow returned, like in her dream, but this time intensified to a bright white that finally revealed themselves to be the fluorescent lights. This place was familiar. It was the hospital room where she’d watched her father weaken, held his hand as he took his last breath, except she was now in the hospital bed. 
 “I’d give anything to trade places with you, Kiddo. I’m so sorry.” Her father broke down into tears. She’d never seen him cry, even when the cancer metastasized, before they increased the pain meds that had mercifully drowned him.  
“Everything.” She whispered. Beyond the ability to comprehend why, or panic.  
He gripped her hand tight and nodded to someone outside of her view. She heard the beeping of machines. That was familiar too. A warm tingling feeling ran down her legs and arms. She closed her eyes again, letting the darkness enfold her.
Fiction © Copyright Michelle Joy Gallagher
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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More from author Michelle Joy Gallagher:
blkhwkBlackhawk: Volume 2

Welcome to Blackhawk, Colorado. Blackhawk has always been strange. Natural disasters. Disappearances. Murders. High strangeness is a part of daily life. We can’t hope to explain it, but we can chronicle its past. Learn from it. Fear it. Blackhawk is an experimental fiction series set in a shared universe, written by a variety of talented authors. It is the brainchild of David M Brown (Plague Doctor, Modern Animals) and Carl D Smith (Moleb the Giant, Darkness Out of Carthage). Each story will contribute to an organic, evolving mythology as diverse as the voices behind its tales. For fans of True Detective, Lost Highway, Twilight Zone, and The Terror. This is Volume Two of the series and contains five stories by five different authors, each in tune with the specific strangeness Blackhawk has to offer. NOTE: For fans of Lake Lord Publishing’s prior horror titles, be warned that Blackhawk will contain content that is perhaps more disturbing and mature.

Available on Amazon!

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Ela Lourenco @ElaLourenco @darc_nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on August 20, 2021 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Image_01_Aug2021One Last Day
by Ela Lourenco

The autumn leaves crunch pleasantly as I hike through the woods. Alone at last I have the space to think my own thoughts. Stuck for too long in the pokey apartment with him… day in day out, no space, no room to breathe. He, the ever-present shadow looming over my shoulder, hot breath at my back… No air… sleeping with one eye open, unable to move…
The virus that imprisoned me with him was merciless. It took my mother and father; it took my best friend and yet was cruel enough to pass me over. Today is the first time I have been out, away, alone. I would run away but I have no where and no one to run to. This is my only way out.
Taking a deep breath, I pick a few of the glossy red mushrooms this forest is known for. One would probably be enough, but I cannot take the chance that it does not work, I have nothing left in this world.
I breathe in my last day, marvelling at the golden orange hues around me, the crisp chill in the air as I watch the sun set the sky ablaze as it makes its descent.
Now it is time. I have had my perfect day. 
I return home and make dinner, watching carefully as he greedily shovels the mushroom soup into his mouth…
Fiction © Copyright Ela Lourenco
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.
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More from Ela Lourenco:

awakeningDragon Born: Book Three
Awakening

The Royal tournament, the Karnac, is fully underway. But there is deception and betrayal at every turn. Unseen dark forces are at play, both within the school grounds and out with. Even the Gods are unable to help when a new threat looms over them all.The very existence of Azmantium depends on Lara fully becoming the Child of Fire and casting aside the Shadows lurking in every corner of her beloved planet.Can she overcome the challenges that await? Will the Shadows cover the world in darkness? Only Lara and her friends can change the fate of Azmantium.

Available on Amazon!

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Terrie Leigh Relf @TLRelf @darc_nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Image_03_July2021Corporate Team-Building Exercise
by Terrie Leigh Relf

Corporate had decided to treat us all to a night at the local amusement park. It was the least they could do, as our annual sales had skyrocketed over the past few quarters. While I may have had a hand in that, it was definitely a team effort. 
While the retrofitted roller coaster was the main attraction for most of the employees, it was the Kamikaze Ferris wheel that my team guided the corporate big-wigs toward. 
“Just imagine the view,” we told them. They nodded and headed toward the platform en masse, queueing up in single file, occasionally looking up at the immense Ferris wheel, its chairs rocking back-and-forth with an invitation.
Once they had all boarded, I nodded to the engineer, and he pulled the lever. My team gathered to watch, cheering them on as the cars slowly made their way to the top and then back down again. From their smiling visages, it appeared that they were enjoying themselves and the view.
After the second circuit, the engineer cranked the lever higher, and the third go-round was a bit faster—until it screeched to a halt. There were a few shrieks of surprise until the Ferris Wheel rumbled into action.
The engineer glanced toward me with raised eyebrows, and I nodded again. He grinned, switched to another lever, and the Ferris Wheel began to go backwards. Now, their shrieks morphed into screams as it picked up speed with each rotation until all that remained was blissful silence and empty chairs swinging back-and-forth.
My team and I let out a collective sigh. “Well, that takes care of them,” the engineer said when he joined us. “Come on, let’s take a ride on that roller coaster!” he added. 
The amusement park was all ours for the rest of the night. So, too, was the company.
Fiction © Copyright Terrie Leigh Relf
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com 

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More from author Terrie Leigh Relf:

The Sisterhood of the Blood Moon

For thousands of Earth years, the Transgalactic Consortium has had a quiet interest in this planet and its inhabitants, the Haurans. While the Sisterhood of the Blood Moon works together with the Consortium and Haurans to maintain balance in the universe, the Blood Moon is fast approaching. The power of this moon reveals untold secrets . . . including a sacred covenant with the Mora Spiders. There is an ancient pact that needs to be honored—but at what cost and for whose purpose? The world may come to an end. But will there be a chance for a new beginning?

Available for purchase from the Alban Lake Store!

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Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Marge Simon @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Image_03_July2021
A Carnival of Ghosts
by Marge Simon

So there was an argument
about something, you forget what.
Wife took the car, fled to her mother,
or maybe you dropped her off,
you can’t be sure, but never mind.
Now here you are, a free man
with nothing planned
on a warm summer night
pulsing with excitement,
a carnival has come to town.
You enter the gate expecting
the rush of joy you knew as a boy,
but you’re met instead with
a discordant roar in your ears
that makes your mind recoil.
The Kamikaze ride looms,
brightly colored flashing lights,
with screams & shrieks of passengers,
thrills in twirling baskets tempt,
but no fun alone, you pass it by.  
Beneath the cacophony, there is
a sense of isolation stabbed by time,
defaming Bradbury’s gestalt;
a magic dark and unsettling,
nostalgia by proxy.
A carousel of skeletal horses
Revolves & strobe lights flicker
on the palsied faces of the riders,
pale hands clutching the poles,
bobbing up and down
in blissful madness.
You are captivated by
music from a glittering organ
charming the night, while
faceless vendors vie for attention;
hit the baby elephants and swans.
Around & around they parade
before the sights of your gun.
You think you hit them all
because the shill hands you
a blood-soaked Teddy Bear.
In the Tunnel of Love, your wife
is waiting for you in the little boat, but
something is wrong with her neck.
There is blood on her dress, in her hair.
She kisses your hand
You stagger past the wreck of a car —
a very familiar car, crumpled outside
the entrance to The Hall of Mirrors where
you find reflections of yourself in multiples —
body under a sheet, toe tag with your name.
The raucous laughter isn’t yours.
There is no exit,
this is your last stop,
you’re just another prisoner
in the Carnival of Ghosts.
Fiction © Copyright Marge Simon
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com 

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More from Marge Simon:

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The Demeter Diaries
by Marge Simon and‎ Bryan D. Dietrich

‘The Demeter Diaries’ is a record of love and longing and the inevitable horror that arises between the minds of Mina Harker and Vlad Dracula as they court one another in waking dreams. The dialogue, written in both poetry and prose, imagines a psychic connection that develops between the two even before Dracula arrives in England. As Dracula makes his way from Transylvania to Whitby on the doomed ship Demeter, the two would-be lovers transmit their thoughts across the waves and lands that separate them, alternately wooing and terrifying one another with the idea of love eternal and all the dark delicacies necessary to ensure it. Front cover art by Wendy Saber Core, interior illustrations by Luke Spooner.

Available on Amazon!

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Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Writing Project | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Bailey Hunter @DarkRecesses @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Image_02_July2021

The Sowing Season
by Bailey Hunter

Jenna watched the clouds forming on the horizon.  Sowing season was almost here and there was still so much to do.
This was the busiest time of the year. The windows needed to be sealed, along with the chimney, and any other cracks or holes that grew in the old farmhouse. Her dad was busy out in the fields prepping the seed, and getting the animals in and safely locked away. Her brothers no longer lived at the farm, but they did come home for this time of year just to help out, especially now with Dad getting on in years, and Mom having passed on a couple years ago now.
Jenna knew that the house and land would end up going.  The brothers had made it very clear they didn’t want the hassle. She saw it as a legacy that had been handed down for generations.  All her ancestors were buried on this farm dating back to the late 1600s.  No way she was going to let it go as long as she was alive.
Jenna yelled out to her brothers who were walking back to the house, “Lucas, Joe, can you please go down to the cellar and get the gifts?  Dad is almost done out in the pasture.” 
The boys came in, laughing and talking in loud voices as they tromped through the hall down to the cellar. “You get to grab the big one this year,” Joe said. 
“Whatever, weaking,” Lucas shot back
A few minutes later, Jenna heard them coming back up, the gifts dragging behind them with a thud on every step.  “HEY! Watch it.  We don’t need them all busted up before we can give them, and hurry, the rain is almost here.  Dad’s on his way back now.”
Jenna watched as Lucas and Joe each dragged their sack to the middle of the field and pulled out the gifts.  They seated them on wooden platforms and secured them firmly so they wouldn’t fall off.  Jenna had started making a special pie to help keep them sedated, after that time one almost got away. 
The men barely made it to the house when the first drops started to fall.  Jenna sealed off the front door, and they all gathered in the kitchen to watch. 
The skies opened up and the orange rain began to pour down.  The gifts woke, their groggy heads lolling back before the acid rains started to peel the skin from their shrieking faces.  Below their bodies, the large tubs collected the mix of rain and blood, and sacrificial renderings of their melting bodies.  They were big ones. Large enough to fertilize the entire field.
The family gathered around and said a small prayer giving thanks for the gifts they were able to offer to the Gods and to request for a bountiful crop.
Fiction © Copyright Bailey Hunter
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.
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More about Bailey Hunter:
Bailey is a publisher with Dark Recesses Press.

Dark Recesses Press is a publishing house dedicated to providing high quality dark fiction in its many forms to the reader. Our end goal is to impress and entertain, no matter what dark recesses we dare shine our light on.

DarkRecessesPress.com

 
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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Asena Lourenco @ElaLourenco @darc_nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Image_01_July2021Write, Type, Kill
by Asena Lourenco

Fingers trembling,
With the weight of her heavy hands,
Flashlight flickering,
Streaks of light doing a dance,
Letters missing,
As words long to be made,
On the only way of communication,
Left for her to escape,
But as jumbled up letters,
Start to be rearranged,
In the depths of the dark room,
One’s silence can no longer be contained,
As he strides toward the one,
That wields this ancient device,
He threatens her with intent,
To get what he wants or her life.
Fiction © Copyright Asena Lourenco
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com.

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More about Asena Lourenco:

Asena Lourenco is 14 years old. She loves reading, playing Scottish traditional fiddle music on her violin, dancing, and martial arts as well as writing her own stories.

She would like to be a teacher and writer when she grows up. She also loves cats and babies!

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The Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Nicole e. Castle @Carys666 @Sotet_Angyal #LoH #fiction

Posted on August 1, 2021 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Image_03_July2021

Regrets of Maturity
by Nicole e. Castle

Mr. Minster wanted to ride the Kamikaze. He heard the whistle of the train float into his bedroom window and climbed out of his bed to see where it came from. Under the full autumn moon, he saw them setting up the carnival just outside town. The sound of clanking metal and men grunting filled his ears. He imagined the screams of delight when the townspeople would come in droves, stuffing their faces with corn dogs, Elephant ears, and lemonade and riding, riding all night long until their stomachs ached and their faces were sticky and smiling. He knew the Kamikaze would be there. Just like when he was a kid. This time he would ride it. This time he wouldn’t be scared. This time he wouldn’t feel the warmth fill his denim pants and hear all the children’s laughter. “Piss boy! Piss boy! Wanna ride? Wanna riiiiiide?” This time nothing would stop him. His entire life he had waited for this ride to return. His heart raced with excitement. He didn’t think he could wait until tomorrow. He sat on the edge of his bed, his wife’s warm back touching him. He knew he would simply die if he didn’t ride it tonight. 
In her dreams, his wife thought she heard footfalls on their creaky wooden stairs but snuggled back into her blankets. In the morning, the back door was wide open. 
She never saw her husband again.
Fiction © Copyright Nicole e. Castle
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com 

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More from Nicole e. Castle:

Amanda’s Recurring Nightmares

Seven horror writers are gifted the name of a real person and told to do whatever they want to her. In the seven resulting short stories, Amanda is tortured, terrified and made monstrous; she is killed at least once. She won the right to have this done – and the writers couldn’t wait to unleash their imaginations on Amanda. Welcome to the inaugural edition of Recurring Nightmares, the Special Raffle Prize of the annual Monster Mash for Literacy Bash thrown by the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers (GLAHW) benefiting the Dominican and Siena Literacy Organizations in Detroit. These are Amanda’s nightmares. We hope they become yours, too.

Available on Amazon!

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Posted in Authors, Dark Fiction, flash fiction, FREE, Horror, Ladies of Horror, Women in Horror Month, Writing Project | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author D. Kai Wilson-Viola @Kaiberie @darc_nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Image_02_July2021The Happiest Memory
by D. Kai Wilson-Viola

The low hum isn’t crickets, or insects, though, for a second, I guess you could believe it.  The smell isn’t of almost ready to harvest corn either.  It’s dust. Barren fields, until I visualise what I grew up with. Like the other Remembrancers, I have a talent.
Around me the low hum isn’t quite so low now.  I breathe deeply, trying to remember all of the details.  Anchoring the crops.  Pulling them up from the earth.  And, because I’m doing it from memory, the tractor is there.
There’s a problem with that tractor though.
I push that away, as the hum rises, the crops undulating and spreading up and out with the gasps and rising susurrations of the machinery that sustains us.
The community we live in – it’s designed on memories.  We don’t NEED fields of food.  Not for food.  Turns out we need them for comfort.  And, though I wish I wasn’t the best at it, my specialities are:
a field of wheat.
…and something else that we rarely see now.
I push that back down too.
The fever pitch noise is rising to almost uncomfortable levels, and I have to really focus.  Sometimes, my corn is blood red.  Sometimes, neon.  Memory being fallible and all, I know what colour it should be, and though we’re not supposed to, I sneak a photo sometimes, to try and push away the mistakes.  I’ll hold it here, while others walk in it, touch it.
Stay away from the tractor.
The tractor itself though is a problem.  Normally it’s not right in front of me, but for some reason, this time it is. A hand pierces out from underneath the pastoral scene people are wandering off into, so I step forward myself, pretending to lean on the tractor.  Putting my foot where the glitch is.  Willing myself not to scream when it clamps around my ankle.
“Why’s the corn blood red?” someone asks.
I sigh, as one of the techs softly says, as if apologetic “Not everyone renders their childhood memories perfectly,” and inside I think “Oh no, I did, you wanted my happiest memory.  It was the day I killed my abuser.”
Fiction © Copyright D. Kai Wilson-Viola
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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About Author D. Kai Wilson-Viola:
Sabrann_Curach

D Kai Wilson-Viola aka Kai, writes in all genres.  She’s currently gearing up to release her first true Crime book and website.  This piece is an offshoot of ‘The Rememberancers,’ which is up in the next batch of plans.
When not writing, she can be found gaming or taking photos with her family in the Cotswolds, where she lives.

Find D. Kai Wilson-Viola on Facebook!

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Josie Queen @JosephineQueen9 @Sotet_Angyal #LoH #fiction

Posted on July 30, 2021 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!


Image_01_July2021Ghosted
by Josie Queen

5:24am
From: Erica Thomas 
To: Nigel Clemmons
Nige,
I tried texting, but clearly you’re ghosting me. I saw your bitch yesterday. She smirked like she’s so much better than me. She’s not. 
I need to see you.
3:45pm
From: Nigel Clemmons
To: Erica Thomas
What kind of loser emails at 5am? Sadie has a name and she’s not a bitch. And she is better than you. By a thousand percent. 
Stop emailing me.
3:46pm
From: Erica Thomas
To: Nigel Clemmons
There’s no such thing as a thousand percent. What kind of moron are you?
Sorry. You’re not a moron. But your bitch is a bitch. Please come by.
9:22am
From: Nigel Clemmons
To: Erica Thomas
Stop emailing. Stop texting. Stop following me. Stop following Sadie. We’re done. Kaput. Finito.
I want the ring back. Mail it to my office.
9:23am
From: Erica Thomas
To: Nigel Clemmons
I’ll stop if you come by. I need to see you…why do you want the ring?
4:52pm
From: Nigel Clemmons
To: Erica Thomas
Fine. I’ll stop on my way home. But this ends today. 
I’m marrying Sadie.
P.S. I want my typewriter back too.
4:53pm
From: Erica Thomas
To: Nigel Clemmons
YOU’RE MARRYING SADIE???? FINE, I’LL GIVE YOU THE STUPID TYPEWRITER!!!!!!!! AND WHAT KIND OF LOSER PUTS P.S. ON AN EMAIL?????
4:54pm
From: Erica Thomas
To: Nigel Clemmons
Sorry. You’re not a loser. Just come by…please.

***

Erica Thomas – Spend Nothing (Facebook Group) New Salem, CT
Gift: Decrepit typewriter. Missing keys due to recent heavy usage. Jammed cartridge (resulting from spillage of thick red liquid and teeth caught in mechanism). Prob a quick fix if you’re handy.
PM for details and address.
***
Erica Thomas – Ask Anything (Facebook Group) New Salem, CT
Looking for a good crime-scene cleaning company. Asking for a friend.
Fiction © Copyright Josie Queen
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

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Josephine grew up in England and now resides in the northeast corner of the US. She writes flash fiction and short stories that err on the creepier side of things. She just completed the final draft of a novel length middle-grade fantasy, which she hopes to get published during her lifetime.

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Ladies of Horror Flash Project – #Horror #author Kathleen McCluskey @KathleenMcClus4 @Darc_Nina #LoH #fiction

Posted on July 29, 2021 by Nina D'Arcangela

The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Image_03_July2021The Calliope
by Kathleen McCluskey

Every child stopped what they were doing and listened. The calliope music was mesmerizing, beckoning them. Their parents, deaf to the hypnotic rhythm, went about their day as if it was just another sunny day in July. The children knew, they always know; they were being summoned to the carnival.
Jimmy and Jenny were not immune and were also enthralled. They were twelve now and their parents allowed them to go to the fair alone. This was going to be the best carnival for the twins, they would be away from the parental stares and the restrictive rules. Finally a bit of freedom.
That night the twins headed out. As they got closer the smell of popcorn, peanuts and cotton candy was like a beacon that drew them in even closer. The lights, the crowd and that ever persistent calliope music put them in a stupor. They blindly followed the melody and found themselves standing in front of the funhouse. The flashing lights from the rides gave them an ashen glow. They interlocked hands and entered the attraction.
Once inside they were pushed into a room. It was dark and began to become a spinning blur. Jenny and Jimmy were thrust against the walls by the centrifugal force. Some of the children from the neighborhood were in the same trap. The calliope music became even louder; rhythmic and entrancing. The crying and begging of the children became part of the music. The more they cried the faster and faster the room spun. Terrifying faces emerged from the blur, coming at the children as ancient words became audible in the calliope music. The spell had been cast. The room became still. No more crying and no more begging, the music had gone silent and the room was empty. The children’s cries were disguised as part of the rhythmic calliope music.
Fiction © Copyright Kathleen McCluskey
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com
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More from Kathleen McCluskey:

The Long Fall: Book 1: The Inception of Horror

Lucifer always cunning and intelligent challenges father to a battle of wits. Being the angel of light he casts a judgmental eye upon mankind. He begins a war with his fellow archangels and God. Michael, along with his siblings defend their home and mankind from their deranged brother. Broad swords and hand to hand combat drench heaven in blood. The four apocalyptic steeds are released, each having their own destructive power. Betrayal and lust are at biblical levels. Understand the very creation of evil and the consequences that transpire in the first of THE LONG FALL series.

Available on Amazon!

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