Unravel Read online

  “You aren’t the first I’ve gotten rid of like this,” he said with a smile.

  Whoosh!

  VIRGINIA CARRAWAY STARK has a diverse portfolio and has many publications. Over the years she has developed this into a wide range of products from screenplays to novels to articles to blogging to travel journalism. She has been published by many presses from grassroots to Simon and Schuster. She has been an honourable mention at Cannes Film Festival for her screenplay, “Blind Eye” and was nominated for an Aurora Award. She also placed in the final top three screenplay shorts as well as numerous other awards for her anthologies, novels, blogs and other projects.

  Missing Persons

  by Wondra Vanian

  “Honey?” Alfred’s wife called from the kitchen. “Can you give me a hand, please?”

  He went to see what culinary disaster Sue had gotten herself into this time. Expecting her to be covered in flour and pastry, he was surprised to find her with a cop.

  A dead cop.

  There was blood everywhere.

  “Dear Lord! What happened?”

  “Well,” she said, “Officer Hussein had a few questions about the Lampton kid’s disappearance.”

  Alfred frowned. “Why would— Oh. Is that why we had to buy a chest freezer last week?”

  Sue looked sheepish. “Good thing we went for the larger one, huh?”

  WONDRA VANIAN is an American living in the United Kingdom with her Welsh husband and their army of fur babies. A writer first, Wondra is also an avid gamer, photographer, cinephile, and blogger. She has music in her blood, sleeps with the lights on, and has been known to dance naked in the moonlight. Wondra was a multiple Top-Ten finisher in the 2017 and 2018 Preditors and Editors Reader’s Poll, including ithe Best Author category. Her story, “Halloween Night,” was named a Notable Contender for the Bristol Short Story Prize in 2015.

  Website : www.wondravanian.com

  Law and Disorder

  by Tracy Davidson

  I’ve seen worse crime scenes. Decapitations, exsanguinations, body parts chopped up and hung from branches of a tree. As gore goes, this one’s tame.

  Sure, there’s some blood. But bruising on her neck gives cause of death away. A domestic that escalated. Seen it a hundred times.

  Yet, I sit, shaking in a corner, unable to move as colleagues do their duty. I’ve worked with many for years. They’ve never seen their chief like this before.

  My sergeant shuffles forwards, holding out handcuffs. I offer no resistance.

  He escorts me from my house, forensics still bustling over my wife’s body...

  TRACY DAVIDSON lives in Warwickshire, England, and writes poetry and flash fiction. Her work has appeared in various publications and anthologies, including: Poet’s Market, Mslexia, Atlas Poetica, Writing Magazine, Modern Haiku, The Binnacle, A Hundred Gourds, Shooter, Journey to Crone, The Great Gatsby Anthology, WAR and In Protest: 150 Poems for Human Rights.

  Sisters of Perpetual Mercy

  by Raven Corinn Carluk

  “Mister Dalton. I wasn’t expecting your call for another week.”

  “There isn’t much I can do about that, Sister Agnes.”

  “Is that to say his condition is deteriorating?”

  “Faster than the others. The supplements aren’t keeping the symptoms at bay.”

  “Perhaps he ate too many too fast.”

  “Perhaps it’s the inferior quality of the product.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “You heard me. They’re far too skinny. Feed them better before you send them to us.”

  “If the senator does not like our Venezuelan orphans, he is welcome to find his own pituitary glands there in America.”

  “...we’ll double our order.”

  RAVEN CORINN CARLUK writes dark fantasy, paranormal romance, and anything else that catches her interest. She’s authored five novels, where she explores themes of love and acceptance. Her shorter pieces, usually from her darker side, can be found in Black Hare Press anthologies, at Detritus Online, and through Alban Lake Publishers.

  Twitter: @ravencorinn

  Website: RavenCorinnCarluk.Blogspot.Com

  Worse, Much Worse

  by David Bowmore

  It was like the shower scene from Pyscho—but worse, much worse.

  As a copper, I’d seen many brutal things—death, amputations, disfigurement.

  But this, I’d seen nothing like this.

  She must have had more than a hundred knife wounds. One of her breasts was three feet from the body. He’d burned her eyes out with cigarettes. The sick bastard had even sexually assaulted her...post mortis.

  With all the evil in the world, what could I do?

  I looked at everyone as a potential target.

  I’d turned from the path. My new life goal was to be like him.

  DAVID BOWMORE has lived here, there and everywhere, but now lives in Yorkshire with his wonderful wife and a small white poodle. He has worn many hats in his time; head chef, teacher and landscape gardener. His first collection of short stories ‘The Magic of Deben Market’ is available from Clarendon House.

  Website: davidbowmore.co.uk

  Facebook: davidbowmoreauthor

  Calling Card

  by Susanne Thomas

  FBI Agent and former Army Captain Trisha Brooks screamed. Her face was red, and her breaths came shallow and fast.

  She had been sure that the dead animals, left as decoration at each murder, had been the killer’s cry to be found.

  But every single lead had dried up, and each time a photo of the next victim had been held down by another dead beast’s body. This last time her sister’s face had stared out at her from beneath a hare that had been ripped to shreds. Now Rachel was nowhere to be found and time was almost up.

  SUSANNE THOMAS reads, writes, parents, and teaches from the windy west in Wyoming, and she loves fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, poetry, children’s books, science, coffee, and puns.

  Website: www.themightierpenn.com

  Facebook: SusanneThomasAuthor

  False Lead

  by Terry Miller

  The sight was unbelievable. Grayson had been a local Taxidermist yet there he stood displayed motionless and stiff in the corner, him and several others. There goes my only lead, Detective Dietrich thought to himself.

  The next room was the expected trophies, all posed on their respective bases. Dietrich explored the house further, finding much the same. He sighed in disappointment.

  Back in the main room, a cellphone rang. Dietrich followed the noise to stuffed Mr. Grayson’s jeans pocket.

  “Hello?”

  “Hope you enjoy my work, Detective. Say hello to Mr. Grayson for me, won’t you?”

  CLICK!

  Dietrich screamed in frustration.

  TERRY MILLER is an author and 2017 Rhysling Award-nominated poet residing in Portsmouth, OH, USA. He has self-published a dark poetry collection on Amazon and one short story to date. His work has also appeared in Sanitarium, Devolution Z, Jitter Press, Poetry Quarterly, O Unholy Night in Deathlehem, and the 2017 Rhysling Anthology from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association.

  Facebook: tmiller2015

  Things That Go

  Bump in the Light

  by Chris Bannor

  Horrific acts shouldn’t be committed in the light—that was an unspoken rule. It made it easier for him; a smile at the neighbour, a friendly wave to a coach as he passed by. No one suspected such dark behaviour in the light of day, as if the sun itself was protection.

  No one remembered who he was or how he managed to get the young girl’s attention. No one remembered anything out of the ordinary.

  All they remembered was a sobbing parent, the discarded, disfigured dead body, and a trail of clues that spiralled back around to her grave.

  CHRIS BANNOR is a science fiction and fantasy writer who lives in Southern California. Chris learned her love of genre stories from her mo
ther at an early age and has never veered far from that path. She also enjoys musical theater and road trips with her family, but is a general homebody otherwise.

  Twitter: @BannorChris

  Dust to Dust

  by Jason Holden

  Adam had been bullied his whole life.

  The two working in the mill now were the worst of them. They made his life hell.

  They made him let them work without a permit or safety checks. They hadn’t even isolated the system; if it started now, they would be buried in a fine lime powder that would burn their skin and sear their lungs as they inhaled it. The massive rollers inside would grind them to dust.

  No one would know, there was no proof they were ever there.

  His finger hovered over the button. “Dust to dust,” he whispered.

  AFTER GIVING UP A FULL-time job as a quarry operator so that his wife could follow her dream career as an academic in the field of chemistry, Jason Holden and his family left England and temporarily moved to Spain where they currently reside. While there, he took on the role of full-time parent and began to create stories for his daughter. Now that she is in school, he creates stories for himself and hopes to share those stories with others.

  Night Shift

  by Carole de Monclin

  Anticipation was everything. The act itself required too much concentration to truly savour the moment. Imagining the aftermath gave him chills. Everybody loved a hero.

  His cue came as a shout, “Code blue!”

  He rushed in with the already waiting crash cart and took charge. A well-practiced dance: CPR, intubation, defibrillation...

  But tonight, no grateful family would congratulate their saviour.

  He hated losing a patient. How many had it been over the years?

  He must have overestimated the dose he injected. As expected, the heart had stopped, but resuscitation should have remained possible.

  Better luck next time, the nurse thought.

  CAROLE DE MONCLIN travels both the real world and imaginary ones. She’s lived in France, Australia, and the USA; visited 25+ countries; and explored Mars, Ceres, and many distant planets. She writes to invite people on a journey. Stories have found her for as long as she can remember, be it in a cave in Victoria, the smile of a baby in Paris, or a museum in Florida.

  Website: CaroledeMonclin.com

  Twitter: @CaroledeMonclin

  Not Worthy

  By Eddie D. Moore

  Wesley glanced at the badge on his chest before stepping into the nearly empty saloon. The barkeep nodded toward a man sitting in the corner. A Bible sat between a whiskey bottle and a pistol on the stranger’s table. Wesley cleared his throat as he approached the stranger.

  “I’ve heard that you’ve been taking things that aren’t yours and harassing people.”

  The stranger shrugged. “The preacher didn’t know his Bible, and the wannabe gunslinger was rather slow.”

  “And the whiskey?”

  The stranger leaned back exposing the gun he was pointing at the sheriff. “They weren’t thirsty either. Leave the badge.”

  EDDIE D. MOORE travels hundreds of hours a year, and he fills that time by listening to audiobooks. When he isn’t playing with his grandchildren, he writes his own stories. You can find a list of his publications on his blog or by visiting his Amazon Author Page. While you’re there, be sure to pick up a copy of his mini-anthology Misfits & Oddities.

  Website: eddiedmoore.wordpress.com

  Amazon: amazon.com/author/eddiedmoore

  The Love of a Good Wife

  by Nicola Currie

  I never thought I’d be the type of person who peered into someone else’s window, who would follow them home, stalk them online. No one would think it to look at me, a mother in her forties who dresses in florals and pastels, who makes cupcakes for the school fete.

  She strips her clothes off and I see she is as beautiful as my tortured mind imagined. I can see why she captured my husband’s attention, why he grins as he approaches her, touches her.

  I watch them together and cry. How could he cheat me like this? She’s mine.

  NICOLA CURRIE is 34, from Cambridge, UK where she works in educational publishing. She has published poetry in literary magazines, including Mslexia and Sarasvati, and has also completed her first novel, which was longlisted for the Bath Children’s Novel Award.

  Website: writeitandweep.home.blog

  Fingers in the Cookie Jar

  by Gregg Cunningham

  “I don’t know where the money is, sir. I swear, I honestly don’t know.” He wept as his eyes glanced towards the door, praying for another customer to walk in wanting to fill up their gas tank.

  But the robber wasn’t fooled for a second.

  “I suggest you quit fucking stalling and tell me where you stashed the goddam money!”

  Jack squirmed, wincing at the pain he was about to receive again.

  “It’s been a slow night, takings are down.”

  “Wrong answer!”

  Jack’s howling screams drowned out the shrill of the cash register as the coinage tray slammed shut again.

  GREGG CUNNINGHAM 48, short story writer who has had to pick up his game since stumbling into facebook writer’s groups. He has stories published by 559 Publishing in in 13 Bites volume 3,4,5, Plan 9 from Outer space, Other Realms, Heard It on The Radio, 559 Ways to Die, short stories publishing by Zombie Pirate Publishing in Relationship add Vice, Full Metal Horror, Phuket Tattoo, World War four and Flash Fiction Addiction (flash) with Zombie Pirate Publishing, and also in Daastan Magazine Chapter 11 and Brian,Rich and the Wardrobe.

  Amazon: www.amazon.com/-/e/B016OTHX0K

  Website: cortlandsdogs.wordpress.com

  Scratches on Paper and Skin

  by Shelly Jarvis

  “The fingernails. That’s how they all get caught,” Rick says.

  He lifts the hand towards me, fingers purpled, nails tattered. He uses scissors and tweezers to remove what is left and carefully drops the remains in a plastic baggie.

  I watch in rapt attention, taking notes with my leaky blue pen.

  Rick says, “Stop writing down all this shit I’m telling you. The last thing you want is someone to come across that notebook and tie you to one of the bodies.”

  “I’ve picked strangers each time,” I say, smirking.

  He shrugs. “Doesn’t matter. The fingernails always tell the truth.”

  SHELLY JARVIS is a speculative fiction author from West Virginia, US. She found a life-long love of sci-fi and fantasy in the 3rd grade when she found Madeleine L’Engle’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” Shelly is an avid reader, a Whovian, the ideal viewer of dog rescue videos, and undoubtedly Ravenclaw. She currently has three YA sci-fi books available for purchase on Amazon.

  Website: www.ShellyJarvis.com

  Skull

  by Andrew Anderson

  “Captain, they’ve found another skeleton. We’re unable to confirm if it’s Lieutenant Poulsen yet; its skull is missing, so we can’t check it against his dental records. A DNA test will take weeks.”

  Williams nodded. “Thanks, Jones. I fear Poulsen is dead, probably hidden where no-one can find him.”

  Sighing, she placed her head in her hands. Jones tactfully left Williams to grieve the loss of her partner of twelve years.

  When the door closed, Williams locked it. Opening her bottom desk drawer, she grinned at Poulsen’s skull, caressing the bullet hole.

  “Yes, where no one will ever find him.”

  ANDREW ANDERSON is a full-time civil servant, dabbling in writing music, poetry, screenplays and short stories in his limited spare time, when not working on building himself a fort made out of second-hand books. He lives in Bathgate, Scotland with his wife, two children and his dog.

  Twitter: @soorploom

  One Last Case

  by Alexander Pyles

  There was always that one. Your white whale. The one that got away. It has been almost 20 years. T
he case you couldn’t solve. The case that went cold. After that it was nothing but politics, paper pushing, and human pettiness.

  Standing at the grave of one of the kids, Benjamin, the frustration comes back. The liver spots on your hands stretch as you clench your fists. “I just wanted an answer. A relief from the wondering.”

  “What if you could have it all?”

  You turn to find a suit standing there, with a gun barrel levelled at your heart.

  ALEXANDER PYLES resides in IL with his wife and children. He holds an MA in Philosophy and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. His short story chapbook titled, “Milo (01001101 01101001 01101100 01101111),” from Radix Media, is due out fall 2019. His other short fiction has appeared on 101fiction.org, River and South Review, and other venues.

  Website: www.pylesofbooks.com

  Twitter: @Pylesofbooks

  What Remains

  by Liam Hogan