Oceans Read online
Page 4
D’eye
by Catherine Kenwell
At 30 feet, it’s murky. As we descend to 50 feet, I lose my dive partner—at least I think I do. I hold my hand in front of my face. It’s faintly grey in the dim light.
That’s when I knock up against something. Head first. I push out with my hands as the water blackens, and the faded sunlight from the surface disappears. Frantically, I attempt to swim around the thing, but it’s moving alongside me. Panicking, I check my air gauge. 300 PSI. Fuck.
I glance up. An eye, the size of a dinner plate, stares back.
Catherine Kenwell is a Barrie, Ontario, mediator and author. After 30 successful years in corporate communications, she sustained a brain injury, lost her job, and joined the circus. She writes both horror/dark fiction and inspirational non-fiction. Her works have been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Trembling with Fear, Siren’s Call, and HellBound Books.
Website: www.catherinekenwell.com
The Best Bait
by Glenn R. Wilson
You laughed when I told you I wouldn’t go to your mum’s.
You said that if I didn’t go, it was over between us.
Well, you got it half right.
As I soak in the morning sun rising far away on the watery horizon, I tend my line miles offshore. The marlin are jumping, and with your help, I’ll finally catch one. This time, I’m prepared for success. I pat the bucket of cold ones at my side and send a wink to the larger one filled with bits of you.
I have all the time in the world now.
GLENN R. WILSON has come full circle. Making a point to mature, like fine wine, before diving head-first into his long list of writing projects, he’s approaching them with a plan. That strategy is to build with one brick at a time. He’s accumulated a few bricks already and is adding more. Over time, with persistence and determination, he’ll have a home. But for now, a solid foundation is the goal. Please, enjoy the process with him.
Mayday
by Galina Trefil
All throughout her childhood, instinct had told her, “Never trust the ocean.” And she hadn’t. But today, she accepted an invitation from a fisherman friend of hers to finally conquer her fear.
“Hey!” he called, leaning over the side of his boat when they were far out in the sea. “Come look at this! I can’t beli—”
And then the vessel had been hit, hit hard, by something below the surface. Overboard, he toppled, to be yanked down into the murky void.
Now water was leaking fast through the floor. What had taken him?
Soon, she would find out.
GALINA TREFIL is a novelist specializing in women’s, minority, and disabled rights. Her favorite genres are horror, thriller, and historical fiction. Her short stories and articles have appeared in Neurology Now, UnBound Emagazine, The Guardian, Tikkun, Romea.CZ, Jewcy, Jewrotica, Telegram Magazine, Ink Drift Magazine, The Dissident Voice, Open Road Review, and the anthologies “Flock: The Journey,” “First Love,” “Sea of Secrets,” “Coffins and Dragons,” “Organic Ink volume One,” “Winds of Despair,” “Waters of Destruction,” “Curses & Cauldrons,” “Unravel,” “Hate,” “Love,” “Oceans,” “Forgotten Ones,” “Dark Valentine Holiday Horror Collection,” and “Suspense Unimagined.”
Website: galinatrefil.wordpress.com
Facebook: Rabbi-Galina-Trefil-535886443115467
Peace
by Chris Bannor
The ocean is my calming place, my respite against the world. It washes away the plethora of stains on my weary soul.
The clash of waves against the sand, so much like the thoughts circling around in my head, gives me solace. Each foamy wave that laps against my toes reminds me that I am not alone.
There is nothing more serene, nothing more fulfilling to me than coming to the beach at night to confess my sins and try to start anew.
As I send my beloved to rest in the depths, I hope he finds peace as well.
CHRIS BANNOR is a science fiction and fantasy writer who lives in Southern California. Chris learned her love of genre stories from her mother 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.
Facebook: chrisbannorauthor
Website: ChrisBannor.com
Maritime Mayhem
by John H. Dromey
“You’re a regular passenger on the ferry. Maybe you can bring me up to date. I noticed there’s a new captain. What happened to the old one?”
“Lost at sea. A Bermuda Triangle victim.”
“Wait a minute! That theory has been thoroughly debunked. Ships and planes disappeared over long stretches of open water, but nothing supernatural was proven.”
“Let me explain. The late Captain Blaubart was a bigamist. He had one wife in Hamilton and a second wife in Warwick Parish. Rumour has it, when his spouses found out about each other, they went fifty-fifty and hired a hit man.”
JOHN H. DROMEY was born in northeast Missouri, USA. He enjoys reading—mysteries in particular—and writing in a variety of genres. In addition to contributing to the Black Hare Press series of Dark Drabbles anthologies, he’s had short fiction published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Martian Magazine, Mystery Weekly, Stupefying Stories Showcase, Thriller Magazine, Unfit Magazine, and elsewhere, as well as in numerous anthologies, including Chilling Horror Short Stories (Flame Tree Publishing, 2015).
A Queen is Born
by Ximena Escobar
Long embedded in the ocean floor, the blue diamond woke, releasing a stream of light through the water; lighting the passing eyes, shimmering on fins and scales and in all the gazes aboard the Night Queen, whose presence the diamond had sensed. One set of eyes shone the brightest on deck; her black hair lifting, separating into live eels.
The diamond broke through the water and into the night sky, glowing suspended before shooting directly into the woman. The crew’s flesh evaporated; their screams lost with their throats as her studded chest dripped her beautiful blood—immortal, blue, and desolate.
XIMENA ESCOBAR is writing stories and poetry. Originally from Chile, she is the author of a translation into Spanish of the Broadway Musical “The Wizard of Oz”, and of an original adaptation of the same, “Navidad en Oz”, both produced in her home country. Since 2018 she has published several short stories in various anthologies and online platforms, and is now slowly working on her own collection. Ximena has a degree in Arts & Communication Science and lives in Nottingham with her family.
Facebook: Ximenautora
Twitter: @laximenin
His Last Day at Sea
by Stuart Conover
The old captain knew his time had come.
This would be his last day at sea.
It had been foretold in his youth.
No one would believe him...
But the captain had once met a mermaid.
Long after, he would claim his first love was the sea.
But it was her.
It was always Alisa.
No human woman could compare.
Their tryst had changed him.
Yet, all good things must end.
In parting, she shared that they would reunite once more.
On the day he would draw his last breath.
And in the distance, her tail shimmered in the sun.
STUART CONOVER is a father, husband, rescue dog owner, published author, blogger, journalist, horror enthusiast, comic book geek, science fiction junkie, and IT professional. With all of that to cram in daily, we have no idea if or when he sleeps or how he gets writing done! (We suspect it has to do with having evil clones.) Stuart is a Chicago native and runs the author resource Horror Tree.
Yo Ho Ho
by Joachim Heijndermans
Mutineers. They took me ship and me gold. Shot me thrice in the belly, cut me throat, then threw me overboard. Bastards. Should’ve cut me to pieces.
Dunno how I s
till walk, as I’m nothing but bones. No matter. I got me cutlass and me legs. And I know where they’ll be docking me ship.
I’ll walk across this wet desert till I reach the buccaneer harbour in Crescent Cove, hidden from the royals and Spanish, where their homes, their wives and their children be. I will have me fun, then wait till those bastards come home.
Yo ho ho.
JOACHIM HEIJNDERMANS writes, draws, and paints nearly every waking hour. Originally from the Netherlands, he’s been all over the world, boring people by spouting random trivia. His work has been featured in a number of anthologies and publications, such as Mad Scientist Journal, Asymmetry Fiction, Hinnom Magazine, Ahoy Comics’s Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror, Metaphorosis and The Gallery of Curiosities, and he’s currently in the midst of completing his first children’s book.
Website: www.joachimheijndermans.com
Twitter: @jheijndermans
The Last Resort
by Stuart Conover
The tentacles splintered the deck of the Warrior Poet.
Jash swore as her ship was attacked.
Her women hacked at the creature with their cutlasses. To no avail.
If the hull broke, it would be too late.
Another crack tore through the air.
“Abandon ship,” she yelled, rushing to her cabin.
Her crew would never make it with the creature there.
She had one final trick.
Her ship had a failsafe.
One she likely wouldn’t survive.
Jash lit the fuse, ran.
Reaching the top deck, the world went white.
The explosion tore her ship apart and ended the beast below.
STUART CONOVER is a father, husband, rescue dog owner, published author, blogger, journalist, horror enthusiast, comic book geek, science fiction junkie, and IT professional. With all of that to cram in daily, we have no idea if or when he sleeps or how he gets writing done! (We suspect it has to do with having evil clones.) Stuart is a Chicago native and runs the author resource Horror Tree.
We Didn’t Listen
by Matthew A. Clarke
It came from the Pacific Ocean, just off the coast of Japan, all tentacles and sharp claws.
Somehow, it hadn’t shown up on radar, theorised to be composed of otherworldly substances. Even if we’d seen it coming though, could we really have been better prepared?
It shrugs off each and every thing we can throw at it; armour-piercing rounds, missiles, there’s even talk of a nuke. I don’t think it’ll work.
Two more appeared this morning, woken from deep slumber. Heading for North America and Australia respectively.
He tried to warn us. We didn’t listen.
The Old Gods have returned.
MATTHEW A. CLARKE is a new face in the world of horror. He has been writing short fiction as a hobby for two years and has decided to share his passion with likeminded people. Matthew loves all things that go bump in the night, having been introduced to slasher movies at a young age. He lives on the South Coast of England with his fiancé, Isabelle, and a little dachshund called Frank.
Facebook: matthewaclarkeauthor
Creatures of the Deep
by Kaitlyn Arnett
No one knew what was down there, and if they happened to discover it, it was doubtful that they’d want to.
The dark waters were truly something out of a horror story, inhabited by creatures with glowing scales, sharp fangs, and mysteries never seen before.
Some would call it a nightmare, others an illusion. It was an unnatural world, one that’d never see daylight in one hundred years, a world trapped in twilight. It was a forgotten place, left for monsters to prosper.
They were a disaster waiting to happen, a ticking time bomb, the so-called creatures of the deep.
Kaitlyn Arnett is a teen author who has been writing for five years. She focuses on the fantasy and thriller genres, specifically drabbles and short stories.
Glitters in the Shallows
by Matthew Wilson
I will not swim in the sea where gold glitters in the shallows. The fanged sirens’ songs have lost their beauty since my brother dared go out to them one midnight...since we buried what was left of him in a matchbox.
How lovely that gold from sunken pirate ships glows, invading my dreams, but my cowardice is stronger than my greed, but not the siren’s hunger.
Their laughter outside my window makes me tremble as they throw gold against the glass. I will not swim in the deep and deadly sea.
I do not have my dead brother’s courage.
MATTHEW WILSON has been published over 200 times in such places as star*line, horrorzine, zimbell house publishing and many more. He is currently editing his first novel.
Blue Ringed Octopus
by J.M. Meyer
Panic set in when I realised I had five minutes to live.
I didn’t see the tiny octopus with the sapphire stripes fall into the boat while hauling in my catch. The venomous bites that could kill twenty men were mere pinpricks on my toes.
So many mistakes today. I should have had my boots on. I should have brought my satellite phone. I should have told someone I was going fishing. But ‘shoulding’ over myself has not stopped the toxins from paralysing me.
I lie on my boat watching the gulls fly above me, waiting for my heart to...
J.M. MEYER is a writer, artist and small business owner living in New York, where she received her master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. Jacqueline enjoys writing speculative fiction and mysteries. Her favorite author is Alice Munro and her favorite film...is...anything horror related. Jacqueline also enjoys hiking with her dog Molly and the company of her husband Bruce and daughters; Julia, Emma and Lauren. Jacqueline’s Mantra lately; there’s no such thing as failing, it’s called learning.
Website: jmoranmeyer.net
Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/jacquelinemoranmeyer
Plastic Texas
by Owen Morgan
“Thank you for coming.” She turned and pointed to a computer projection of a map of the Pacific Ocean where a giant blob of trash twice the size of Texas floated between North America and Hawaii. “I have solved our problem by making use of genetically modified organisms which feed on plastics. The blob should be eradicated within three months. Let’s go to a live feed.” The screen changed to the California coastline. A mass of white crab-like creatures erupted from the waves and spread inland, where an aghast reporter said they were feeding on all plastics, including his car.
OWEN MORGAN writes science fiction, fantasy, and alternate history, and lives in the fishing port of Steveston, British Columbia.
Website: httpwwwkingauthor.wordpress.com
Twitter: @owen_morgan1066
The Lost Isles
by Stuart Conover
“The fabled lost Isles of Gold,” Captain Dermuta muttered.
He didn’t expect a response.
His crew still manned the ship, but the curse has taken their lives.
Husks of men, they were bound to him in life and death.
As long as he kept to the sea.
Finally, he’d found it.
Tales of these Isles had been told since his childhood.
Only he would never see it.
Not really.
Lifting the remnants of his hand to shield his eyes, the undead pirate king sighed.
He was as cursed at his crew.
Trapped at sea.
Never to walk on land again.
STUART CONOVER is a father, husband, rescue dog owner, published author, blogger, journalist, horror enthusiast, comic book geek, science fiction junkie, and IT professional. With all of that to cram in daily, we have no idea if or when he sleeps or how he gets writing done! (We suspect it has to do with having evil clones.) Stuart is a Chicago native and runs the author resource Horror Tree.
The Wrong Type of Angel
by Lyndsey Ellis-Holloway
They looked like angels. Beautiful slender frames, flowing golden hair, beautiful faces.
But their wings were wrong. Dark and sleek, oily and short.
Perfect for the water.
These angels brought no hope, their songs no joy.
A siren’s only gift is her song, and the inevitable despairing death that comes from it.
Ethereal melodies paralysed the men, making them easy prey.
The sirens reached up to the enraptured sailors, pulling them into the water.
Angels no more, their faces changed, dark and terrible and full of teeth.
Death was welcomed.
LYNDSEY ELLIS-HOLLOWAY is a writer from Knaresborough, UK. She writes fantasy, sci-fi, horror and dystopian stories, focussing on compelling characters and layering in myth and legend at every opportunity. Her mind is somewhat dark and twisted, and she lives in perpetual hope of owning her own Dragon someday, but for now she writes about them to fill the void... and to stop her from murdering people who annoy her. When she’s not writing she spends time with her husband, her dogs and her friends enjoying activities such as walking, movies, conventions and of course writing for fun as well!
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